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LGHL Ohio State opens as 19-point favorites over Maryland
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Ohio State opens as 19-point favorites over Maryland
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Buckeyes resume Big Ten play as they host the Terrapins coming out of the off week.
Having completed the non-conference schedule, including a nail-biter last-second win over Notre Dame to close things out, Ohio State resumes Big Ten play this coming Saturday — having already defeated Indiana in the season opener — at home against Maryland after getting a week off. The Terrapins are a perfect 5-0 to begin the year, winning every game on their schedule by more than two scores as they come off a 44-17 win over the Hoosiers. The two undefeated B1G sides face-off at noon on FOX.
All lines courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
The last time we saw Ohio State, they were scoring a virtually walk-off touchdown against Notre Dame to escape South Bend with a 17-14 win. Kyle McCord had his ups and downs in the game, but he was nails on that final drive, converting a 3rd-and-10, a 4th-and-7 and a 3rd-and-19 en rout to the game-winning score — a 1-yard TD run by Chip Trayanum. Emeka Egbuka was the star of the show through the air, catching seven passes for 96 yards, and TreVeyon Henderson had a big touchdown run of 61 yards to open up the second half. The Buckeyes had 366 yards of offense against a Notre Dame team that currently ranks seventh nationally in total defense.
Defensively, it was an uncharacteristically poor game from Ohio State’s linebackers, but the Silver Bullets made up for it with a strong showing from the secondary and the interior defensive line. The Buckeyes stopped Notre Dame twice on downs, held them to 5-of-12 on third and fourth downs, and made some key plays when it mattered most in the fourth quarter. J.T. Tuimoloau came up huge late, blowing up an option run and breaking up a screen pass to help Ohio State get the ball back for what would be the deciding drive to end the game. Denzel Burke, Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles all showed out as well.
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is coming off a dominant performance against Indiana, throwing for 352 yards and five touchdowns with no picks in his team’s 44-17 win. Tagovailoa is off to a great start through five games, passing for nearly 1,500 yards with 13 TDs to only three INTs. It was an unusually quiet game for Roman Hemby, rushing for only 54 yards against the Hoosiers, but the junior running back has been strong this season with 426 yards from scrimmage and four scores. The Terps’ wide receiver trio of Jeshaun Jones, Tai Felton and Kaden Prather have been excellent, with Felton’s 134 yards and three TDs leading the way against Indiana.
For as good as Maryland’s offense has been, its defense has been equally impressive. Senior DB Beau Brade leads the way in the tackles department with 26, while adding a pick and three PBUs. Yet to allow more than 20 points in a game, the Terps rank fifth in the Big Ten in scoring defense (13.2 ppg) and are tied with Minnesota for most interceptions in the B1G with eight. Tarheeb Still has been the leader of the secondary, already recording three picks with 21 total tackles and two TFLs. Maryland also ranks fourth in the conference with 13 sacks on the year. They’re led in that category by Caleb Wheatland’s 2.5 sacks, but nine different guys have gotten to the quarterback at least once.
This is a much improved Maryland team from years past, and one that can provide a legitimate threat to the big three in the Big Ten East. It will be another test for Ohio State’s defense, as Mike Locksley’s group features a very experienced quarterback and skill talent that can attack in a variety of ways. The Buckeyes had an extra week to prep for this one, and will hopefully clean up the play-calling issues that have hampered what should be a more explosive offense if ran correctly. Ryan Day’s teams have outscored Locksley’s 182-61 in the three meetings between the two head coaches, but it won’t be as easy this time around.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Buckeyes resume Big Ten play as they host the Terrapins coming out of the off week.
Having completed the non-conference schedule, including a nail-biter last-second win over Notre Dame to close things out, Ohio State resumes Big Ten play this coming Saturday — having already defeated Indiana in the season opener — at home against Maryland after getting a week off. The Terrapins are a perfect 5-0 to begin the year, winning every game on their schedule by more than two scores as they come off a 44-17 win over the Hoosiers. The two undefeated B1G sides face-off at noon on FOX.
