2026 tOSU "Defense" Discussion

[buckeyemania11]

Day seems to really like Fahey. To quote: what a opportunity for him. There is probably some things with Fahey that will pleasantly surprise people. Of course, I am probably reading into things.

I'm not expecting him to light the world up but I think things will look a lot better with 2 weeks of prep and a properly tailored game plan. Coming in cold off the bench suddenly late in a road game against a top 5 team is a tough task for any QB.

 

[osuvictory1]

I'm not expecting him to light the world up but I think things will look a lot better with 2 weeks of prep and a properly tailored game plan. Coming in cold off the bench suddenly late in a road game against a top 5 team is a tough task for any QB.

Day said that the game was a little fast for him at that point, and with a few drives it would probably slow down. From Day that is a big vote of confidence.

He just needs to keep the offense on schedule.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Zone isn't meant to stand on its own. The pass rush element needs to show up to make the zone work the way it should, either by bringing an extra body (which happened against Indiana) or by the front 3 or 4 getting pressure on their own.

The zone itself is (mostly) fine but no zone ever conceived will stand up when the QB has 5 or 6 or 7 seconds to see the field.

that's not to say there isn't room for improvement though.

100% I, probably too much, yell every week about the huge hole in the zone in front of our safeties. Our Man Defense is elite, the Zone needs work. We got time still to work on it.

 

[brodybuck21]

 

[Onebuckfan]

Day said that the game was a little fast for him at that point, and with a few drives it would probably slow down. From Day that is a big vote of confidence.

He just needs to keep the offense on schedule.

Day can’t say negative things to the press or team. To his wife “We’re doomed”.

 

[osuvictory1]

Day can’t say negative things to the press or team. To his wife “We’re doomed”.

Nah... they have to work with what they have. I think he was being sincere.

 

[RugbyBuck]

I like how this defense is coming around. Calhoun should not be covering anyone deep and maybe Kelly should get some minutes instead and Beau has just been a non-factor since coming onboard. Other than that, they're playing pretty well and should only get better as they get time and Patricia tunes what he's got.

 

[scarletngray]

We really need Timmons healthy for USC and Oregon. He, Little and McClain are doing a great job in their respective roles.

 

[brodybuck21]

 

[ScriptOhio]

3 stats that show Ohio State's defense can carry the team to a national title​

1. Defensive pass efficiency​

Only one program in the country is better defensively when it comes to pass efficiency, and that's North Dakota State. Ohio State allows just a 97.26 pass efficiency. The secondary has been a lockdown unit for most of the year, even with a few penalties from Devin Sanchez.

Jay Timmons has shown that he is an absolute stud. He might already be the best player on the defense. Every time he is on the field, he makes great tackles and forces turnovers. Other teams have really struggled to move the ball through the air against the Buckeyes this season.

2. Total defensive yards allowed​

It's hard to score points when you can't move the ball. That's what Ohio State has done well this year: keeping opponents from moving the ball. They sit eighth in the country in yards allowed per game, only giving up 264.3 total yards. The pass defense has a lot to do with that, of course.

However, Ohio State has done a much better job of stopping the run since that horrible effort against Illinois. In that game, they allowed 199 yards on the ground. Since then, they have allowed just 194 yards combined. Matt Patricia has found a way to keep backs from gouging them up the middle.

Keeping teams one-dimensional has helped Ohio State win two tough battles on the road. That was especially true once Sayin went down against Indiana. The Hoosiers weren't able to move the ball consistently enough to get into the end zone, which cost them the game.

3. Scoring defense​

Of course, the name of the game is to score points. Ohio State has done a good job of keeping teams out of the end zone. They allow just 13.43 points per game, which is tied for the fifth-best in the country. In fact, no team has scored more than 24 points against them, and that was Texas in Week 2.

Without a proven quarterback, Ohio State's defense will likely have to hover around that average to win games. They likely will not be an explosive offense, so points will be at a premium. Allowing any more than 14 points per game could be cause for concern.

