-
Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
- Thread starter ScriptOhio
- Start date
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Ohio State's defense came out swinging in the first half, holding Penn State to three first-half points and only one drive that went more than 20 yards. Some of that strong play stemmed from the Buckeyes' third-down defense, which held Penn State to converting 3-of-9 third-down chances.
Even better, Ohio State held Penn State from converting on its only fourth-down attempt of the evening to end the first drive.
Sean Clifford just couldn't get anything going on the ground. Penn State knew it would have to rely on his wheels at times, but he managed only five yards. Of his 18 rushes, he picked up more than two yards only three times.
Ohio State also largely shut down running back Devyn Ford, who recorded 36 rushing yards on eight carries.
Upvote
0
bukIpower
Head Coach
I'll say this though... the defense did what they should've done this week which is stop the run. That's always objective #1 and they crushed it this week.
There's just 2 things this defense isnt doing right now. Holding teams to 3 and forcing turnovers. Luckily the next 2 weeks wont offer much of a test but Indiana should give us a good look too. Except IU doesnt have the LOS that the past two teams have.
There's just 2 things this defense isnt doing right now. Holding teams to 3 and forcing turnovers. Luckily the next 2 weeks wont offer much of a test but Indiana should give us a good look too. Except IU doesnt have the LOS that the past two teams have.
Upvote
0
bukIpower
Head Coach
I really wish we would consider moving back to 2 safeties. We do not have the corner depth to continue with 3 corners and frankly I don't think we have the experience to run it either.
Last year we had 3 first round grade corners and this year we may only have 1. We are loaded at LB too so I would really consider getting them on the field more so as well.
What's the saying? You put the best 11 on the field? Well what if 8 of the top 11 are in our front 7? Which IMO is the case particularly when Hilliard comes back. I proposed this a while ago but seriously I think it'd be a good personnel group considering Werner and Brownings athleticism.
Last year we had 3 first round grade corners and this year we may only have 1. We are loaded at LB too so I would really consider getting them on the field more so as well.
What's the saying? You put the best 11 on the field? Well what if 8 of the top 11 are in our front 7? Which IMO is the case particularly when Hilliard comes back. I proposed this a while ago but seriously I think it'd be a good personnel group considering Werner and Brownings athleticism.
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
“It’s very costly,” Day said. “Cam came with experience this season, in a position that we couldn’t afford to lose anyone, so to lose Cam, it’s a significant hit.”
Brown didn’t start either of the Buckeyes’ first two games at cornerback, but he was clearly their top backup at the position behind starters Shaun Wade, Sevyn Banks and Marcus Williamson. Brown saw playing time both in the outside cornerback rotation and as a slot cornerback in nickel packages against Nebraska and Penn State, positioning himself as the top player off the bench in both spots.
Now, however, Ohio State is just one injury or positive COVID-19 test away from potentially having to thrust a really inexperienced player into a starting role in the secondary.
The obvious candidate to step up and start seeing some significant playing time at cornerback is Tyreke Johnson, a five-star recruit in the class of 2018 who, like Banks and Brown, is now in his third year at Ohio State. Sure enough, Day named Johnson first when asked Tuesday who the Buckeyes are counting on to step up at cornerback in Brown’s absence.
“He’s been here for a while, and he has experience. He knows the defense. He’s got a good feel for where he needs to be on the field,” Day said. “I think now that we don’t have Cam, he’s gonna have to really step up.”
That said, Johnson has yet to see significant playing time in his Ohio State career and didn’t play a single snap against Penn State, leaving it very much uncertain whether he’ll actually be up to the task if the Buckeyes need to rely on him to play a major role.
It would help them greatly if Johnson finally starts to live up to the five-star hype, though, considering that the rest of their scholarship cornerback roster currently consists of freshmen.
Day named freshman Ryan Watts, who hasn’t yet seen playing time, as another cornerback who “has to step up.” Cameron Martinez is another true freshman who could be thrust into action, and Day said the Buckeyes are hoping to get Lejond Cavazos back soon after he’s been unavailable for the first two games.
“In the secondary room right now, it’s all hands on deck. Everybody has to understand that their role may change slightly this week’s game. It may change for the next five weeks. You had better be prepared to play more than one position in the backend, because there are going to be moving parts as we go through a season like this.”
Last edited:
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
4th qtr
PSU- 12 pts
RU- 18 pts
There in lies the problem (i.e. conditioning (and I don't think it is conditioning), let down, and/or 2nd/3rd stringers). Wipe out those 2 quarters and you have: 39 points in 10 quarters = 3.9 points per quarter. Which ain't too bad.
Last edited:
Upvote
0
I do math like this all the time to try and convince the old lady that 6 inches is more than 6 inches.
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Not all defensive lines are created equally. Over the last several seasons, Ohio State’s defensive line has been more or less the same: dominant. The Buckeyes consistently ranked near the top in sacks and tackles for a loss, largely considered the go-to statistics when measuring a defensive line's success.
