While OSU offense hums, defense raises questions
For Ohio State’s offense, the Buckeyes’ 59-31 victory over Purdue was a clear return to form.
For Ohio State’s defense, however, it was a step backward. Whether that was due to the specific circumstances of last weekend’s game or a genuine red flag is the big question.
Let’s start with the offense. The No. 4 Buckeyes scored more than 50 points in four straight games starting in late September against inferior competition – Akron, Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana. That was followed by inconsistent performances against Penn State and Nebraska in which the Buckeyes totaled 59 points.
Purdue figured to be another test. The Boilermakers hadn’t allowed more than 30 points against a schedule that has included Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State.
But this was a mismatch. Ohio State scored 42 points in the first 23 minutes Nov. 13, reaching the end zone on its first six drives.
The return of Garrett Wilson, who missed the Nebraska game, certainly helped. The junior wide receiver scored four times, displaying his speed, elusiveness and remarkable body control. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 139 yards and a score. Chris Olave also had nine receptions and would have had two touchdown catches if one hadn’t been negated by a holding penalty.
Running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams combined for 215 yards on 27 carries, a needed boost for a run game that had become stagnant. Most of Henderson’s 98 yards came on a 57-yard touchdown run, but Ohio State coach Ryan Day seemed happier with the way he chugged for tough yards in the red zone.
Ohio State scored touchdowns on four of six trips in the red zone, and one of the “failures” came at the end of the game when the Buckeyes took a knee. OSU was 2 of 9 in scoring touchdowns in the red zone the previous weeks.
“I think it’s going to build a lot of confidence,” Day said. “I don’t think our guys are lacking confidence. I just think after the last two weeks, we were a little on edge this week to be quite honest with you. We wanted to score in the red zone and get our nose dirty a little bit. I think we did that.”
Orchestrating it all was quarterback C.J. Stroud. Coming off an up-and-down performance against Nebraska, Stroud was sharp all game against Purdue, aided by superb protection from the offensive line.
Day said he could tell that Stroud was locked in during the past week’s practices. That was confirmed when the redshirt freshman came to the sideline after early possessions against Purdue and accurately diagnosed the Boilermakers’ strategy.
Which leads us to the other side of the ball …
Ohio State’s defense had shown steady improvement since secondary coach Matt Barnes took over play-calling duties after the Oregon loss. Against Penn State and Nebraska, the defense made critical stops when the offense sputtered.
Against Purdue, the defense was a liability. Aidan O’Connell completed 40 of 52 passes for 390 yards and four touchdowns. An Ohio State defense that had 19 sacks in its previous four games didn’t have any and seldom harassed O’Connell. Purdue didn’t run often, but it was surprisingly successful when it did, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
It also should be noted that after the Buckeyes took a 28point lead early, the focus became to prevent big plays.
“They’re a really good team, a really good offense,” linebacker Cody Simon said. “The quarterback is really talented. For us, it was keeping the ball in front and just trying to play another down.”
The Buckeyes didn’t yield a play longer than 29 yards and did a respectable job on wide receiver David Bell, an AllAmerican candidate. Bell caught 11 passes for 103 yards without a touchdown in 17 targets.
As for the lack of a pass rush, Day said that was largely a function of Ohio State often dropping eight men in pass coverage.
“With a three-man rush, you’re not always going to get as many (sacks or pressures),” he said. “So that’s the decision that’s made, and I think we’ll learn from it and figure out if that was sufficient or not.”
But overall, the Buckeyes didn’t cut themselves much slack on defense.
“There’s a lot of room for improvement,” safety Ronnie Hickman said.