You’re Nuts: Which Buckeye needs to have a big game for Ohio State to beat Indiana?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: Which Buckeye needs to have a big game for No. 2 Ohio State to beat No. 5 Indiana?
Jami’s Take: Denzel Burke
Will the real Denzel Burke please stand up?
Despite being one of the most experienced defensive backs in the country, the senior cornerback hasn’t looked like himself this season, or at least not the version of himself we’d come to know and love in seasons past.
Burke, whose exceptional freshman campaign put him on the map as a real disrupter for opposing offenses, finished that 2021 season as the team leader in passes defended, with 12, and logged 37 total tackles, including 28 solo. He added a lone interception, which he returned 23 yards for the pick-six. His sophomore season told a different story.
By 2022, whether you chalk it up to a sophomore slump or new coaches (defensive coordinator Jim Knowles took over for Kerry Coombs in 2022), Burke struggled in coverage. Though the second half of the season was better than the first, by season’s end, Burke logged just five passes defended (compared to the previous season’s 12) and no interceptions. He finished the 2022 campaign fifth in tackles, with 24 solo tackles and 10 assists.
2023 wasn’t much better, nor have we seen drastic improvements this year. We know he has it in him — we’ve seen glimpses of it ever since his freshman season, but for some reason, his full potential seems to have been hiding, like the groundhog after he sees his shadow.
Burke has struggled with pass coverage all season, and while he is close to his 2021 numbers in terms of tackles (currently 26 solo and 9 assists for a total of 35, just two solo tackles shy of the full 2021 season), his passes defended tell a different story. Compared to the 12 he netted as a freshman, Burke has two passes defended so far this year.
Against Oregon, the most explosive offensive test the Silver Bullets have seen this season, Burke and the rest of the Buckeyes’ secondary got exposed in a major way. The Ducks, with quarterback Dillon Gabriel at the helm, had 341 yards through the air in OSU’s only loss so far. Burke, in particular, seemed to get beat by Oregon’s receivers all night long in what one could argue was one of the worst performances of his career.
And still, we know Burke has the ability to be a force. When he’s in top form, he makes it extremely challenging for opposing offenses to get going. Against Indiana, which version of Burke ends up on the field could factor heavily into the outcome.
The Hoosiers, led on offense by quarterback Kurtis Rourke, head to Columbus with the 23rd-best passing offense in the country.
Led on offense by quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the Hoosiers head to Columbus with the 23rd-best passing offense in the country. Oregon clocks in at No. 18, just a few spots higher than Indiana, with their margin of difference clocking in at less than five yards per game.
If Curt Cignetti’s program is the portrait of consistency, no one exemplifies that more than Rourke, who has the sixth-best completion rate in the nation at 71.8 percent. He’s netted 2,410 yards and 21 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
And while
Ohio State’s defense will present the biggest challenge to Rourke’s consistency, the Buckeyes have an advantage Indiana doesn’t—the ability to learn from its mistakes.
Burke has the opportunity to do just that this weekend against the Hoosiers, and boy does his team need that from him. If he can dig deep and tap into the greatness we’ve seen from him in the past, it could give the Buckeyes a real edge against Indiana’s offense – and position him for redemption against Oregon in the Big Ten Championship.
Matt’s Take: Austin Siereveld
I would say that 99.99% of the time, I would agree with Jami on this; in fact, I will have an article about this on LGHL on Friday. However, this is the .01% exception. By this point, we all know that Ohio State
lost center Seth McLaughlin to a season-ending Achilles injury. On Wednesday, Ryan Day announced that in his stead, Carson Hinzman — last year’s starting center — will move to the middle of the offensive line and Austin Siereveld will take over at left guard,
as I suspected would happen.
I could have gone with both Hinzman and Siereveld, but the former has looked very strong at LG the last few weeks and has a far larger experience level at center than the latter has at guard. However, Siereveld does have starting experience at the position. In the first two weeks of the season, Donovan Jackson — now kicked over to left tackle due to the Josh Simmons injury — was unable to play, so Siereveld stepped in.
Admittedly, those performances were in blowouts against Akron and Western Michigan, but Siereveld held his own, grading out in the mid-60s for both outings according to Pro Football Focus. However, he is likely going to need to put in a much better performance against the No. 5
Indiana Hoosiers this weekend if the Buckeyes are going to emerge from Saturday’s game still on track for a Big Ten Title Game appearance.
IU’s defense is not only coming off of a bye, but they also lead the Big Ten in sacks with 31, thanks in no small part to Mikail Kamara’s 9.5 — also best in the B1G. Fortunately for Will Howard and his stable of elite playmakers, pass protection has not been a significant concern for the Buckeyes this season, allowing only 12 sacks on the season. But, IU is fourth nationally according to PFF’s pass rush grades, so with extra movement in the middle of the line, Siereveld is going to need to be especially sturdy.
Unfortunately for you and me, Indiana’s defense prowess is not limited to its pass rush. The Hoosiers are fourth nationally allowing only 3.83 yards per rush. Following the Simmons injury, Ryan Day and Chip Kelly
showed confidence in the rebuilt left side of the offensive line of Jackson at LT and Hinzman at LG. This has opened things up for TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, the Buckeyes have rushed for an average of 174 yards in the games since that line debuted. If OSU is going to be able to maintain its level of offensive dominance and variety, Siereveld is going to need to play an exceptional game.
I am honestly far more comfortable with the Buckeyes’ plan following McLaughlin’s injury than I was with Simmons’ injury — given the higher level of experience — but there is no ramp-up for Siereveld at LG and Hinzman at center. It’s No. 5 Indiana this week, the defending national champion
Michigan Wolverines next week, hopefully the No. 1
Oregon Ducks the week after that, and then onto the College Football Playoff. So even though this is clearly the best possible backup option for the Buckeyes, I am still going to be exceedingly anxious about it until I see what it looks like on the field.
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