CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Max Klare lined up against Ohio State football last season as a tight end for a struggling Purdue team. Four months later, he was in a similar, yet vastly different, situation.
The Buckeyes opened their spring season in March, and Klare was back on the other side of the scarlet and gray defense. However, this time he was facing the silver bullets as a teammate who transferred to Ohio State after an All-Big Ten campaign with the Boilermakers.
Many of the faces on the other side were different. Players such as Jack Sawyer, Cody Simon and Lathan Ransom were replaced by the likes of Kenyatta Jackson, Arvell Reese and Jaylen McClain.
Even defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was gone with Matt Patricia taking his place.
One thing remained the same: Ohio State’s defense was elite.
“We realized pretty early,” Klare said. “It’s definitely tough playing against those guys every day, but iron sharpens iron. It’s fun to have those guys.”
Patricia has led the nation’s most prolific defense through six games, which capped its first half slate by holding No. 17 Illinois to 10 non-garbage time points Saturday.
The 16 total points allowed inflated OSU’s numbers a bit, but not enough to diminish how impressive the defense has been.
Ohio State has allowed…
- 6.8 points per game
- 84 rushing yards per game
- 145 passing yards per game
- Four total touchdowns
- Two red zone touchdowns
The stalwart defense has thrived on suffocating its opposition, forcing short drives and punts. Entering Saturday, the Buckeyes had only forced four turnovers.
That number jumped to seven before Ohio State left Champaign.
“When that happens, the chances of winning are going to be, obviously, in our favor,” coach Ryan Day said postgame.
Ohio State gave Day his first full-time head coaching job ahead of the 2019 season. He built his reputation as an offensive guru with a knack for generating elite passing attacks.
Yet despite having a former five-star prospect at quarterback (Julian Sayin) and high-level weapons at receiver (Carnell Tate, Jeremiah Smith), the seventh-year head coach hasn’t needed his offense to be perfect in order to reach bowl eligibility by mid-October.
The Buckeyes have been cautious in their offensive approach, allowing first-time play-caller Brian Hartline to develop with a first-time starting quarterback.
Patricia’s defense has made this possible. It’s why Ohio State could play conservatively in its season-opening win against Texas and in road victories vs. Washington and Illinois.
If OSU elects to take a similar approach next week at Wisconsin, it should have no issue winning, and the Buckeyes could make history along the way.
Wisconsin lost to Iowa on Saturday by a final score of 37-0, dropping its record to 2-4 ahead of a Week 8 matchup with top-ranked Ohio State.
The defeat marked the first home shutout for the Badgers since 1980 — which also marked the last time Wisconsin was held scoreless in back-to-back home games.
The Hawkeyes ended one longstanding skid. Ohio State, with its force of a defense, will look to follow suit.
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