Ohio State Football: Matchup against Maryland will test the revamped OSU defense

Coming off a bye week, the Ohio State football team will be in Columbus on Saturday to face the 5-0 Maryland Terrapins, in what should be another test for the Buckeyes’ defense. After the 17-14 win against No. 10 Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, the Buckeyes needed the bye week in order to relax and look over the film before continuing conference play.

Thus far this season, Ohio State’s defense looks legitimate, allowing a staggering 8.5 points per game through four games, good for second in the Big Ten. But that will be clearly tested against Maryland, who lead the conference putting up over 450 yards per game on offense.

Moreover, senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa leads the conference with 1,464 passing yards, and many fans don’t forget the performance from last season where Maryland stuck around to the very end in a 43-30 win for the Buckeyes.

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles clearly retooled the defense from 2022, where the Buckeyes were prone to give up explosive plays, none the more evident than in the 45-23 loss to Michigan in the final regular season game.

The secondary, which has been an issue for a number of seasons, looks to be coming back to the “Best in America” motto which was prominent during the 2019 season.

Junior defensive back Denzel Burke leads the Ohio State football team with four pass breakups, one less than he had the entire 2022 season. He appears to be the anchor in the secondary the Buckeyes have been missing since Jeff Okudah. While the competition aside from Notre Dame hasn’t been stellar, the 149 passing yards per game given up shows Buckeye fans there’s a lot of growth from 2022.

As much as the defense looks improved, the defensive line is a cause for concern. Ohio State has only five team sacks and ranks second-to-last in the conference, ahead of Iowa. The front seven for Ohio State hasn’t gotten consistent quarterback pressure this season and hasn’t for a couple of years now.

Defensive linemen Jack Sawyer and Michael Hall Jr. each led the Buckeyes with 4.5 sacks last season, and in 2023 only Hall has recorded a sack. If the Ohio State football team wants to continue the upward trend on defense, they must put consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback.

The high-powered Maryland offense will be a good litmus test for not only the Ohio State coaching staff but the fans as well. A borderline top-25 team at home, in a conference matchup, has the potential for an upset.

But if the defense continues to play the way it’s playing, those late-season matchups against Michigan and Penn State become all the more enticing.