COLUMBUS, Ohio — How about that defensive performance?
In its 38-15 win over Indiana, Ohio State held one of the most explosive offenses to 151 total yards, with 145 coming on the first drive and the second-to-last drive.
Ohio State held Indiana to 2.6 yards per play, had five sacks and a season-high 21 percent sack rate.
There’s often a lot of talk about Ohio State’s defense in big games. While the Michigan game and potential rematch with Oregon will be measuring sticks, the defense deserves credit for what it did against a good Indiana offense.
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It completely out-schemed and out-executed Indiana up front to the point that Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti said his team had no chance when it tried to pass.
“Every time we dropped back to pass, something bad happened,” Cignetti said.
Cody Simon (0), Kayden McDonald and the Ohio State defense held Indiana to 151 yards on Saturday. (Kyle Robertson / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Let’s talk about how Ohio State did that and what it means going forward, along with the offensive line, Will Howard’s performance and more.
Generating pressure
It didn’t feel like Ohio State’s defense was on the field much. Indiana actually ran more plays — 59 to Ohio State’s 55 plays — but 45 percent of those plays came on the first drive and last two drives.
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Indiana opened the game with an 11-play, 70-yard drive and scored on a 15-play drive late in the fourth quarter. While the opening scoring drive was helped by two pass interference calls on Davison Igbinosun, one play made me think Indiana might have some success early.
Since the Oregon game, Ohio State has added this Jack Sawyer stunt up the middle to its repertoire and uses it nearly every week, trying to free him up for a shot at the quarterback. It’s not unique, and Indiana was ready for it.
The ease with how Indiana picked this up was impressive and made me think, in the moment, that it might have some success. I was wrong.
This was one of the few times that Indiana knew what defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was calling and where the pressure was coming from. One of the things that Knowles did the rest of the game was set linebacker Cody Simon free on Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
This was the blitz that set the tone for the entire game. You can see Ohio State’s linebackers mugging the gaps, which put Indiana’s offensive line in a tough spot. That group had no clue who was coming and who was dropping out of coverage.
Ohio State ran press-man on the outside, which was expected, but the pressure came in so clean that it didn’t matter. Rourke had no chance to find even a partially open receiver.
One of the keys to this blitz was Sonny Styles. He sat right over the center, and before the center realized he was coming on the blitz, Simon was in the backfield, and the guard had to take one of Ohio State’s defensive tackles. This was a well-designed and well-executed blitz.
Later in the quarter, Ohio State went back to sending Simon on a blitz. This was a promising drive for Indiana but mainly because it found some success running the ball. Indiana, however, eventually was going to switch up that tendency, and Ohio State was ready for it.
This time, Ty Hamilton and Jordan Hancock were big parts of this blitz. Hamilton ate up a double-team, and Hancock took the eye of the guard, which allowed Simon another clean shot at the quarterback.
He had two and a half sacks in the game and has five sacks on the season. His athleticism is becoming a big positive for this defense, and he’s beginning to look more comfortable in the running game too.
In the second half, Indiana started trying to find where Simon was and pick him up, but that opened another can of worms, JT Tuimoloau and Sawyer started getting free on the edge, and it was obvious Indiana wasn’t going to move the ball consistently.
This was a perfectly drawn-up and executed game plan by everybody involved.
The best thing about that win is that Ohio State left a lot of the cupboard bare and didn’t show everything it had with its blitzes. It didn’t have to, Indiana was in shambles from the start.
Mixed results
Ohio State’s offensive line had to be reshaped again after center Seth McLaughlin tore his Achilles in practice on Tuesday.
The Buckeyes moved Carson Hinzman back to center, where he started 12 games last season, and put Austin Siereveld back to left guard, where he started the first two games with Donovan Jackson out. Both players have experience and were fairly good on Saturday.
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Ohio State’s running game struggled, but that was to be expected against an Indiana front that is the best in the country at slowing down the run. The Buckeyes averaged 0.50 yards before contact, according to Pro Football Focus, and there were a few instances when the running backs were making defenders miss in the backfield, which led to an average of 3.08 yards after contact.
