After finishing ninth in the nation in total defense last season, the Cincinnati Bearcats appeared to have a lot of momentum heading into 2014.
Veteran head coach Tommy Tuberville only had to replace four defensive starters on one of the most successful units in school history. The 2013 Bearcats were a dominant run-stopping force, finishing sixth in nation in rushing defense, and were led by senior linebackers Greg Blair and Nick Temple.
When considering their opponents thus far, Toledo and Miami (OH), many would assume that the Bearcats would pick up right where they left off. But the numbers thus far show that their presence has been very difficult to replace, as the Bearcats have slid a full 100 places in the total defense rankings, currently sitting 109th nationally.
Tuberville's defense is an aggressive, physical squad that doesn't do anything too different in terms of scheme. Using a four-man "Over" front, the Bearcats love to show some sort of blitz from their linebackers and nickelback, although they rarely actually bring the additional pressure outside of passing situations.
The Bearcats have done a great job of getting to the QB already in 2014, already registering 11 sacks in only two games. The most dangerous players on their own are defensive end #92 Silverberry Mouhon, who tallied 9.5 sacks last fall, and defensive tackle #93 Brad Harrah, who has 2.5 QB takedowns already this season.
But much of the pressure comes from blitzes that, although not as varied as the zone blitzes that we saw from Virginia Tech, still find ways to bring more defenders than there are blockers to account for them. The 11 sacks are spread between nine different players, showing the variance in ways they can get to the quarterback.
Although the U.C. front seven has found success against the pass, they've struggled against the run so far, giving up an average of 171 yards-per-game, on 4.12 yards-per-carry. Considering half of that sample comes against Miami, which is one of the worst rushing teams in the country, Bearcat fans should have reason for concern.
Former Buckeye target and Florida State transfer, Jeff Luc (#1), is the clear leader of the defense and has done his best to replace the production of Blair and Temple. Luc already has 30 tackles in only 2 games, and certainly looks the part of a physical middle linebacker at 250 lbs.
Luc is a very strong player moving forward and won't hesitate to make contact, but struggles in space and doesn't move particularly well laterally or in pass coverage. He is really a microcosm for the entire Cincinnati defense up front, as they all have the size and strength you might expect from a power conference team, but lack athleticism when compared to the counterparts on the Buckeyes.
Though Toledo trailed for much of their game against the Bearcats, they were able to run the ball with consistent success all game long, especially with plays that made the linebackers move laterally like sweeps and outside zone "stretch" plays. Much like we saw in week one against Navy, I expect the Buckeyes to use quite a bit of jet motion, with a number of options for Barrett off of it to stress and attack the Cinci defense both inside and out.
The Bearcat secondary showed quite a bit of Cover 4 in both games, with both safeties starting deep and looking to help in run support. But in an effort to help handle runs on the outside, the Bearcats showed a bit more "Cover 6" against Miami, which allows one of the cornerbacks to roll up near the line and turn these runs back toward their big linebackers.
Cover 6 may look familiar to many OSU fans, as it was the primary coverage the past few seasons, often asking Bradley Roby to be the corner to line up short and help against the run.
For those unaware of the scheme, it effectively splits the defense in half, with one side playing Cover 2 to be more proficient against short passes and runs, while the opposite plays Cover 4 and protects against a downfield pass with two deep defenders.
In addition to the Cover 6, the Bearcats will mix in Cover 1 (Man Coverage) and Cover 3 (Zone Coverage) schemes with one deep safety over the middle instead of two, in an effort to disrupt and confuse opposing passing games.
But there is a clear weak spot against these looks, as the inside receiver must be accounted for underneath by the linebackers or nickelback. Far too often though, those Bearcat defenders will get caught looking in the backfield and have let that receiver roam free, finding a soft spot in the zone.
Though it took three weeks, it appears that J.T. Barrett has finally found his tight ends, as Nick Vannett caught 4 passes and Marcus Baugh added a touchdown catch in Ohio State's victory over Kent State. With senior tight end Jeff Heuerman potentially returning from a foot injury for this matchup, the Buckeye passing game should hopefully be capable of exploiting such gaps in the UC coverage.
OSU "H" receivers Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall are still a work in progress when it comes to running routes, but will likely often be put in motion either as a decoy or given the ball to run the jet sweeps that give the Bearcats so much trouble. This leaves the tight ends as the likely targets underneath, and a healthy Heuerman could cause a lot of trouble for the UC linebackers with his speed.
But the trouble for the Bearcats pass defense doesn't end there, as they have had basic communication issues that led to breakdowns in coverage, resulting in some big plays.
In this example against Miami, the Bearcats have three defenders to cover only two receivers.
The Redhawks run the "Sail" concept, with the outside receiver running a "go" pattern straight down the field while the inside receiver runs a deep out. Although the inside receiver is well covered, the cornerback on the outside hesitates, appearing to wonder if he should now take the out route.
The safety doesn't compensate for this hesitation, leaving the outside receiver wide open down the sideline, which led to an easy 35 yard gain.
Though the Bearcats secondary is full of capable athletes, there is quite a bit of youth back there, as only one senior, cornerback Adrian Witty (#8), starts alongside three sophomores. Junior Leviticus Payne (#9) is the Nickelback, but his role is very similar to that of OSU SAM linebacker Darron Lee, playing a hybrid role that is rarely included in any downfield coverage.
Unless Tuberville's staff conducted the best week of practice in history, the Buckeyes should be able to get a number of receivers open downfield, and another long Devin Smith touchdown catch could very well be in the cards on Saturday night. Both Miami and Toledo were given a number of chances to expose the UC defense, and were unable to simply due to poor execution.
The Buckeyes have all the pieces necessary to succeed against the Bearcat defense, but it will all start up front. The OSU offensive line struggled against the athleticism of Virginia Tech's front seven, and were unable to keep Barrett on his feet. But the Bearcats offer a different, and more winnable test for Ohio State.
If the OSU line is able to establish the run early on, both inside and out, the big, physical Bearcat front seven should wear out quickly and prove less effective in passing situations. The U.C. defense will likely have to bring additional blitzers to get to Barrett, much like Virginia Tech did, but the biggest difference here is what is happening behind that pressure.
The Bearcats don't appear capable of locking down the OSU receivers in the same manner as Virginia Tech, which should leave countless holes underneath for the Buckeyes to exploit. Barrett showed a willingness to look for these short routes in the win against Kent State, not only with the tight ends, but with receivers Mike Thomas and Corey Smith running crossing routes, and running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Curtis Samuel on swing passes to the flats.
From a physical standpoint, the Bearcats will be a good litmus test for this young OSU offense still looking for its identity after losing Braxton Miller. But the Buckeyes have too many weapons that should be able to expose the holes in the UC defense without having to re-write the playbook.
While many Buckeye fans have been worried about the firepower of the Cincinnati offense (a topic for later this week), the Buckeyes should be able to light up the scoreboard on their own this Saturday night.
