Previously: Ohio State offense
Now that I've let the OSU offense piece simmer for a couple days, and everyone has digested the horror of it (and their Thanksgiving meals), we can move into the slightly more optimistic phase of the opposition, the Buckeye defense. Ohio State's defense began the season reeling, surrendering 500 yards and 35 points to Oregon, as well as an additional 500 yards to Tulsa the week after. At that point the Buckeyes made some key schematic changes to their defense and also promoted Matt Barnes (neither the Red Sox pitcher nor the basketball player) to take over playcalling duties for the much maligned Kerry Coombs. The result was substantial improvement, allowing 7, 13, 17, and 7 points over the following four weeks, though quality of competition is an important qualifier- they faced Akron, Rutgers, Maryland, and Indiana in that stretch.
The last four weeks have included some good and some bad. OSU allowed nearly 400 yards to a struggling Penn S