At the very most, we’ll only get to see Michael Bennett play two more games for the Ohio State Buckeyes, which is a sad thing to think about. Since he arrived on campus, Bennett has been a great kid, a funny guy to follow on Twitter, and, above all, an effective player on the defensive line.
And as good as he’s been, it looks like he’s been saving his best for last.
Bennett has been playing a bit outside his wheelhouse much of this season, seeing a lot more action as a sort of de facto nose tackle. That’s limited his number of explosive and disruptive plays, because he’s seen a whole lot of double teams. But the last few games, he’s started to feel the end of his days as a Buckeye and is making the most of them.
Against Wisconsin, Bennett was quick and powerful, helping blow up Melvin Gordon and the Wisconsin running game.
The line, as a unit, and the defense overall played its best game of the season by far on Saturday. Bennett was one of the main reasons why. Wearing the No. 53 jersey instead of his usual No. 63, in honor of fallen teammate Kosta Karageorge, Bennett played inspired and focused football. He brought intensity to the game, visible between plays as he shouted instructions to his teammates, which rubbed off on the other players.
He finished with five tackles on the night, but he made his presence known all game long, clogging up running lanes, eating up blockers that would otherwise take out Buckeye linebackers, pressuring Joel Stave, and just generally being a nuisance. Four of his five stops were behind the line of scrimmage. He entered the game with 8.5 tackles for loss on the season and then took out Ohio State’s rough week on the Badgers.
During the regular season Bennett accounted for four sacks and forced one fumble. On Saturday night he sacked Stave twice and forced two fumbles, one of which resulted in Joey Bosa’s touchdown return near the end of the first half.
With the senior Bennett showing the way, the entire defense played as one for perhaps the first time in three seasons. Everyone seemed to elevate their game.
“When everybody steps up the way that they did and responds to adverse situations this week, I mean, this is a tough team and now it’s a fundamentally sound team,” Bennett said. “And it’s a team with passion and a vision.”
With an effort like Saturday’s, Ohio State’s defense could shut down any running game in the country. But next up is Alabama and Heisman Trophy candidate wideout Amari Cooper. Crimson Tide quarterback Blake Sims is a lot more mobile than Stave.
In short, the Buckeyes will need to do even more than they did Saturday night. With Bennett leading the charge, that could happen.
