The Ohio State defense is a steamroller. They just slowly flatten and crush offenses. They don’t get a lot of turnovers or sacks, just stops. Ohio State came into the game holding opponents to a 28.6% conversion rate on third down. That’s the fourth best in college football.
They improved upon it today, allowing UM to convert only once on nine tries. Their fourth-down defense was eighth in the nation, and also stopped the Wolverines cold on their only attempt. Ohio State averaged allowing their opponents only 12.7 first downs per game, second best in college football, and held their rival to only nine in their 27-9 victory.
UM was stopped cold all around. They completed only eight of their 18 passes against Ohio State’s best passing defense in the nation. Ohio State averaged allowing only 126.3 yards per game and held UM to 63 passing yards. The running game looked good early, but the Bucks camped down.
Ohio State particularly dominated in the second half. The Buckeyes would hold UM to negative yardage on the ground in the second half and hold them to only 100 for the entire game. This is only slightly more than the 80 yards per game Ohio State allowed on average entering this game, which was second in the nation.
Matt Patricia and Tim Walton’s defense just doesn’t give up yards or points. They were the number one defense in college football in both scoring and yards allowed coming into The Game. They averaged allowing 206.6 yards per game and 7.6 points per game.
Against That Team Up North, they gave up only 163 yards and nine points. With the domination today, Ohio State became the first team to hold its first 12 opponents to under 17 points since 1975.
When it is all said and done, this defense could make its case as one of the best not only in Ohio State history but all of college football history. This is a championship-level defense that is leading the charge for the Buckeyes to win back-to-back national titles. They’ll have another opportunity to prove themselves next week in the Big Ten Championship Game against an elite Indiana offense.