DALLAS — A year after Ohio State finished 11th in the Big Ten in pass defense — allowing an eye-opening 268 yards per game through the air — Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer realized it was time for an overhaul.
Meyer elected to hire Chris Ash from Arkansas to be Ohio State’s new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Ash installed a new press coverage scheme that allowed the Buckeyes to be more aggressive in their pass defense.
The results have been glaring.
This year, despite losing a first-round NFL Draft pick at cornerback in Bradley Roby, Ohio State is up to fourth in the Big Ten — and 16th nationally — in pass defense, allowing just 191.6 yards per game.
It’s one of the main reasons why the Buckeyes will take on No. 2 Oregon tonight in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
“We’ve improved a lot. We’ve made a lot of strides and we’ve worked so hard in practice,” Ohio State redshirt freshman cornerback Eli Apple said. “We just focused so hard on the little things, that’s the main thing about us, and you can see it in our play.”
The new defensive scheme — and the results it has brought — has allowed Ohio State’s secondary to give itself a new nickname, too. The Buckeyes’ back four of Apple, Doran Grant, Tyvis Powell and Vonn Bell have dubbed themselves as the “Buckeye Bad Boys.”
But what does that mean, exactly?
“Just playing with the confidence, swagger that you should have in the secondary,” Grant said.
“We’re bad boys on the field, you know?” Bell added. “We’ve got swagger, we’ve got juice, we’ve got to play with a chip on our shoulder. We’ve been challenged all year and we’ve stepped up to the occasion.”
The newfound swagger and confidence Ohio State's secondary plays with this year can be traced back to spring ball, Apple said. Ash wanted the Buckeyes to play with more of an edge.
"Coach Ash kind of gave it to us and it’s something that we took it and ran with," Powell said. "We just have that swag, you know? Bullies on the field or something like that.”
They've somewhat imposed their will on opponents, too. Ohio State's starters in the secondary have hauled in 17 interceptions, led by Bell's six and Grant's five.
The Buckeyes' back four will need to step up again Monday night against the second-ranked Ducks. Oregon’s offense, led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota, is one of the most high-powered offenses in all of college football.
The Ducks’ offense ranks second nationally in points per game (47.2) and third in total offense (552.9 yards per game). All while turning the ball over just 10 times, which is the fewest number in all of college football.
“They try to get you to look in the backfield and watch the quarterback, watch things that you’re probably not supposed to be watching,” Apple said. “Our thing is, we want to focus on our keys no matter how fast the tempo is going, no matter how tired we get so the main thing is to stay focused.”
But if they're able to turn Mariota and the Ducks over — he's only thrown three interceptions all year, by the way — the Buckeyes have a great shot at winning a national championship.
“Everybody’s just on one page, man," Bell said. "I feel the juice and the energy on this team and I love it.”