All lines courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread: Ohio State -19
The last time we saw Ohio State, they were scoring a virtually walk-off touchdown against Notre Dame to escape South Bend with a 17-14 win. Kyle McCord had his ups and downs in the game, but he was nails on that final drive, converting a 3rd-and-10, a 4th-and-7 and a 3rd-and-19 en rout to the game-winning score — a 1-yard TD run by Chip Trayanum. Emeka Egbuka was the star of the show through the air, catching seven passes for 96 yards, and TreVeyon Henderson had a big touchdown run of 61 yards to open up the second half. The Buckeyes had 366 yards of offense against a Notre Dame team that currently ranks seventh nationally in total defense.
Defensively, it was an uncharacteristically poor game from Ohio State’s linebackers, but the Silver Bullets made up for it with a strong showing from the secondary and the interior defensive line. The Buckeyes stopped Notre Dame twice on downs, held them to 5-of-12 on third and fourth downs, and made some key plays when it mattered most in the fourth quarter. J.T. Tuimoloau came up huge late, blowing up an option run and breaking up a screen pass to help Ohio State get the ball back for what would be the deciding drive to end the game. Denzel Burke, Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles all showed out as well.
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is coming off a dominant performance against Indiana, throwing for 352 yards and five touchdowns with no picks in his team’s 44-17 win. Tagovailoa is off to a great start through five games, passing for nearly 1,500 yards with 13 TDs to only three INTs. It was an unusually quiet game for Roman Hemby, rushing for only 54 yards against the Hoosiers, but the junior running back has been strong this season with 426 yards from scrimmage and four scores. The Terps’ wide receiver trio of Jeshaun Jones, Tai Felton and Kaden Prather have been excellent, with Felton’s 134 yards and three TDs leading the way against Indiana.
For as good as Maryland’s offense has been, its defense has been equally impressive. Senior DB Beau Brade leads the way in the tackles department with 26, while adding a pick and three PBUs. Yet to allow more than 20 points in a game, the Terps rank fifth in the Big Ten in scoring defense (13.2 ppg) and are tied with Minnesota for most interceptions in the B1G with eight. Tarheeb Still has been the leader of the secondary, already recording three picks with 21 total tackles and two TFLs. Maryland also ranks fourth in the conference with 13 sacks on the year. They’re led in that category by Caleb Wheatland’s 2.5 sacks, but nine different guys have gotten to the quarterback at least once.
This is a much improved Maryland team from years past, and one that can provide a legitimate threat to the big three in the Big Ten East. It will be another test for Ohio State’s defense, as Mike Locksley’s group features a very experienced quarterback and skill talent that can attack in a variety of ways. The Buckeyes had an extra week to prep for this one, and will hopefully clean up the play-calling issues that have hampered what should be a more explosive offense if ran correctly. Ryan Day’s teams have outscored Locksley’s 182-61 in the three meetings between the two head coaches, but it won’t be as easy this time around.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
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LGHL Minnich’s Musings about the non-Ohio State teams in the Big Ten Conference
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Minnich’s Musings about the non-Ohio State teams in the Big Ten Conference
Chip.Minnich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State had a bye weekend, which meant watching the other B1G teams
Ohio State is coming off its bye week and is focused on playing Maryland next week in a game that will air on Fox at 12 noon ET. However, there was plenty of Big Ten action to keep up on this weekend, giving me a ton of opportunities to formulate some thoughts on the other teams vying for the conference crown.
Penn State defeated Northwestern, 41-13, at Ryan Field in a 12 noon ET game televised by The Big Ten Network. Penn State was tied 10-10 with Northwestern at the half, and the Nittany Lions turned it on in the second half. Penn State has an upcoming bye weekend, then play UMass at home before the heavily anticipated game against the Buckeyes on Oct. 21.
While it is not yet official, look for the Penn State game to be a Big Noon Kickoff game on FOX — I know that a lot of Ohio State fans are not happy about the idea of such a big game not being a night game, but FOX has determined that they will play their perceived best game for a given weekend at 1 noon ET. The B1G and FOX are in the first year of a seven-year contract, so this is how it will be for the next several seasons — get used to seeing Ohio State at noon on a frequent basis.
