On Monday, 247Sports‘ Brad Crawford laid out the 11 biggest worries for teams expected to be playoff contenders.
One of which was the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are looking to bounce back in a big way after losing to the Michigan Wolverines in “The Game.”
The Buckeyes return some explosive players on offense. But, according to Crawford, they’re going to need fast results from their new-look defense.
Writing:
We know the Buckeyes are fine offensively and may have the most explosive unit on that side of the ball in all of college football, but that wasn’t the focal point this spring. Jim Knowles’ arrival as Ohio State’s new defensive coordinator is what everyone is talking about and how the Buckeyes will fare with an improved 4-2-5 look with seven starters back and hungry to repair last season’s bruised ego. Let’s face it — Ohio State wasn’t tough enough at the line of scrimmage and its pass defense was horrid at times, especially in red zone opportunities for the opposition.
Ohio State was pushed all over the field in its 42-27 blowout loss to UM.
Jim Harbaugh’s squad dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Which allowed Aidan Hutchinson to roam free and running back Hassan Haskins 169 yards and five touchdowns.