Many remember Ohio State’s failure to register a sack against Oregon when they met in October, but less memorable is the closest scrape the Buckeyes had with a backfield takedown of Dillon Gabriel.
On the Ducks’ first drive of the third quarter, Jim Knowles dialed up a simulated pressure with Sonny Styles blitzing off the edge and Lorenzo Styles Jr. coming up the middle while Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau dropped into coverage on 3rd-and-8. Gabriel came under immediate heat but evaded the free-running Sonny Styles, slid past a collapsing Sawyer and got met by Caden Curry a few feet past the line of scrimmage.
That play forced an Oregon punt, but it also served as a microcosm of one of the Buckeyes’ primary defensive frustrations against the Ducks in their 32-31 loss in Eugene. Gabriel’s ability to extend plays, scramble or run was as infuriating as the 341 yards he threw for against Ohio State.
Keeping Gabriel pinned in will be key as Knowles' unit prepares to rematch Oregon in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl.
“He's really good at that (using his feet),” Knowles said. “So, whether it was our game or any game, you have to have a plan for that, and we're going to have a plan for it. But I think the fact of the matter is he's going to get out. He's going to try to make plays with his feet and then deliver the ball or scramble. So we have to be very aware of it in both the coverage and the rush.”
Gabriel rushed the ball only four times for 32 yards against Ohio State last time, though one of those carries was a 27-yard touchdown run to put the Ducks up 29-28 early in the fourth quarter. The bigger issue was he found time to complete 23 of 34 passes (67.6%) while taking no sacks. He completed six throws that gained more than 25 yards.
Ohio State defensive tackle Ty Hamilton believes it’s critical to keep Gabriel contained. The former UCF Golden Knight and Oklahoma Sooner has taken only 12 sacks this season with just five in Oregon’s last 11 games. He’s rushed for 192 yards and seven touchdowns on the season to go with 3,558 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns and a completion rate of 73.2%.
“I think it's extremely important,” Hamilton said. “A lot of quarterbacks nowadays are very mobile quarterbacks, so I think it's very important to be able to rush as four. I mean, that's what we preach all the time, be able to rush as four, rush together.”
Rushing “as four” will mean maintaining rush lane discipline while still trying to get upfield and generate pressure on Gabriel. That’s always the delicate balance of getting after a quarterback as a defensive lineman, wanting to beat your defender but also collapsing the pocket in such a way that the opposing pilot can’t find an eject button.
“If we can collapse the pocket and make it harder for him to be able to escape, he really has to make his reads,” Hamilton said. “He really has to sit back and throw the ball, and that's what we want him to do. We want to be making pressure when he throws the ball every single time, so being able to cage the pocket and collapse the pocket while he's throwing the ball makes it easier for us to make sacks.”
The good news for the Buckeyes is that their sack numbers have improved since that loss in Autzen Stadium, the exception being another zero-sack outing in a 13-10 loss to Michigan, though the pass rush played its part in holding the Wolverines to just 62 passing yards. Ohio State is now tied for 12th nationally and leads the Big Ten with 39 sacks this season.
Much of that success was generated by the re-engineering of Knowles’ defense that occurred after the Oregon loss. Ohio State started mixing more coverages and rush packages to confuse and place quarterbacks under duress. In that vein, Knowles said more of such changeups will be the key to preventing the explosive plays that cost the Buckeyes in October.
“It's all in the mix,” Knowles said. “You got to apply the mix, and we talk about explosive plays all the time, so I think maybe when you get burned by something, it becomes even more real for you. So there's just been a continued emphasis on it.”
Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava also gave Ohio State some experience against a quarterback who can threaten with his feet, as that proved to be one of the few effective elements of the Volunteers’ offense in the Buckeyes’ 42-17 victory on Dec. 21. Iamaleava had a sack-adjusted 16 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown, but OSU did hem him in for four sacks that cost the Volunteers 35 yards.
“That was definitely good to have because, like I said, all the quarterbacks (now) are very mobile,” Hamilton said. “And being able to have more experience versus mobile quarterbacks helps us, obviously, just to help us hone and learn from when we had him going through the hole and had those scrambles. ... Just learning the quarterback's tendencies and when they like to run and where they like to run.”
Getting Gabriel on the ground is key for Knowles’ squad to produce better results this time out against Oregon. Hamilton will be involved in that process, but defensive ends Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau will also need to carry momentum over from a combined 3.5-sack effort against the Volunteers.
“In my mind, they're both great players and great young men and you couldn't find better guys,” Knowles said of the defensive end duo. “I'm seeing every play and every block and the run game and everything that goes into it. I know you guys or the fans tend to just see the highlights but they've been consistent throughout my tenure here.”
If the Buckeyes can keep Gabriel in the pocket and get in his face on Wednesday, they’ll set themselves up well for revenge against the Ducks and a CFP semifinal berth.
“I think it all comes down to technique,” Hamilton said. “We knew what we wanted to do getting in the game and we didn't get it done. So I think going into this game, we have to just hone in on the smaller things that can help us win against offensive linemen. Whether that's getting past them or making a certain move to get past them, we know what we have to do.”