Minnesota ended a two-game losing streak, defeating the visiting Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, 35-24. The Golden Gophers actually trailed 17-14 at the half, then took the lead in the second half, outscoring Louisiana 21-7. Minnesota now sits at 3-2 overall and will be hosting the Michigan Wolverines in a 7:30 p.m. ET night game on NBC on Oct. 7.
Speaking of “That Team Up North”, the Wolverines took the hosting Nebraska Cornhuskers behind the proverbial woodshed, winning 45-7. This was Michigan’s first road game of the year, and the Wolverines had no problem in this one.
For Nebraska, this is the kind of game that should serve as a stark reminder to the coaches, players, and fan base of how far this program needs to go to be able to compete with the upper-echelon teams within The B1G. Nebraska averted a shutout late in the fourth quarter, and has an upcoming 8 p.m. Friday night game at Illinois on Oct. 6. Nebraska now sits at 2-3, and needs to figure out a way to get to the magical number of six wins, in order to get a bowl bid.
As for Nebraska’s next opponent, the Illinois Fighting Illini went on the road to West Lafayette, Indiana, and were handled by the Boilermakers, 44-19. Purdue head coach Ryan Walters — Illinois’ former defensive coordinator — had to revel in the Purdue scoring explosion that took place in the third quarter, as Purdue scored 21 unanswered points that led to the Boilermakers’ victory. Illinois and Purdue are both now 2-3 overall. Ohio State will travel to Purdue on Oct. 13, and the kickoff time has not yet been established.
Rutgers had no trouble with Wagner, winning 52-3. The Scarlet Knights now are at 4-1, and now the challenge begins for Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano and his team, as they enter into B1G conference play, needing at least two more wins this season to get to six and a bowl bid.
Michigan State went on the road at Iowa in a 7:30 p.m. ET NBC game, and the Spartans nearly pulled off the win, as the Spartans were tied with the Hawkeyes 16-16 late into the fourth quarter. Iowa’s Cooper DeJean’s 70-yard punt return for a touchdown, along with an Iowa field goal, helped to seal the deal for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes now are 4-1 overall, with a 3:30 p.m. ET game versus Purdue that will be available on Peacock, while Michigan State has lost three in a row and have a bye week, before they travel to Rutgers on Oct. 14.
Last, and certainly not least, Maryland handled the visiting Indiana Hoosiers, 44-17. I will have plenty more to write about Maryland this upcoming week, but as for Indiana, the Hoosiers are looking like a team that will be eager for the 2023 season to conclude.
Indiana is now 2-3, and is going into a bye week, before traveling to Ann Arbor to take on the undefeated Michigan Wolverines on Oct. 14.
Continue reading...
Chip.Minnich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State had a bye weekend, which meant watching the other B1G teams
Ohio State is coming off its bye week and is focused on playing Maryland next week in a game that will air on Fox at 12 noon ET. However, there was plenty of Big Ten action to keep up on this weekend, giving me a ton of opportunities to formulate some thoughts on the other teams vying for the conference crown.
Thought No. 1
Penn State defeated Northwestern, 41-13, at Ryan Field in a 12 noon ET game televised by The Big Ten Network. Penn State was tied 10-10 with Northwestern at the half, and the Nittany Lions turned it on in the second half. Penn State has an upcoming bye weekend, then play UMass at home before the heavily anticipated game against the Buckeyes on Oct. 21.
While it is not yet official, look for the Penn State game to be a Big Noon Kickoff game on FOX — I know that a lot of Ohio State fans are not happy about the idea of such a big game not being a night game, but FOX has determined that they will play their perceived best game for a given weekend at 1 noon ET. The B1G and FOX are in the first year of a seven-year contract, so this is how it will be for the next several seasons — get used to seeing Ohio State at noon on a frequent basis.
Thought No. 2
Minnesota ended a two-game losing streak, defeating the visiting Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, 35-24. The Golden Gophers actually trailed 17-14 at the half, then took the lead in the second half, outscoring Louisiana 21-7. Minnesota now sits at 3-2 overall and will be hosting the Michigan Wolverines in a 7:30 p.m. ET night game on NBC on Oct. 7.
