Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will bear a massive weight of expectation during the 2026 College Football season. While first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has to make use of the program's elite offensive weapons, CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello believes the championship onus is on Patricia after all of the significant losses to his defense.
Per Marcello, "The Buckeyes will be among the more potent offenses in the country with a load of talent returning, including QB Julian Sayin and all-everything receiver Jeremiah Smith. Questions abound with the defense, which must replace eight starters for the second straight season. Matt Patricia worked wonders in his first season calling defensive plays. Can he do it again? If so, the Buckeyes will win the Big Ten -- and possibly the national championship."
Ohio State's defense will face perhaps the most dangerous group of quarterbacks that any of the 138 FBS teams will be facing this year. The Buckeyes draw the Texas Longhorns' Arch Manning, Oregon Ducks' Dante Moore, and USC Trojans' Jayden Maiava, three of the top six 2027 QB prospects. In terms of top-flight receivers Ohio State will have to scheme against, Texas offers Cam Coleman, and the Indiana Hoosiers have both Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh.
Patricia has a very difficult job, since the high-powered offenses from opponents will keep on coming during the 2026 season. Those challenges provide Patricia the perfect chance to become a coaching legend in Columbus this fall. That may, in and of itself, force the Buckeyes to start from scratch next year, though.
Matt Patricia could become a strong NFL coaching candidate in 2027 hiring cycle
Being tested brazenly will make Patricia either look like a sure-fire NFL head coaching candidate or a man whose hype for the 2025 season was built largely on having generational defenders like Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, and Caleb Downs.
The former option is a far likelier possibility. Patricia has several high-end transfers buoying a defensive front rocked by turnover, and his cornerbacks group is perhaps the most talented CB room since the 2018 season.
If/when Ohio State delivers the goods defensively this coming fall, despite his recent three-year extension, expect the NFL to come calling. A can't-miss opportunity would be the end of the line for what's been a brilliant fit with the Buckeyes.
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