Ohio State vs. Nebraska: Defensive grades

Ohio State played a good game yesterday, beating Nebraska 52-17. Even though they won by such a large margin, the defense had problems stopping the Cornhuskers early. Here is how each unit grades out.

The Buckeyes lost a lot of talent on the defensive end from a year ago. Two of the top picks in the 2020 Draft were from the Buckeyes defense in Chase Young and Jeff Okudah. Damon Arnette was also a first-round pick. They had to find a way to play without all of these guys yesterday.

Ohio State played defense well enough to win yesterday. They made some good halftime adjustments and kept Nebraska to just 3 points in the second half. Here is how each unit of the defense graded out in the game.

The defensive line had perhaps the most to replace. Not only did the Buckeyes have to replace Young, but also Jashon Cornell, DaVon Hamilton, and Robert Landers. All of that is not easy to do. Even so, they didn’t seem to do a good job in the first half.

Adrian Martinez and Nebraska ran the ball very effectively against them in the first half. The defensive ends did not contain the edge well at all on the read-option. But they played a lot better in the second half. Still, allowing 210 yards on the ground won’t get you an “A” grade.

The linebackers were expected to be the strong point of this defense. Pete Werner, Tuf Borland, and Baron Browning led the team in tackles. They didn’t do a good job containing the run in the first half either though. In fact, several times they let the ball-carrier get to the second level.

As poorly as they played in the first half, they turned it around in the second half. After they made second-half adjustments, the linebackers were much better. Expect more of that play the rest of the season.

The secondary probably had the most questions coming into this season. Besides Shaun Wade, there weren’t any proven players in the backend of the defense. Yet, they played the best of any of the defensive units. They only allowed 160 yards passing on 16 completions.

Sevyn Banks did have a fumble return for a touchdown. Josh Proctor also recovered a fumble. While the secondary did not get any interceptions, they were still excellent in this game. Hopefully, the secondary can continue to play at a high level all season long.

The defensive line needs to create more pressure and push at the point of attack. If they can, this defense will be just fine.