REPORT CARD: UPDATED GRADES FOR EACH OHIO STATE POSITION GROUP AFTER EIGHT GAMES, WIN VS. PENN STATE
The following grades for each Ohio State unit are meant to reflect each unit’s performance over the course of the entire season, not only the last game and including the games that were already graded in the first trimester. With that being said, though, these grades also seek to reflect how each unit has improved over the course of the season and performed in comparison to preseason expectation, while giving weight to big performances in big games, as the Buckeyes’ most recent game against Penn State certainly was.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A
In Ohio State’s first report card last month, I wrote that the Buckeyes defensive line had the potential to be the best unit on the team but that it still needed to play up to its ability on the field to earn a top mark:
There’s little question that Ohio State has grade-A talent on the defensive line, but that unit still needs to show it can dominate against upper-level competition in order to receive an A grade.
Even going into this past Saturday’s game against Penn State, there was still some question as to whether the Buckeyes defensive line could take over and control the line of scrimmage against a top-notch opponent, because they had mostly bullied upon overmatched teams. But the Buckeyes’ overwhelming performance on Saturday, in which the defensive line made a constant presence in Penn State’s backfield and led the team as a whole to record 13 total tackles for loss, showed that their play on the defensive front is finally matching up with the hype.
Led by a tremendous quartet of defensive ends in Nick Bosa, Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes, plus a strong rotation at defensive tackle led by Dre’Mont Jones, Tracy Sprinkle and Robert Landers, Ohio State has recorded 71 tackles for loss this season – third-most among all FBS teams – and has held opponents to just 2.9 rushing yards per carry.
The Buckeyes defensive line must continue to perform at that level to earn an A for the season, but this is an experienced and supremely talented unit that appears to be finally playing up to its immense potential.
LINEBACKERS: B
Ohio State’s linebacker play has been evidently more sound over the Buckeyes’ past four games than it was early in the season. The Buckeyes haven’t had the same issues with linebackers being out of position in pass coverage that they had early in the season, while Jerome Baker and Dante Booker have become more consistent defenders against the run.
After failing to make the big plays they were expected to make early in the season, Baker and Booker have both had their moments in recent weeks; Booker recorded his first career sack and interception against Rutgers, while Baker had a strip sack and returned a fumble for a touchdown against Maryland.
On a consistent basis, though, Baker still hasn’t been as much of an impact playmaker for the Ohio State defense as he was last year, and no one else at the position has emerged with a comparable level of playmaking ability. Middle linebacker Chris Worley is also just getting back to starting and playing in a regular capacity for the defense after missing the better part of five games with a sprained foot.
There’s been more good than bad from Ohio State’s linebackers this season, as they’ve made strides over the course of the year to become a more reliable unit, but there is still another level to which they should be capable of elevating their play to become an A-level unit.
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...ion-group-after-eight-games-win-vs-penn-state
