GOOGLE US
Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
If you had asked most people what they'd like to see from the extremely young and green Ohio State secondary this season, you'd most likely get responses like "to not completely screw things up" or "it'd be cool if they maybe could snag an interception or two."
Mission accomplished, and then some.
As it turns out, the secondary has become possibly the best unit on the entire team, and while holding former Heisman contender Baker Mayfield to an anemic 226 yards on 17 of 32 passing is quite the accomplishment, the two times that they were able to intercept Mayfield was simply business as usual.
Actually, maybe it's a little unusual. In the 13 games of last season, Ohio State was able to rack up 12 interceptions – a middling effort nationally – and three of those went back for touchdowns.
8 INTs now for OSU this season, 4 returned for scores, which ties the school record for most INTs returned for a TD in a season. ('97 & '86)
— Adam Widman (@AdamWidman) September 18, 2016
This tweet came right after Jerome Baker's interception that he took to the house, and before Lattimore's third interception of the season and the ninth for Ohio State on the year after only three games.
They now rank among the very best nationally in taking the ball away, and there's no reason to think that it won't continue (especially with a week off to allow some banged-up players to get some much needed rest). This is all after losing Eli Apple, Vonn Bell, and Tyvis Powell, three excellent players making their mark at the next level.
It's an incredible amount of progress for a part of the team that was expected to be challenged by a series of gunslingers in the beginning of the season, and the Ohio State defensive backs have more than shown their mettle.
