Ohio State's defense held UNLV to under 100 yards passing on Saturday. That said, the Buckeye defense surrendered five first downs to the Rebels by way of penalty.
The Buckeyes were whistled for three pass interference calls and a defensive holding penalty in the secondary against UNLV. Three of those four penalties were called on Ohio State cornerback Kendall Sheffield, and head coach Urban Meyer was not pleased with amount of penalties his defensive backs committed.
"Very concerned, terrible. It's awful," Meyer said.
While the Buckeyes were whistled for interfering with the Rebels' receivers, Ohio State did collect a pair of interceptions. The first came on a deflected pass that landed in the hands of Damon Arnette, while the second came from Damon Webb deep in the middle of the field.
Webb said after the game that he thought the Ohio State secondary played up to par.
"I think we played really well," Webb said. "We were on queue on all of our assignments and everybody was doing their job."
Overall, the Ohio State defense has rebounded well from a poor showing in its first two games. After ranking dead last in the FBS in pass defense after two games, the Buckeyes have held their last two opponents under 100 yards.
Even though Army's triple option offense and UNLV's freshman quarterback didn't present the same challenge that Indiana and Oklahoma did, Webb said Ohio State's confidence in the secondary has not wavered all season.
"I don't feel like our confidence was ever low," Webb said. "It felt like we just needed to get better, which is our mindset when we go out to practice every day. This last week was our best week of practice and we showed that on the field today."
Perhaps helping with the defense's improvement was defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, who was at field level for the second straight week after spending the first 15 games of his Ohio State coaching career in the press box.
Nick Bosa Wreaks Havoc
Nick Bosa said during the week that he thought Ohio State would shut out the UNLV offense. While that didn't happen, the Buckeyes put together an impressive showing defensively, as did Bosa.
The sophomore defensive end accounted for one of Ohio State's four sacks and had three tackles for loss in the win. He also deflected the pass that led to Arnette's interception, which was nearly returned for a score.
"We were dying to pass rush," Bosa said after a week of preparing for Army's triple-option. "Coach was emphasizing it all week. We got out there and he was sitting back there and we got after him a little bit. It was fun."
Ohio State's other three sacks came from safety Isaiah Pryor, linebacker Jerome Baker and half-sacks from linebacker Malik Harrison and defensive end Tyquan Lewis.
The Buckeyes also recorded a safety in the win over UNLV, as Dre'Mont Jones stopped a Rebel running back behind the goal line for two points. It was the first Ohio State safety since a 2014 victory over Cincinnati.
Merry Christmas, Urban Meyer
It didn't feel like Christmas on Saturday as game time temperatures exceeded 90 degrees, but Meyer might already know what he is getting for the holidays, courtesy of Eleven Warriors' Andrew Lind.
If this isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen. Urban Meyer and his grandson, Troy, before Ohio State's game against UNLV. pic.twitter.com/QzEDNUUHuv
— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) September 23, 2017
Already in seemingly good spirits after the game, Meyer was asked about the moment with his grandson Troy, and said he has a feeling he knows what is coming under the Christmas tree come December.
"I already said I think I know my Christmas present," Meyer said. "It's going to be a nice canvas picture of me and my grandson in the Horseshoe. That was awesome."
Meyer with his son-in-law Corey Dennis, grandson Troy and daughter Nikki.
Lind also captured a photo of Meyer with son-in-law and Ohio State graduate assistant Corey Dennis and daughter Nikki with Troy prior to kickoff.
Injury Report
Plenty of Buckeyes got to play against UNLV, but some were forced to watch due to injury. What follows is a list of players who were held out due to injury.
- Matt Burrell was held out for the second straight week, after he was seen wearing a boot on his foot last weekend prior to the Army game. Burrell was not in a boot for the UNLV contest, but did not dress for the game.
- Robert Landers was seen in a walking boot prior to practice on Wednesday and was still in a boot on Saturday and did not dress against UNLV. The extent of the injury has not yet been disclosed.
- Shaun Wade did not dress against UNLV for an undisclosed injury.
- Chris Worley missed the game after spraining his foot against Army. In his place, Tuf Borland collected three tackles and Baron Browning collected two.
- Malik Barrow left the game on a cart with what appeared to be a knee injury during the UNLV game. Meyer said after the contest that he was still being examined by medical personnel.
