LGHL You’re Nuts: What is your most Unreasonable Expectation for Ohio State’s defense this year?
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You’re Nuts: What is your most Unreasonable Expectation for Ohio State’s defense this year?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about our Unreasonable Expectations. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our Unreasonable Expectations here.
Now that we have had a month to digest the Ohio State spring game, now is a great time to really start thinking about what we expect from the Buckeyes this year. The 2024 season is going to be a wild ride for a number of reasons. Ohio State has brought in a number of high-profile names in the transfer portal, this will be the first year of a 12-team College Football Playoff, and the Big Ten has added Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. Because of these massive changes, the expectations for Ohio State are supersized this season.
Today we are going to focus on the Buckeye defense. Not only are defensive ends Jack Sawyer and J.T Tuimoloau returning for the 2024 season, cornerback Denzel Burke is also coming back for another season in the scarlet and gray. Along with the talented returning starters, the defense received a massive boost when Alabama safety Caleb Downs entered the transfer portal and announced he would be coming to Ohio State. After being one of the most dominant defenses in college football last season, even more is expected from the Buckeyes this season.
What we want to know is what is your most unreasonable expectations for the Ohio State defense this year. Whether it be a crazy statistical number for a player on the defense, or it could be a goal set for the unit as a whole, we want to know how confident you are in the Buckeye defense this year. Since we know how Buckeye Nation operates, we are expecting some lofty expectations for the 2024 season.
Is this likely to happen? Since the prestigious award seems to be reserved for quarterbacks and the occasional running back or wide receiver, it’s hard to imagine Downs lifting the golden stiff-arm in December. On the other hand, if there is a player that could join Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson as the only primarily defensive player to win the award in the modern era, it is Downs. In 2023 at Alabama, Downs became the first freshman to lead the Crimson Tide in tackles, registering 107 stops. The safety also picked off two passes on his way to earning second-team All-American honors and being named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year.
The scary thing for the rest of college football is Downs is only going to get better. Last year, Downs was the best player on the Alabama defense as a freshman. Imagine how much of an impact Downs is going to have on games this year, as well as next season before he likely declares for the NFL Draft following his junior season. If Downs continues on his current trajectory, it is likely he is going to be a top-10 pick when he declares for the NFL Draft.
Along with how talented he is, another reason I think Downs is going to have a massive impact this year at Ohio State is because of the talent he’ll have around him. Along with Burke and Davison Igbinosun at cornerback, lining up with Downs at safety will be Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles, who is a prime candidate for the hybrid linebacker/safety spot in the Buckeye defense. With so much proven talent around him, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles will likely allow Downs to trust his instincts if he feels like he can make a huge play.
Unfortunately, we’ll likely see the 2024 Heisman Trophy go to another quarterback. The last three winners of the award have been quarterbacks, and over the last 10 years, there have only been two non-quarterbacks to lift the trophy. Plus, talented running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins will likely get the bulk of Heisman Trophy attention for Ohio State this year. The only hope Downs has to win the award is if the Buckeyes struggle during the regular season but the play of Downs leads to a number of victories in key games. No matter what happens, we can all agree it is going to be fun to watch Downs on the field in 2024.
Last season, the Ohio State defense was one of the best units in all of college football. Jim Knowles’ squad allowed only 11.2 points per game, the second-best ppg total in the country (Michigan was No. 1 at 10.4). However, I think that was just the appetizer for the main course that will come this fall.
I am going to go out on a limb and say that I am unreasonably expecting the Buckeyes to lead the country in points allowed per game with less than 10 points given up every time out. Seven of the teams on OSU’s 2024 schedule were ranked worse than 100th in points scored per game last season, and two more were at 87 and 90.
If Ohio State holds those nine teams to a touchdown per game, which seems more than reasonable, that means that they need to allow less than 19 points per game against Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan. While OSU will play the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley this season, I think you can safely put them in below 19. Last season, the Nits averaged 36.2 ppg, but only got 12 against the Buckeyes.
So, I am going to keep them at those 12 points against the Bucks in 2024. Then it’s just the Ducks and Wolverines. Let’s start in reverse chronological order. I think that considering that the reigning national champions have essentially lost their entire team and coaching staff, The Game is in Columbus, and the Buckeyes are out for revenge, I’m going to slot TTUN in for 17 points. That means that if the Buckeyes can hold Oregon to 27 points or less (which might be too unreasonable even for this column), the season average will be 9.916666667 points allowed per game.
With the vast majority of OSU’s defense back from last year and the addition of Brett’s Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Downs, I think this is possible, as unreasonable as it might be.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about our Unreasonable Expectations. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our Unreasonable Expectations here.