Thought No. 3
Speaking of “That Team Up North”, the Wolverines took the hosting Nebraska Cornhuskers behind the proverbial woodshed, winning 45-7. This was Michigan’s first road game of the year, and the Wolverines had no problem in this one.
For Nebraska, this is the kind of game that should serve as a stark reminder to the coaches, players, and fan base of how far this program needs to go to be able to compete with the upper-echelon teams within The B1G. Nebraska averted a shutout late in the fourth quarter, and has an upcoming 8 p.m. Friday night game at Illinois on Oct. 6. Nebraska now sits at 2-3, and needs to figure out a way to get to the magical number of six wins, in order to get a bowl bid.
Thought No. 4
As for Nebraska’s next opponent, the Illinois Fighting Illini went on the road to West Lafayette, Indiana, and were handled by the Boilermakers, 44-19. Purdue head coach Ryan Walters — Illinois’ former defensive coordinator — had to revel in the Purdue scoring explosion that took place in the third quarter, as Purdue scored 21 unanswered points that led to the Boilermakers’ victory. Illinois and Purdue are both now 2-3 overall. Ohio State will travel to Purdue on Oct. 13, and the kickoff time has not yet been established.
Thought No. 5
Rutgers had no trouble with Wagner, winning 52-3. The Scarlet Knights now are at 4-1, and now the challenge begins for Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano and his team, as they enter into B1G conference play, needing at least two more wins this season to get to six and a bowl bid.
Thought No. 6
Michigan State went on the road at Iowa in a 7:30 p.m. ET NBC game, and the Spartans nearly pulled off the win, as the Spartans were tied with the Hawkeyes 16-16 late into the fourth quarter. Iowa’s Cooper DeJean’s 70-yard punt return for a touchdown, along with an Iowa field goal, helped to seal the deal for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes now are 4-1 overall, with a 3:30 p.m. ET game versus Purdue that will be available on Peacock, while Michigan State has lost three in a row and have a bye week, before they travel to Rutgers on Oct. 14.
Thought No. 7
Last, and certainly not least, Maryland handled the visiting Indiana Hoosiers, 44-17. I will have plenty more to write about Maryland this upcoming week, but as for Indiana, the Hoosiers are looking like a team that will be eager for the 2023 season to conclude.
Indiana is now 2-3, and is going into a bye week, before traveling to Ann Arbor to take on the undefeated Michigan Wolverines on Oct. 14.
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LGHL Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Predicting exact outcomes of Ohio State’s remaining games
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Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Predicting exact outcomes of Ohio State’s remaining games
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Bet these futures now! Josh and Chuck are staring into their crystal balls, and making final score predictions for the rest of the Buckeyes’ season.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Chuck Holmes as they discuss Ohio State football, recruiting, and much, much more! Come for the hot takes, stay for the warm ones.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
On this episode of ‘Hangout in the Holy Land,’ Josh and Chuck discuss this weekend’s epic slate of CFB games... Wait, nevermind. That was last week.
Instead of their usual Sunday recap, Joshtradamus and Chuck The Soothsayer preview Ohio State’s remaining schedule and make predictions for each and every game. Down to the exact final score.
Which games will Buckeye fans sweat out? And will all of them (hopefully) go the Scarlet and Gray’s way?
Gotta listen to find out!
Please make sure to like, rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast! And as always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Josh Dooley
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye
Connect with Chuck Holmes
Twitter: @ctholmes3
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Bet these futures now! Josh and Chuck are staring into their crystal balls, and making final score predictions for the rest of the Buckeyes’ season.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Chuck Holmes as they discuss Ohio State football, recruiting, and much, much more! Come for the hot takes, stay for the warm ones.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
On this episode of ‘Hangout in the Holy Land,’ Josh and Chuck discuss this weekend’s epic slate of CFB games... Wait, nevermind. That was last week.
Instead of their usual Sunday recap, Joshtradamus and Chuck The Soothsayer preview Ohio State’s remaining schedule and make predictions for each and every game. Down to the exact final score.
