The Ohio State offense exploded for 586 yards in a 38-7 win over Army on Saturday, but the Buckeye defense also put together an impressive performance.
Aside from allowing an 18-play, 99 yard touchdown drive to Army in the second quarter, the Ohio State defense largely kept the unique triple option offense of the Black Knights in check.
Ohio State got arguably its best performance on defense from an unlikely source.
After Chris Worley left the game with an injury in the first half, redshirt freshman Tuf Borland filled in and put together a career day. Playing in his first meaningful time with the first team defense, Borland collected a team-high 12 tackles, including one for loss in the victory.
Head coach Urban Meyer said after the game that Borland played well enough that he might have earned additionally playing time with the Buckeye defense.
"Tuf Borland came in and did a heck of a job. Tuf played fantastic," Meyer said. "Worley is a leader, but anybody that plays well gets an opportunity."
Meyer confirmed in his postgame comments that Worley suffered a sprained foot in the win. The Ohio State senior linebacker was seen leaving the stadium with a boot on his right foot. He made four tackles before exiting with the injury.
Greg Schiano On The Sideline
Since coming to Ohio State in 2016, defensive coordinator Greg Schiano has spent every game in the press box, calling the defense from his headset.
That changed against Army, as Schiano spent the entirety of the game on the sideline, coaching and calling the Ohio State defense while linebackers coach Bill Davis took his place in the press box.
The change was mainly due to Army's offensive attack, which does not feature much passing. In turn, Ohio State did not play much coverage in the secondary, which meant Schiano wasn't needed in the press box.
Meyer, though, said he wanted Schiano on the field for more than just strategy purposes.
"He's an energy guy. He provides a lot of energy. He knows – he's coached against this offense for many, many years," Meyer said. "I wanted him on the sideline for energy and to make adjustments. And we'll reevaluate for if he's going to stay down there."
While he was the head coach at Rutgers from 2001-2011, Schiano compiled a 13-2 record against Army and Navy combined, both of which run the triple option offense.
Other defensive changes for the Buckeyes included playing three safeties and taking a linebacker out of the game to counter the Army triple-option attack. Ohio State removed outside linebacker Dante Booker for most of the game and replaced him with safety Erick Smith.
Smith, getting his first start as a Buckeye, collected nine stops and a pass deflection, which saved a touchdown for the Ohio State defense. Smith also made a shoe-string tackle on an Army kick return that also looked destined for six points.
A Game of Firsts
A multitude of Buckeyes saw their first playing time and/or recorded their first stat in the Ohio State victory over the Black Knights. What follows is a bullet point list of the notable appearances and the stats that were accumulated.
- Redshirt freshman quarterback Dwayne Haskins appeared in his first game as a Buckeye and completed all four of his pass attempts for 46 yards.
- Freshman wide receiver Trevon Grimes got playing time with the first-team offense and collected his first career catch late in the fourth quarter from Haskins, an 8-yard gain.
- Walk-on wide receiver C.J. Saunders also made his first career catch against the Black Knights, a 14-yard gain on a throw from Haskins on the final drive of the game.
- Austin Mack's touchdown not only gave J.T. Barrett the all-time Big Ten touchdown record, it was also the first of his career. Mack hauled in a career-high four passes for 44 yards and the score against Army.
- With Army's offense wearing out the Ohio State defensive line, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Malik Barrow saw his first action as a Buckeye, but did not record a stat.
Injury Report
Outside of Worley's injury, Ohio State stayed healthy throughout the course of the game. However, two Buckeyes who had played a role in the first two games of the season did not play in the win over Army.
Offensive lineman Matt Burrell did not dress and could be seen in a walking boot during pregame warmups.
Matt Burrell not dressed today. Boot on his foot. pic.twitter.com/NYZMG7Nf6J
— James Grega Jr. (@JGrega11) September 16, 2017
In addition, wide receiver Johnnie Dixon was dressed, but did not play against Army. Mack hinted in his postgame comments that Grimes and even Jaylen Harris had been preparing to get reps against the Black Knights. Dixon's injury was undisclosed as of Saturday night.
