Yes, as Coombs said, Ohio State brought “very good pressure” against Indiana. But that wasn’t enough to avoid Penix lighting the defense up. So would it be enough going forward when, if the team reaches the College Football Playoff as it hopes, the Buckeyes do battle with some of the nation’s best quarterbacks with even more talented supporting casts and stronger offensive lines?
“We’d like for those things to finish in more sacks,” Coombs said. “Obviously, I thought their quarterback did a really nice job in standing in there and getting rid of the ball just before sacks. Under a lot of pressure, and he was an accurate thrower in those situations, but I think we’ve got a lot of guys that can rush the passer and I do think they’re putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback.”
Most of the time this year – and in years past – Ohio State has relied on a four-down front to rush the passer, and it’s created some disruption with it from a few different areas.
Penetration from starting defensive tackles Haskell Garrett and Tommy Togiai has played a big role in the Buckeyes’ pass rush. Every coach and player on the roster has lauded the duo for what they’ve brought to the table both as run-pluggers on a defense that’s been stout against ground games and in the pass game. Togiai, touted as the strongest player on the team, has a knack for getting movement up the middle, which he pairs with relentless effort. Garrett does much of the same.
Their combined sack total of four doesn’t do the amount of pressure they have generated justice. Yet it’s also indicative of the defensive front as a whole. Pressures haven’t been a problem at all, but sacks haven’t been overly plentiful. The Buckeyes are averaging 2.75 sacks per game, which is the team’s lowest mark since 2016.
“We have to figure out how to get home faster,” Cooper said. “I feel like we were winning and getting our pressures, but what we try to be really critical of is how can we be a second faster, a step faster, just a little bit, 0.1 second or a step faster so that we can get that ball out and get a sack or get a sack-fumble and make plays for our team. So we just still have to look at the film critically and figure out what we can do better.”