Which games will Buckeye fans sweat out? And will all of them (hopefully) go the Scarlet and Gray’s way?
Gotta listen to find out!
Please make sure to like, rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast! And as always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Josh Dooley
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye
Connect with Chuck Holmes
Twitter: @ctholmes3
Continue reading...
LGHL Cover Six: Reviewing the Silver Bullets at the one-third mark, part one
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Cover Six: Reviewing the Silver Bullets at the one-third mark, part one
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Buckeyes have played one-third of their schedule so entering a bye week Jordan gives his thoughts on the first four weeks of the 2023 season.
In football terms, Cover Six is a zone coverage that combines Cover Four and Cover Two. While on the field it is designed to negate the deep pass while offering extra support underneath to protect against the run, in this case, Cover Six is a weekly column focused on Ohio State’s defense under coordinator Jim Knowles. Every week, it will cover six aspects of the defense’s performance including big moments, key stats, film analysis, and areas in need of improvement. Join me as I follow the defense as it tries to bring back the Silver Bullets swagger that we know and love!
The short answer is yes, yes the Buckeyes are a top-five defense. The long answer is, yes but they were also a top-rated defense last season and we saw how that ended. This is not last season, after four games I believe that what we’ve seen from the Silver Bullets is sustainable. At this point in year two of the Knowles system the Buckeyes are number two in scoring defense allowing only 8.5 points per game. They only allow 149 passing yards per game and 255 yards total which ranks fifth and sixth nationally. They also rank fifth in stop rate forcing punts, turnovers, or turnovers on downs on 85.3% of drives. They also rank first in opponent-adjusted pressure rate at +89% if you believe in that statistic which tries to determine how much pressure is generated relative to the opponent’s average pressure rate allowed.
The most important thing about this defense is they are not allowing the big play. Last season, despite finishing tenth in stop rate getting stops on 74.3% of drives they were susceptible to the big play at almost any point in the game. In their final two games, they were kicking Michigan and Georgia in the teeth for a half and then the defense just gave up big play after big play ultimately losing both games.
This year’s defense is a lot more sound, it has more talented athletes and Knowles is just allowing his guys to play. This defense won the Notre Dame game, they played better than the Notre Dame offense besides two drives - albeit brutal drives. The difference is this team bowed up when they needed to and got a stop when most everyone assumed Notre Dame would just run the ball until the defense submitted. Some people may need to see more but they have passed the test, this is a top-five defense and this is a defense that can win a national championship. Hiring Jim Knowles is proving to be the best decision of the Ryan Day tenure so far.
Who is your MVP of the season so far? For me, it’s between two people, Tyleik Williams and Denzel Burke. Both players broke out in 2021 as freshmen but did not live up to the hype during their sophomore campaign in 2022. Tyleik Williams has been a stud on the inside, he is finally healthy and looks to be in the best shape of his career. While no one said it outright there have been some whispers about Tyleik’s work ethic and his not being in shape throughout his career.
Whether that was true or not, he has dispelled any of that this season. He has been Ohio State’s most productive defensive lineman and is playing at a level where you don’t want to take him off the field, and they didn’t against Notre Dame where he played 86% of the defense’s snaps. So far Tyliek has an 83.8 PFF grade which ranks 12th amongst all interior defensive linemen. He is third on the team with 21 tackles, first in tackles for loss with three, and tied for first with one sack. He has a great case for being the best player on the defense so far this season.
Burke has been a lockdown corner so far in 2023, the evidence of that was in the Notre Dame game where he was only targeted one time. It’s easy to call a defense when you know you don’t have to worry about one of your corners. Burke has allowed six catches on eighteen targets for 72 yards. Burke has almost as many passes defended, five, as he does receptions allowed. Burke has also shown a willingness to tackle which is always a concern for corners but willing tacklers are a prerequisite at the position for Ohio State.
The Big Ten is not littered with stud receivers as it has been in previous years but I have faith that Denzel will win future battles with Keandre Lambert-Smith of Penn State and Roman Wilson of Michigan.
