Buckeyes Now

Ohio State's Defensive Grades vs. Minnesota

Here's what we thought of the Silver Bullets during their season-opener against the Golden Gophers.

Tommy Zagorski

The Buckeyes came away with a 45-31 road victory in a wet, Huntington Bank Stadium on Thursday night. With seven first-time starters, the defense will look to build on the national television experience and the offense will continue to rally around C.J. Stroud as he grows and matures. 

As far as how to interpret the following grades:

Grading Key

  • A: National Championship-level play ... dominates the opponent and executes at the highest level.
  • B: Big Ten Championship-level play ... consistently beats opponents, but leaves a few areas to grow.
  • C: Bowl Eligble-level play ... does enough to win in a close game to just get bye. Needs to improve quickly.
  • D: Home for the Holidays-level play ... Exposed multiple times and a major liability to the greater whole.
  • F: Losing-level play ... unit was dominated in many facets of the game and is a major detriment to success. Major changes needed immediately.

We've already graded out the offense. Now let’s take a look at a positional breakdown of how the Silver Bullets fared against the Golden Gophers.

Defensive Line: B-

As a whole the group struggled as the game went on against the bigger sets that Minnesota implemented throughout the game. They used six or seven different Offensive Lineman at a time. 

The biggest run of the night was a 13 jumbo personnel (one running back, three tight ends and one wide receiver) duo run, in which the offense attempts to cultivate as many combos as possible. In jumbo two of the tight ends are actually additional offensive linemen. The back will aim for the A gap on the front side, but the additional tight ends give an additional combination block that afforded Mohamed Ibrahim to bounce the run to the C gap and force the safety to fit it correctly.

Taking that run out, Mohammed Ibrahim (who led the Big Ten in rushing a year ago) only averaged 3.7 yards a carry. The Buckeyes registered two sacks came at crucial times, but the unit will have to garner more pressure going forward. They are coached by the legendary Larry Johnson and will continue to develop. They don’t have that elite guy yet, that makes the opposing offense really pay attention. 

Expect continued attempts to gap exchange with stunts and games to get more pressure. The play of the game was Zach Harrison's strip sack resulting in a Haskell Garrett touchdown. Teams that score a defensive/special teams touchdown are 86% more likely to win the game.

Linebackers: C-

Cody Simon had the big sack on third down off of the Double A Gap pressure to end the first half, but the room struggled making plays all night long. The inability to tackle was evident across the board. Teams are going to continue to try to line up and out physical the group. 

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To be fair, the group is learning to play. It is not for a lack of skill, the linebacker room can run and will be challenged next week with Oregon. Expect the group as a whole to ply much better going forward.

Defensive Backs: C-

The unit looked uncomfortable all night. They are young, but are going to be picked on for size in the low red. Big pass catchers are going to be a major matchup issue for the young Buckeye secondary. In heavier personnel groupings, they are going to be challenged in the run fit to make plays. Thursday night was a struggle.

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On the plus side, Denzel Burke had three breakups and a Josh Proctor interception was negated by a roughing the quarterback penalty, and Ronnie Hickman led the team in tackles. The group is fearless and will only get better, but will need to do so quickly with a talented Oregon team coming to the banks of the Olentangy. 

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You may also like:

Buckeye Report: Checking In On Ohio State After Beating Minnesota

Instant Analysis: Buckeyes Escape Minnesota Thanks to Explosive Offense

Ohio State Outlasts Minnesota in Season-Opening Shootout

Game Observations: Ohio State Offense vs. Minnesota

Game Observations: Ohio State Defense vs. Minnesota

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Tommy Zagorski
TOMMY ZAGORSKI

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