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Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
What most Ohio State fans have noticed above and beyond the offensive struggles the team has experienced the last two weeks, is that the Buckeye defense is playing some pretty good football.
In fact, the Buckeyes have already done something this season that they haven’t done since way back in 2007—eight seasons ago.
Ohio State’s defense has held two consecutive opponents under 100 yards passing. In the home opener, the Buckeyes limited Hawai’i to just 85 yards through the air. They backed up that performance by limiting Northern Illinois to a scant 80 aerial yards. The last time Ohio State pulled that off was in the first two games of the 2007 season, when the Buckeyes gave Youngstown State and Akron just 91 and 66 passing yards, respectively.
Is Columbus the new No Fly Zone in the Big Ten? Well, through three weeks of the season, Ohio State is tied for first in the country in passes defended and fifth in total pass defense.
Led by one of the country’s best safety tandems in juniors Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell, the OSU secondary has done a good job of locking down opposing wide receivers. Tight ends and running backs have been more problematic for the Buckeyes, particularly in the road opener against Virginia Tech, but even there they showed improvement, despite being caught in the wrong defense once and losing contain on one or two other plays.
| Year | < 100-Yard Pasing Games Allowed |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 85 vs Hawai'i, 80 vs NIU |
| 2014 | 20 vs Navy, 79 vs Kent State, 85 at Minn. |
| 2013 | 30 vs FAMU, 89 at Purdue |
| 2012 | 96 vs Illinois |
| 2011 | 55 vs Akron, 88 vs Penn State |
| 2010 | 82 vs Ohio, 88 vs Purdue |
| 2009 | 88 vs Illinois, 22 vs New Mexico St, 81 vs Oregon (Rose Bowl) |
| 2008 | 85 vs Youngstown State, 87 vs Michigan |
| 2007 | 91 vs Youngstown State, 66 vs Akron, 76 at Michigan |
We knew the safeties would be good. The questions entering the season surrounded redshirt sophomore Eli Apple replacing departing lockdown corner Doran Grant, and sophomore Gareon Conley stepping in as a full-time starter for the first time.
Both have answered the bell magnificently, particularly Conley, who has arguably been the best player in the Buckeye secondary through three games. Opponents aren’t testing him frequently and when they do, it isn’t working. Conley has nine tackles, half a sack, an interception (vs. Hawai’i) and three pass breakups.
Each member of the starting secondary has an interception through three games and at least one of the back four has picked off a pass in each of the games this season. Bell has the gaudiest stats, with five pass breakups and an interception to go with his scoop and score against the Rainbow Warriors.
In addition to the secondary, Darron Lee has a pick for a touchdown and Josh Perry and Raekwon McMillan have each broken up a pass. So you can include the linebackers in the outstanding Ohio State coverage in 2015.
| Player | pos | tackles | pbu | int |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Apple | CB | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Vonn Bell | S | 17 | 5 | 1 |
| Gareon Conley | CB | 9 | 3 | 1 |
| Tyvis Powell | S | 18 | 1 | 1 |
And let’s not forget the guys up front and their contribution to the pass defense. Ohio State’s front seven has 11.5 of the team’s 12 sacks, and nine quarterback hurries through the first quarter of the season. The Buckeyes are tied for fourth in sacks nationally.
How rare is it to hold an opponent below 100 passing yards? It generally happens a couple times per season but not typically in back-to-back games.
All of last season, Ohio State allowed fewer than 100 passing yards three times, the most the Bucks have had since 2009. Once, of course, was in the opener against Navy, which had only 20 passing yards. Kent State had 79 yards through the air and Minnesota mustered just 85 on a cold day in Minneapolis.
In Urban Meyer’s first two seasons with Ohio State, his defenses held opponents below 100 yards three times—twice in 2013 and once in 2012.
Can the Silver Bullets do it three straight times? Well, it might be a tough ask. Western Michigan is up next. The Broncos threw for 365 yards against Michigan State in the opening game, 227 against Georgia Southern, and 391 against Murray State. They will likely be a stiff test for the pass defense.
The addition of Chris Ash to the OSU coaching staff has enabled the team to play more aggressively in pass coverage and utilize their athletic advantage over the competition. But players still have to make plays, and the 2015 Buckeyes have been doing that so far.