Regardless of who you think is the MVP, Burke and Williams are proving to be anchors for this Ohio State defense. They are also working their way up the NFL draft boards. With these two players playing at this level and the Buckeyes having the best linebacker duo in the country this defense is going to be a problem for a lot of teams for the rest of this season.
It’s time to talk about the defensive line. If you scour Buckeye’s Twitter for more than 30 seconds you will find someone talking negatively about the defensive line. In my opinion, the negativity is warranted but overrated. Football is a very detailed sport and many fans only care about the splash plays.
A majority of splash plays happen on offense so defense is overlooked. When talking about what makes a good defense, specifically a good defensive line everyone will point to sacks. If you’re judging this defensive line based solely on sack production then they’re awful. The problem is that sacks are not the only important job for a defensive line. At Ohio State the expectation is sacks, so I’m not here to tell you not to be critical but I am here to say the sky is not falling.
The biggest issue with the defensive line is simply that Larry Johnson is in an open feud with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and his system. This makes the defensive line look disjointed at times.
On top of that, this isn’t the defensive line of old. Previously Ohio State’s defensive lines were consisting of quick twitch and bendy athletes on the edge and they largely ignored the interior defensive line. This is not to say there were not good players but much of the focus was on the edge rushers. In this defense, the best players on the line may be on the interior with Mike Hall and Tyliek Williams. Also, JT is an amazing athlete but he is not a quick twitch and bendy athlete like Chase Young.
JT and Jack are never going to be the dangerous pass rushers of old. This does not mean they are bad players or the defensive line is underperforming. Knowles has stated publicly that he is just letting players play and has toned down his aggressiveness. This defensive line has not gotten home but they have affected the quarterback by getting pressure and getting hits on the quarterback. They are also consistently resetting the line of scrimmage and freeing the linebackers to make plays on running backs.
It’s not the pretty splashy part of defensive football but they are doing what’s asked of them. This defense would not be in the place they are without the defensive line. Of course, it would be great if they got more sacks. I think Johnson needs to mix up his rotation and play some of the young guys more on passing downs to get more sacks. Despite that, this is a very good defensive line that consists of four players who could go in the top 50 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Follow The I-80 Football Show on YouTube: @JordanW330 or @LandGrantPods
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Continue reading...
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Buckeyes have played one-third of their schedule so entering a bye week Jordan gives his thoughts on the first four weeks of the 2023 season.
In football terms, Cover Six is a zone coverage that combines Cover Four and Cover Two. While on the field it is designed to negate the deep pass while offering extra support underneath to protect against the run, in this case, Cover Six is a weekly column focused on Ohio State’s defense under coordinator Jim Knowles. Every week, it will cover six aspects of the defense’s performance including big moments, key stats, film analysis, and areas in need of improvement. Join me as I follow the defense as it tries to bring back the Silver Bullets swagger that we know and love!
Cover 1: Are the Silver Bullets a top-five defense?
The short answer is yes, yes the Buckeyes are a top-five defense. The long answer is, yes but they were also a top-rated defense last season and we saw how that ended. This is not last season, after four games I believe that what we’ve seen from the Silver Bullets is sustainable. At this point in year two of the Knowles system the Buckeyes are number two in scoring defense allowing only 8.5 points per game. They only allow 149 passing yards per game and 255 yards total which ranks fifth and sixth nationally. They also rank fifth in stop rate forcing punts, turnovers, or turnovers on downs on 85.3% of drives. They also rank first in opponent-adjusted pressure rate at +89% if you believe in that statistic which tries to determine how much pressure is generated relative to the opponent’s average pressure rate allowed.
The most important thing about this defense is they are not allowing the big play. Last season, despite finishing tenth in stop rate getting stops on 74.3% of drives they were susceptible to the big play at almost any point in the game. In their final two games, they were kicking Michigan and Georgia in the teeth for a half and then the defense just gave up big play after big play ultimately losing both games.
