Ohio State doesn't get a lot of pass interference calls for them. Despite opponents double-teaming Jeremiah Smith almost every single game, he doesn't seem to get many calls. On the flip side, the Buckeyes have had several interference and holding calls go against them this year.
Devin Sanchez has been the culprit in a lot of those penalties. To this point, he has been flagged five times in six games. That's not what you want to see from your top cornerback. Sanchez seems to think he's not getting a fair shake from the referees on a lot of those calls.
Ohio State DB Devin Sanchez blames referees for penalty calls against him
When asked about the multiple penalties he has been called for and how he's trying to improve on that, Sanchez put more of the onus on the officials instead of himself.
"Just my practice habits. Just playing with a chip at practice and knowing that I'm also playing the refs, too. So it's just me playing with a chip on my shoulder and knowing that I have to play the opposing team and the refs."
Sanchez has had a couple of bad calls go against him, specifically during the Iowa game. However, it would be nice to see him take some accountability for some of his mistakes. Not every single flag against him has been a bad call. A couple of times, Sanchez got grabby when he didn't need to.
Sanchez is the best cornerback that the Buckeyes have. He's a former five-star recruit who really started to come on late last season as a freshman. He needs to start trusting his technique a little bit more, not unlike Davison Igbinosun when he started having issues with penalties.
Indiana is certainly aware of Sanchez's propensity to grab guys when he thinks he's going to get beat. They will make sure to throw the ball at him and make sure that he picks up a few penalties. However, Sanchez has clearly been trying to improve in this area ahead of the top-five matchup.
Ohio State needs strong play from the defense vs. IU
The Buckeyes will have a few offensive starters hurt for this game in Bloomington, so they will need a strong effort from the defense in order to win on the road. Indiana hasn't looked very good in the last couple of games. The Hoosiers struggled to beat both Northwestern and Nebraska in their last two outings.
Ohio State is still going to trust Sanchez to be able to stay in front of his man without having him commit too many penalties. It seems that Jay Timmons will be back in the lineup for this game, which will help the secondary out. He has already proven to be a playmaker as a true freshman.
It wouldn't be shocking if the referees see Sanchez's comments ahead of this game. He might want to be careful about saying too many disparaging things about the refs. They might start giving him more bad calls than he already has against him.
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