Now that we have had a month to digest the Ohio State spring game, now is a great time to really start thinking about what we expect from the Buckeyes this year. The 2024 season is going to be a wild ride for a number of reasons. Ohio State has brought in a number of high-profile names in the transfer portal, this will be the first year of a 12-team College Football Playoff, and the Big Ten has added Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. Because of these massive changes, the expectations for Ohio State are supersized this season.
Today we are going to focus on the Buckeye defense. Not only are defensive ends Jack Sawyer and J.T Tuimoloau returning for the 2024 season, cornerback Denzel Burke is also coming back for another season in the scarlet and gray. Along with the talented returning starters, the defense received a massive boost when Alabama safety Caleb Downs entered the transfer portal and announced he would be coming to Ohio State. After being one of the most dominant defenses in college football last season, even more is expected from the Buckeyes this season.
What we want to know is what is your most unreasonable expectations for the Ohio State defense this year. Whether it be a crazy statistical number for a player on the defense, or it could be a goal set for the unit as a whole, we want to know how confident you are in the Buckeye defense this year. Since we know how Buckeye Nation operates, we are expecting some lofty expectations for the 2024 season.
Today’s question: What is your most Unreasonable Expectation for the Ohio State defense this season?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Caleb Downs wins the Heisman Trophy
Is this likely to happen? Since the prestigious award seems to be reserved for quarterbacks and the occasional running back or wide receiver, it’s hard to imagine Downs lifting the golden stiff-arm in December. On the other hand, if there is a player that could join Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson as the only primarily defensive player to win the award in the modern era, it is Downs. In 2023 at Alabama, Downs became the first freshman to lead the Crimson Tide in tackles, registering 107 stops. The safety also picked off two passes on his way to earning second-team All-American honors and being named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year.
The scary thing for the rest of college football is Downs is only going to get better. Last year, Downs was the best player on the Alabama defense as a freshman. Imagine how much of an impact Downs is going to have on games this year, as well as next season before he likely declares for the NFL Draft following his junior season. If Downs continues on his current trajectory, it is likely he is going to be a top-10 pick when he declares for the NFL Draft.
Along with how talented he is, another reason I think Downs is going to have a massive impact this year at Ohio State is because of the talent he’ll have around him. Along with Burke and Davison Igbinosun at cornerback, lining up with Downs at safety will be Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles, who is a prime candidate for the hybrid linebacker/safety spot in the Buckeye defense. With so much proven talent around him, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles will likely allow Downs to trust his instincts if he feels like he can make a huge play.
Unfortunately, we’ll likely see the 2024 Heisman Trophy go to another quarterback. The last three winners of the award have been quarterbacks, and over the last 10 years, there have only been two non-quarterbacks to lift the trophy. Plus, talented running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins will likely get the bulk of Heisman Trophy attention for Ohio State this year. The only hope Downs has to win the award is if the Buckeyes struggle during the regular season but the play of Downs leads to a number of victories in key games. No matter what happens, we can all agree it is going to be fun to watch Downs on the field in 2024.
Matt’s answer: Ohio State will lead the country in points per game allowed at under 10 ppg
Last season, the Ohio State defense was one of the best units in all of college football. Jim Knowles’ squad allowed only 11.2 points per game, the second-best ppg total in the country (Michigan was No. 1 at 10.4). However, I think that was just the appetizer for the main course that will come this fall.
I am going to go out on a limb and say that I am unreasonably expecting the Buckeyes to lead the country in points allowed per game with less than 10 points given up every time out. Seven of the teams on OSU’s 2024 schedule were ranked worse than 100th in points scored per game last season, and two more were at 87 and 90.
If Ohio State holds those nine teams to a touchdown per game, which seems more than reasonable, that means that they need to allow less than 19 points per game against Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan. While OSU will play the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley this season, I think you can safely put them in below 19. Last season, the Nits averaged 36.2 ppg, but only got 12 against the Buckeyes.
So, I am going to keep them at those 12 points against the Bucks in 2024. Then it’s just the Ducks and Wolverines. Let’s start in reverse chronological order. I think that considering that the reigning national champions have essentially lost their entire team and coaching staff, The Game is in Columbus, and the Buckeyes are out for revenge, I’m going to slot TTUN in for 17 points. That means that if the Buckeyes can hold Oregon to 27 points or less (which might be too unreasonable even for this column), the season average will be 9.916666667 points allowed per game.
With the vast majority of OSU’s defense back from last year and the addition of Brett’s Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Downs, I think this is possible, as unreasonable as it might be.
Continue reading...
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