There is a perception that so far in 2020, that is not the case. That the Scarlet and Gray defensive line is not playing as well as it has in past years.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, however, disagrees. While he knows there remains room for the Buckeyes’ defensive front to improve, he likes what he’s seen so far.
“On defense, I thought we moved the line of scrimmage pretty good up front,” Day said last week. “It was really good but there were also a bunch of things that we can teach off of that we can get better from.”
The major concern among OSU fans when it comes to the Scarlet and Gray’s defensive line came from the 49-27 win against Rutgers. While arguments can be made that Ohio State took its foot off the gas in the second half, scoring only 14 points, and the defense rotated in backups after going up 35-3, the Buckeyes still managed only one sack and five tackles for a loss for the game.
Looking at those numbers further, the one sack came from linebacker Tuf Borland and three of the five tackles for a loss also came from his linebacker teammates. However, Borland liked what he saw from the defensive line in front of him.
“Good defensive line play all comes down to being disruptive, and that’s what those guys are,” the fifth-year senior said. “Regardless of what the sacks say or what the individual statistics say, those guys come ready to go every week and they really did play well. So that was really good to see.”
Through three games this year, the Scarlet and Gray have nine sacks. That three sack per game average may not seem high, and ranks 22nd in the country, but is actually better than three of the last five Ohio State defenses for the year. And those Buckeye teams had non-conference games to help boost the numbers, something the 2020 team did not have due to the delayed start to the season.
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
The last two games have been a mixed bag for the Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes played lights out in the first halves of its last two wins over Penn State and Rutgers, only to let up in the second half of both games.
Here were the cold hard facts:
* On Oct. 31, Ohio State went to Penn State and took a 38-25 win. The Buckeyes led 21-6 at halftime. In the first half, Penn State had 75 yards total offense (46 rushing, 29 passing) and two field goals (one of which was a gift of the officials on the last play of the half). In the second half, Penn State netted 250 yards (minus-2 rushing, 252 passing) and scored three touchdowns (on three 75-yard drives).
* On Nov. 7, Ohio State hosted Rutgers and cruised to a 49-27 victory. OSU held a commanding 35-3 lead at the half before being outscored 24-14 in the second half. Rutgers had 83 yards (29 rushing, 54 passing) and one field goal in the first half. In the second half, the Scarlet Knights rolled up 290 yards total offense (112 rushing, 178 passing). Rutgers scored four second-half touchdowns. One of those was on a lateral on a punt return, while RU’s offense had touchdown drives of 91, 65 and 64 yards.
Now with the Big Ten East showdown with No. 9 Indiana coming up on Saturday (noon, FOX), Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison was asked this week about what has happened to the Buckeyes in the second half of these two most recent games. Some of the issues had to do with liberal substitutions in both games, but Mattison had more ideas.
“Tackling, tackling was everything,” Mattison said. “We have always on our goal board don’t allow the team to score in the fourth quarter. If you do that, you are usually going to win every game. But more importantly, it sets the bar for the younger players going into the game. When you’re a younger player going into a game for a mop-up role, you’ve got to play at a level higher than you’ve played at just to be able to be a Buckeye and be in this defense.
“We have to get better at that. That’s something we have talked about and worked on hard.”
OSU’s list of players who graded as champions from the Rutgers game did not include several key veteran players, including DE Zach Harrison, DT Haskell Garrett and OLBs Baron Browning and Pete Werner. Mattison talked about the conversations that have been had since that game.
“The thing that makes the Silver Bullets something special is there is a bar and a level that you have to play at,” Mattison said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against or what you’re doing. They know it, the ‘backers know it. It’s not how many tackles did you make or how many this or how many that. It’s did you play up to the level that is expected of you at that position?
“They happen to be very talented young men. That bar for them is a lot higher than a lot of other people. I’m proud of our staff because we are very honest with our players and they appreciate that and understand that. If you didn’t make champion, there is a reason why. Let’s get that corrected and move on to the next game. That’s what we’ve done with our players.”
Upvote
0
bukIpower
Head Coach
With all due respect to our defensive staff... what I think this is telling us is we are taking too long to adjust.
Game 1- Nebraska tons of success first 2 quarters but we adjusted. Played well for half the game.
Game 2- PSU shut them complete down for a half and then they adjusted in the 2nd half which we never adjusted to.
Game 3- Rutgers- curb stomped them for a half and then could not stop them at all 2nd half.
I chalk up Nebraska to being the first game. However to me if the other two games are saying anything to us it's our defensive staff when given time to come up with a game plan they're crushing it. They really are we are starting games very very strong.
Then the other team in weeks 2 and 3 figured things out at the half and we didnt adjust at all through quarters 3 and 4. The defensive staff I hope is starting to think of "what are they going to do to counter?" Because it seems we continue as is and just never adjust.
Tomorrow I really hope we see under 24 points. In today's college ball that's a big time win.
Upvote
0