Ohio State Football: Defense needs to remain disciplined during stretch run

Despite having a blemish on the record and zero top-25 wins to this point, the Ohio State football team is right in the thick of the wide-open College Football Playoff race. The Buckeyes will have a chance to pad their resume starting Saturday night against 20th ranked Penn State, before facing current top-10 teams Michigan State and Michigan to finish the regular season. OSU will need the recently-dominant defense to continue playing at a high level versus better opponents.

While riding a 5-game winning streak, Ryan Day’s defense has allowed just 12.8 points per game including last week’s 54-7 blowout at Indiana. The Ohio State football team racked up four sacks in that win and now have 24 sacks this season, second-most in the Big Ten, while also recording the most pick-sixes in the country (4). Haskell Garrett, Cody Simon, and Ronnie Hickman have helped the Buckeyes defense increase productivity as they prepare for the upcoming stretch run.

“We talk about starting fast all the time. I think it’s important to set the tone for the game but we have a plan in place for when that doesn’t happen,” Ryan Day said at his recent press conference. “I think you’re also seeing that we’ll play young players. If you’re a young player who wants to play in this style of defense at the highest level and you’re ready, we’ll put you in there and then we’ll also develop you. The best players are going to play.”

Ohio State’s defense still isn’t nearly as suffocating as top-rated Georgia and Cincinnati but they are ranked 25th in the country, according to Football Outsiders, surpassing other playoff contenders Oregon (33rd) and Oklahoma (65th). Combine an improved defense with the most efficient offense and the Buckeyes should be able to remain unbeaten in Big Ten play and make an argument for a playoff berth over teams like Alabama, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, and others.

“We have to just show up every single game, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. Penn State is a very good defense and it could be a very big challenge for us. The focus just has to be right now,” Day also explained earlier this week. “It goes back to the fundamentals and having the discipline to stay locked in, to maintain our confidence but be disciplined enough, humble enough to know that all it takes is one Saturday and your season can be ruined.”