Ohio State's offense was dynamite to close the 2014 campaign, but its defense was another revelation entirely.
Many Ohio State fans attribute this to the importation of co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash and a focus on rugby-style tackling.
This is not so, according to former Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. Pittsburgh's frontman went on The Griff and Grinz Show, an East Lansing radio show, with claims Ohio State lifted its defensive scheme from right up under him.
Via MLive.com:
“Ohio State’s facing the same problem (against offenses), because they stole our defense, too,” Narduzzi told The Griff & Grinz Show in Lansing. “There’s a lot of teams throughout the country. You go watch them, they’re exactly us, whether they admit it or not.
“They’re exactly us, and they weren’t before. They won a national championship with the defense.”
[...]
“It’s the same disease,” Narduzzi said. “It’s the same stuff you’re looking at. It’s run-pass conflicts, but whether it’s Purdue or Baylor, that’s what people want to try to do to you, so you’ve got things you’re going to change. Ultimately, in the end, what your philosophy is is to stop the run.”
Football is a copycat sport, so it's not as if Narduzzi's claims can be discredited at the offset. Whether it ultimately matters, well, that's for the reader to decide.
