When Ryan Day made the decision to hire Matt Patricia as the defensive coordinator of the Ohio State football program, a lot of people had questions. Patricia hadn't had a job in football for over a year, and he hadn't been a defensive coordinator since 2017.
Patricia had never coordinated a defense in college, which was perhaps the biggest question on the field. Off the field, Patricia had several questions stemming from an unsavory allegation. Yet, Day said he had done his due diligence and felt comfortable with bringing him in.
So far, so good. The Ohio State Buckeyes took down the top-ranked team in the country 14-7. The Buckeyes suffocated the Texas offense and didn't let them come up for air. Arch Manning looked overwhelmed, and a lot of that has to do with what Patricia was able to scheme up.
Matt Patricia looks like the right hire early for the Ohio State football team
While it's just one game, Patricia looks like an absolute mastermind for Ohio State. With how he used Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs, he looks like a defensive coordinator who is going to put opposing offenses in a blender all season long. Teams might not be able to figure it out.
If this kind of performance continues, several pundits should apologize for calling this a bad hire, including me. I was vehemently against this hire, although I did say I was willing to be wrong. After just one game against the number-one team in the country, I could not be more wrong.
We'll learn more about what Patricia has up his sleeve later in the season. Teams didn't have tape on him, so it was hard to prepare for this game. By the time Penn State comes to Columbus on the 1st of November, they will have an opportunity to see what Patricia's defense looks like.
How Patricia reacts to teams having more film on him will be the deciding factor on how good a coordinator he will be all season long. That Penn State game will be a tough game for him to call, but there are some other tough games before that game, too.
The Illinois game on October 11th looms as the biggest test that they have in the next few weeks, and that game is on the road. If the defense is going to play as well as it did on Saturday, Ohio State has to feel great about its chances of repeating.