Senior defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) and linebacker Cody Simon (0) lead the Buckeyes onto the field to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium Saturday. Credit: Samantha Harden | Arts & Life Editor
Legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban called Ohio State’s four-man pass rush an “antiquated way to play defense” following its Oct. 12 loss to Oregon.
And Ohio State head coach Ryan Day didn’t disagree.
“When it doesn’t work, it’s accurate,” Day said on Oct. 22 in response to Saban’s comment when describing the pass rush. “There’s a lot of different ways to do it; there’s different strategies on how to do that. When you have the results that you do right now, it’s certainly not working, and that has to change.”
Going into the game against the then-No. 3 Ducks, the Buckeyes ranked No. 1 for total defenses in the country. Then-No. 2 Ohio State, however, failed to record a sack and put no pressure on the Oregon offense all night in its 32-31 loss.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles might have placed too much faith in 2023 All-Big Ten senior edge rushers J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.
It seems this predicament was noted behind closed doors; during Ohio State’s next game against the Cornhuskers on Saturday, the Buckeyes blitzed on 34.2% of Nebraska’s dropbacks, according to The Athletic. In addition, Ohio State also blitzed on a season-high 50% of the Cornhuskers’ third-down attempts in an effort to manufacture pressure.
The Buckeyes got to Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola three times Saturday, with every sack coming off a blitz.
But despite this abundance of blitzes, the Buckeyes’ pressure rate was still just 18.4%, according to the sports analytics company Pro Football Focus — the lowest pressure rate Knowles’ defense has recorded since his 2021 arrival to Columbus.
Denial would’ve been one thing, but at least Knowles and the Buckeyes know their lack of defensive pressure is a pressing issue.
The Buckeyes dialed up blitzes on half of Nebraska’s third downs to affect Raiola in an attempt to take pressure off Ohio State’s defensive backs in coverage. But that’s not substainable.
Day said the team is working through ways to consistently generate more pressure up front.
“It’s the coach’s job to make sure that we put our players in a situation, environment to be successful,” Day said on Oct. 22. “That’s the first thing we gotta look at, and then it’s the player’s job to go do it and execute it. All those things were a part of the conversation this past week, and we need to do a better job.”
But it’s evident what this Buckeye team wants to do at the season’s end: hoist the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as scarlet and gray confetti falls through the air.
If this Ohio State front four is unable to create pressure without the blitz, those hopes will likely be slashed before the Buckeyes can even think about going to Atlanta.
It’s imperative for good defenses to blitz and create havoc, but the blitz shouldn’t be the only way to get after rival teams’ quarterbacks.
Before Tuimoloau and Sawyer decided to return to Ohio State for their senior seasons, the two were expected to be early-round NFL draft selections.
Their commitment to completing unfinished business — defeating Michigan, winning a Big Ten title and playing in a national championship — in Columbus is noticeable, and there’s still a lot of time to improve.
But if Tuimoloau and Sawyer can’t find ways to consistently get after the quarterback, the pair might be forced to leave the business unfinished.