Right guard Tegra Tshabola had a tough time slowing down Indiana defensive lineman CJ West. This toss was a good example.
This was a dominant play by West, who beat Tshabola off the ball and made the play in the backfield. This was one of three tackles for loss Indiana had.
Ohio State had a hard time getting a push off the ball, especially in the red zone, but this touchdown run by TreVeyon Henderson was a nice one.
Before this play was called, I thought Ohio State might pass because it already had been stopped inside the 5-yard line once. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, however, stuck with the running game.
Watch No. 67 win off the line, drive his man up the field and nearly to the sideline: That’s Siereveld. Next to him was Hinzman driving another defender into the end zone. They’re not perfect, but after rewatching the game, I was almost tempted to watch it again because I didn’t notice Siereveld or Hinzman too often.
There were some issues in pass protection early in the game, but you expected that with a new group.
Michigan is a different breed. Defensive tackle Mason Graham is the No. 9 prospect in the NFL draft, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, and Kenneth Grant is the No. 25 prospect. Ohio State hasn’t played a duo like this all season. It’ll be a massive challenge.
Michigan has struggled, but those two are dangerous and part of the reason Michigan hasn’t given up more than 2.0 yards per carry in the past two games, including holding Indiana to just 1.43 yards per carry.
This is my only concern about the rivalry game. If Ohio State lets Graham and Grant take over, it could be a closer game than anybody in Columbus wants, and those two could wreck the Buckeyes’ plans in the red zone. Ohio State could have success running the ball laterally, using its speed and forcing the interior linemen to move a bit more.
Howard continues to shine
I haven’t talked about Will Howard much in our film stories, but he was fantastic on Saturday.
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For much of the season, there was a thought that he was a system quarterback who couldn’t make throws at every level, and that was fair because his deep ball left a lot to be desired. He hit every throw on Saturday, completing 22-of-26 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns with a rushing touchdown and one interception that came on a drop.
Just look at these two throws. This one came on fourth-and-10.
This was a miss up front as the defensive tackle slipped right between Siereveld and Jackson, but Howard made a nice throw with the pressure coming just a second away. Tate was wide open, but this wasn’t an easy throw with the pressure of fourth down and a defensive lineman barrelling down on him.
This was impressive by Howard and came one play after he threw a 25-yard pass on the run to Tate on third-and-25.
This throw was probably one of my favorites.
Ohio State must’ve seen something on film because it threw the way of Indiana’s defensive lineman Lanell Carr Jr., often, when he came off the line and dropped into coverage. The touchdown throw to Emeka Egbuka came with Carr in coverage, and that’s the case again here.
There was over-the-top coverage on Smith with Carr underneath him, so Howard had a small window to fit this in. Luckily for Howard, he has a player like Smith who can highpoint the ball and pluck it out of the air with ease. Still, this was good recognition, quickly, from Howard to notice the ball had to be placed high and outside for Smith.
He’s getting much better at adjusting and keeping his feet underneath him to make these types of throws.
A few extra thoughts
- Denzel Burke was much better on Saturday, especially considering he was playing in a lot of man coverage again. He was targeted just twice and gave up one catch for 6 yards. I’m not ready to say Burke is back — we’ll wait for the Oregon rematch if it happens — but it was a good game, while he was helped out by the pressure Ohio State put on Rourke.
- Ohio State’s linebackers are playing their best football right now. Simon was terrific against the Hoosiers, and Styles is coming into his own at his new position after playing safety last season. He was very good in his run fits and when he was matched up with the running backs in man coverage.
- It was good to see tight end Will Kacmarek on the field for the first time since he got injured against Oregon. He played 18 snaps, but a good sign for the future is Ohio State’s willingness to play Christian Bennett and Jelani Thurman even with Kacmarek back. Bennett played 18 snaps, while Thurman, who caught his first touchdown, played 13 snaps. Ohio State has four tight ends it can play, so there’s real depth there that tight ends coach Keenan Bailey is excited about.
(Top photo of JT Tuimoloau (44) and Jack Sawyer: Adam Cairns / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