This year’s defense is a lot more sound, it has more talented athletes and Knowles is just allowing his guys to play. This defense won the Notre Dame game, they played better than the Notre Dame offense besides two drives - albeit brutal drives. The difference is this team bowed up when they needed to and got a stop when most everyone assumed Notre Dame would just run the ball until the defense submitted. Some people may need to see more but they have passed the test, this is a top-five defense and this is a defense that can win a national championship. Hiring Jim Knowles is proving to be the best decision of the Ryan Day tenure so far.
Cover 2: Who has been the MVP of the defense so far?
Who is your MVP of the season so far? For me, it’s between two people, Tyleik Williams and Denzel Burke. Both players broke out in 2021 as freshmen but did not live up to the hype during their sophomore campaign in 2022. Tyleik Williams has been a stud on the inside, he is finally healthy and looks to be in the best shape of his career. While no one said it outright there have been some whispers about Tyleik’s work ethic and his not being in shape throughout his career.
Whether that was true or not, he has dispelled any of that this season. He has been Ohio State’s most productive defensive lineman and is playing at a level where you don’t want to take him off the field, and they didn’t against Notre Dame where he played 86% of the defense’s snaps. So far Tyliek has an 83.8 PFF grade which ranks 12th amongst all interior defensive linemen. He is third on the team with 21 tackles, first in tackles for loss with three, and tied for first with one sack. He has a great case for being the best player on the defense so far this season.
Burke has been a lockdown corner so far in 2023, the evidence of that was in the Notre Dame game where he was only targeted one time. It’s easy to call a defense when you know you don’t have to worry about one of your corners. Burke has allowed six catches on eighteen targets for 72 yards. Burke has almost as many passes defended, five, as he does receptions allowed. Burke has also shown a willingness to tackle which is always a concern for corners but willing tacklers are a prerequisite at the position for Ohio State.
The Big Ten is not littered with stud receivers as it has been in previous years but I have faith that Denzel will win future battles with Keandre Lambert-Smith of Penn State and Roman Wilson of Michigan.
Regardless of who you think is the MVP, Burke and Williams are proving to be anchors for this Ohio State defense. They are also working their way up the NFL draft boards. With these two players playing at this level and the Buckeyes having the best linebacker duo in the country this defense is going to be a problem for a lot of teams for the rest of this season.
Cover 3: You can’t handle the truth!
It’s time to talk about the defensive line. If you scour Buckeye’s Twitter for more than 30 seconds you will find someone talking negatively about the defensive line. In my opinion, the negativity is warranted but overrated. Football is a very detailed sport and many fans only care about the splash plays.
A majority of splash plays happen on offense so defense is overlooked. When talking about what makes a good defense, specifically a good defensive line everyone will point to sacks. If you’re judging this defensive line based solely on sack production then they’re awful. The problem is that sacks are not the only important job for a defensive line. At Ohio State the expectation is sacks, so I’m not here to tell you not to be critical but I am here to say the sky is not falling.
The biggest issue with the defensive line is simply that Larry Johnson is in an open feud with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and his system. This makes the defensive line look disjointed at times.
On top of that, this isn’t the defensive line of old. Previously Ohio State’s defensive lines were consisting of quick twitch and bendy athletes on the edge and they largely ignored the interior defensive line. This is not to say there were not good players but much of the focus was on the edge rushers. In this defense, the best players on the line may be on the interior with Mike Hall and Tyliek Williams. Also, JT is an amazing athlete but he is not a quick twitch and bendy athlete like Chase Young.
JT and Jack are never going to be the dangerous pass rushers of old. This does not mean they are bad players or the defensive line is underperforming. Knowles has stated publicly that he is just letting players play and has toned down his aggressiveness. This defensive line has not gotten home but they have affected the quarterback by getting pressure and getting hits on the quarterback. They are also consistently resetting the line of scrimmage and freeing the linebackers to make plays on running backs.
It’s not the pretty splashy part of defensive football but they are doing what’s asked of them. This defense would not be in the place they are without the defensive line. Of course, it would be great if they got more sacks. I think Johnson needs to mix up his rotation and play some of the young guys more on passing downs to get more sacks. Despite that, this is a very good defensive line that consists of four players who could go in the top 50 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft.
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