Ohio State Veteran Linebacker Backs Up Midweek Comments With Bounce Back Performance

This Ohio State Buckeyes' linebacker has slowly emerged as the key to success on defense throughout the 2024 season.

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Cody Simon (0) takes the field for warm ups prior to the NCAA football game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes' defense has felt the pressure since the unit's Week 7 performance against the Oregon Ducks, but veteran linebacker Cody Simon has emerged as a focal point so far in 2024.

After a rough start in the beginning of the season, the senior linebacker has been a huge piece in the defensive efforts the past three games, tallying 24 total tackles and three tackle for losses.

Simon took the loss to Oregon in Week 7 to heart, as he told reporters on Wednesday that he felt personally responsible as a leader for the poor defensive performance.

“I feel all of that pressure and blame but feel fully responsible to lead the defense. We didn’t play to our best standard and we have to be better at all times and in all phases.”

- Cody Simon

The Buckeyes' "Block O" recipient also reassured fans on Thursday, claiming that the defense needed to move on from the loss and focus on the future.

“It starts in practice for sure and definitely hurts worse when you don’t have a game since you can’t shift your focus. We all had to sit with that loss for a little bit but we get back out there and will put another foot forward to keep fighting. Our goal for the next 6 weeks is that we have to fight and win everything.”

- Cody Simon

With extra fuel heading into the team's matchup against Nebraska, Simon did not disappoint. He finished the contest with eight tackles and three tackles for loss, and was clearly the driving factor on the defense late in the game.

As a unit, the defense prevailed in many different critical situations against the Cornhuskers. After quarterback Will Howard threw an interception in the red zone during the third quarter, Simon and cornerback Davison Igbinosun stopped the Nebraska offense on a huge fourth and goal play to give the Buckeyes the ball back.

DENIED ON 4TH & GOAL

The @OhioStateFB defense comes up with a MASSIVE stop 🛑😤 pic.twitter.com/CgGlPqp2fN

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 26, 2024

Despite Ohio State's defense allowing 273 total yards on Saturday, Simon was not satisfied with the performance. The longtime Buckeye told reporters after the game that there are still many ways the defense can improve.

"We can always do better. There's still so many areas where we can make plays, and we could have helped our offense out more. We need to make more turnovers, we need to create more stops, allow less rushing yards and keep the quarterback in the pocket. So there's still a lot we can work on. I mean, I'm glad because we won, but we know we can do so much better."

- Cody Simon

To Simon's credit, the defense did allow 152 rushing yards on 21 attempts against the Cornhuskers. However, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' unit greatly improved in stopping the passing attack, as the Cornhuskers were held to 152 passing yards while also sealing the game with an interception from cornerback Jordan Hancock.

Simon and the rest of the defense will be in a similar spot in Week 10 when they travel to Penn State. Lead by running backs Nicholas Singletary and Kaytron Allen, the Nittany Lions have averaged 201.2 rushing yards per game in 2024.