In Ohio State’s 52-24 whipping of Maryland Saturday, a defense that’s long been the team’s achilles heel looked like the new and improved unit they talked of during the offseason.
To be sure, the Buckeyes were not flawless against the Terrapins, but they were unequivocally dominant.
“I think we show flashes of it and you saw how we can be when we first came out here, we hit little bumps throughout the game,” sophomore defensive end Joey Bosa said.
“But if we’re at our best, we’re a top team in the country.”
It's a bold statement, but the Buckeyes had reason to feel especially confident after limiting Maryland to 310 total yards — most of which came in the second half, when the game billed as one the biggest in Terrapins school history was far from competitive.
Perhaps what stands out the most about Ohio State's defensive display, though, is how it forced four interceptions and how it bullied quarterbacks C.J. Brown and Caleb Rowe all afternoon.
In fact, the Buckeyes scored a whopping 42 points off turnovers thanks to the way it stonewalled the Terrapins at the line of scrimmage and smothered any chance of sparking the outside game to life.
Stefon Diggs, the talented junior wide receiver who was supposed to pose a challenge to the long-maligned pass defense, had seven catches, but only totaled 52 yards and an insignificant touchdown late in the contest.
Save for a big passing play that came in the third quarter, Maryland’s offense was manhandled by a defense that became everyone’s favorite punching bag last season. Uneven outings against Cincinnati two weekends ago and Virginia Tech last month left doubt over whether the group — which head coach Urban Meyer said underwent a comprehensive overhaul after unraveling in 2013 —had actually improved.
It's why, before Saturday, when co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell is trotted out to talk to reporters, it’s like livestock heading to slaughter. Such was not the case this weekend.
For the first time in what feels like forever, Fickell wasn't be besieged with questions over the pass defense, breakdowns, or episodes of miscommunication.
"There’s some things we can build on, and some things that we can get corrected," Fickell said, "but the reality is if you can get turnovers and you can be aggressive and you can do those things and you can challenge everything, you have the makings of a really good defense."
Ohio State was all of the above against Maryland. Yet whether or not it can perform like that on a consistent basis remains to be seen. The Buckeyes will play better teams than the Terrapins, and it's worth remembering the way they collapsed against some of its best opponents last year.
“You’re never satisfied, and that’s what hard. It’s a tough way to live your life sometimes. But the reality is but that’s what you’re in it (for). When you’re in it and in you’re in this deep, you aren’t satisfied," Fickell said.
"There’s things to build on. We gotta make sure that, yes, we are never satisfied and, yes, we have a championship desire. But we’ve got to be able to celebrate things and have some fun along the way."