These stats should give fans of the Ohio State football team hope that all is not lost. A national title is still within reach, even if it will be a little harder to reach that goal than it was this time last week.

 

[scarletngray]

Plus the defense is only getting better each and every week. Hoping to see them start to peek against the Cheaters.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Considering our schedule we make the playoffs, there won't be a more tested and ready team. By the the QB will be a known commodity.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

This has been such a weird year. The defense is better than the numbers show right now in my opinion. Some of that is because they are improving. Honestly, after watching the Illinois game (a long time ago for you guys but I've only jumped back in days ago), I honestly did not understand how that same defense performed the way they did against Indiana. That kind of improvement doesn't usually happen in the space of a few games.

Then there are the scores and short fields given by the offense. The improvement by the defense is difficult to quantify in a meaningful way, but some of the offensive miscues are easy.

For example:

Take the average points that Ohio State's opponents have scored on all other FBS competition this year (994 points) and divide that by the number of games that they've played collectively (39) and you get 25.487 ppg. Now take the Silver Bullets' 13.429 ppg (scoring defense) and divide it by that number and you get 0.527. In other words, the Buckeyes are allowing 52.7% as many points as their opponents usually give up. Some of you might remember that, for lack of a better term, I call this Differential Scoring Defense (DSD).

I have calculated a lot of DSD for a lot of teams over the years, and I can tell you that is very, very good. It's not what I would call elite, but it is good enough to be among the top 5 defenses in any year of this century.

For those of you who are wondering, the 2025 defense had a DSD of 34.4%. That is literally the second best number I have ever seen. The only team better was 2011 Alabama, who had an absolutely ridiculous DSD of 25.6%. The 2025 were better than any other defense of this century.

The numbers say the same thing that your eyes will tell you about the 2026 edition... they're not as good.

Bear in mind however, that there has been some weirdness this year; which brings us all the way back to the point. Those offensive miscues (with help from the zebras) have had a dramatic effect. Take away the pick 6 against Maryland, and the Buckeyes DSD goes below 50% (49.3% to be precise). Take away the interception by Indiana that gave them the ball at the 7 (which only happened because of an uncalled mugging of Jeremiah Smith) and the DSD drops to 45.4%, which is truly elite (top 15 this century or thereabouts).

With the trajectory this defense is on, this team's ceiling is not capped by the defense. As far as that side of the ball is concerned, the sky is the limit.

 

[scarletngray]

Shout out to Will Smith Jr for stepping up against Indy in our last game. Hoping for more of the same against the Trojans this Saturday.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

... The improvement by the defense is difficult to quantify in a meaningful way...

Yeah... I said that. Then I actually thought about it. I think it can be quantified... it is explaining it that is difficult to put your finger on, because it's more than one thing. In one sense, Coach Patricia is not wrong... the players have been far more gap-sound since the Illinois game. But there is definitely more than that. Guys that got pushed around against Illinois stood up to an inarguably better OL in Bloomington. That's not just being gap-sound. Something about the attitude has changed. I can't tell you what... I can't tell you how much... but I can quantify how much it's changed, with the caveat that when you split the stats like this you end up small sample sizes.

If you split the 2026 season into Before 10/1 and After 10/1, then the Buckeye rushing defense (the bit that has really changed) looks like this:


So Ohio State gave up 75.71% as many rushing yards in September as their opponents rushed for against everyone else in August/September.
The same team gave up less than 40% as many rushing yards in October as their opponents gained against everyone else in October.

That's a huge difference, and no, it wasn't just the bewilderingly bad performance against the Illini.

Don't get me wrong. DRD of 39.92% won't have us mistaking these Silver Bullets for the 2005 Buckeyes. No one is suggesting that. But this Buckeye defense is heading in the right direction and is absolutely good enough for this team to achieve any goal they might have. This team's ceiling is defined elsewhere.