Tyvis Powell's eyes lit up and a huge smile came across his face when he was asked Wednesday if Ohio State's secondary welcomed the challenge of facing a Cincinnati team next Saturday that could very well throw the ball 50 times against the Buckeyes.
“Y'all are interviewing a defensive back here," Powell said laughing. "This is what we live for. This is great. It’s like a huge game of 7-on-7 but with a pass rush.”
But while Powell seems confident, he knows Ohio State must be ready.
The Bearcats, who only played their very first game of the season last Friday, tallied 584 yards of total offense while quarterback Gunner Kiel threw for 418 yards and six touchdowns in a 58-34 win against Toledo.
While the Rockets are not the Buckeyes, those numbers are certainly eye-popping, especially considering Ohio State ranked 11th in the Big Ten a year ago in passing yards allowed per game with 268.
“I’m not shying away from it, I’m actually kind of excited about it," Powell said. "Like I said, I’m ready to prove, show the world that the pass defense has improved. The coaching staff has worked very hard in the offseason to try and improve the pass defense and I’ve seen it in practice how far we’ve come from last year. I just wanna go out there and show the world that we actually improved it.”
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday on the weekly Big Ten coaches teleconference that one of the Buckeyes' two main concerns is the pass defense. On Wednesday, he echoed that by praising the Cincinnati aerial attack.
“We jumped right into to UC," Meyer said. "Pass defense is gonna be the call to arms, they’re really good. And they got a really good quarterback.”
For Ohio State to be successful against the Bearcats, it's going to need more than just Powell to play well, though. The Buckeyes will strong contributions from the other members of their secondary: Doran Grant, Eli Apple and Vonn Bell. Cam Burrows and Armani Reeves will also likely see action against Cincinnati's high-powered offense and it will take the entire unit to try and slow it down.
“Everybody in the secondary has the ability to have some game-changing plays like that," Powell said. "I see it, I’ve come out here and watched them do it in practice and if you can do it in practice I feel like you can do it in a game. It all starts with practice, so all it does to me, when I see that happen is I just see it translate to the game.”
While it seems the Buckeyes will be prepared for what Cincinnati brings to the table, there will be a little added motivation for the Bearcats. They will be trying to become the first team from Ohio to beat Ohio State since 1921.
Just like he knows what to expect scheme-wise from Cincinnati, Powell also realizes the Buckeyes will get the Bearcats' best shot when they come to Ohio Stadium.
“Everybody wants to come up here and prove they can be Ohio State," he said. "I feel like Ohio teams feel like they wanna beat Ohio State because they feel like Ohio State are just the big dogs of the state. Everybody’s gonna come play their best game against us and we’re not gonna shy away from that because we’re gonna come play our best game as well. If they wanna throw the ball, we’re gonna play our good defense, cover them and lock them up all game.”
