Ohio State’s defense came into this season with the bar set high coming off last year’s national championship. Under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, they continue to exceed it, and it has never been more evident than against a very good Illinois team this past weekend.
When Illinois took the field against the Buckeyes on Saturday, the Illini had turned the ball over a total of three times through five games, with backup quarterback Ethan Hampton throwing one interception against Indiana and
the offense giving up two fumbles against USC.
By the time the clock ran out against Ohio State, they had turned the ball over as many times in 60 minutes as they had in all the previous games combined.
Until they headed to Champaign, the Buckeyes haven’t really needed to force turnovers to win football games. They never hurt, of course, but the defense was so dominant and the offense was consistent enough that they weren’t make-or-break.
But just in case we had any doubt about this team’s ability to do it all on both sides of the ball, the Silver Bullets forced three exceptional turnovers against the Fighting Illini, including starting quarterback Luke Altmyer’s first interception of the year, and in all three cases, the offense converted these turnovers into touchdowns.
The turnovers weren’t the result of luck or being in the right place at the right time — they were the result of picture-perfect execution from a defense that continues to astound with its prowess.
The interception came on the Fighting Illini’s first drive of the game, setting the tone for a matchup that was pretty much all Ohio State all day. As Altmyer looked to connect with wide receiver Hank Beatty, Jermaine Mathews Jr. was ready with a textbook pass breakup, deflecting the pass right into the arms of Buckeye linebacker Payton Pierce (one of our players to watch this preseason).
Pierce then returned the pick 15 yards, setting the Buckeye offense up on the Illini 35. Six plays later, CJ Donaldson was in the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run to put the Buckeyes up, 10-0.
It was an uncharacteristic error from Altmyer that said more about the Buckeye defense than it did about his talent.
Midway through the second quarter, on the first play of another Illinois drive, the Buckeyes forced the first in a pair of fumbles. While Illini running back Ca’Lil Valentine attempted to take the ball up the middle, OSU defensive lineman Kayden McDonald ripped the ball straight from his hands and recovered the fumble.
Though Valentine was unfortunately injured on the play (something we never root for), McDonald did an incredible job of creating an opportunity for the Buckeyes, ultimately setting Ohio State up for its next drive on the Illinois 25-yard line.
Quarterback Julian Sayin had the Buckeyes back in the endzone less than three minutes later, on a 17-yard pass to running back Bo Jackson.
Mathews still had one more takeaway in him, forcing a second fumble in the third quarter on a strip sack of Altmyer. Caden Curry was there to assist with the fumble recovery, giving the Buckeyes the ball back at the Illinois 30 in the final two minutes of the third quarter.
From there, Ohio State once again managed to take advantage of the field position, converting to another touchdown on a two-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith.
The turnovers are evidence of the kind of complementary football the Buckeyes are able to play this year simply because the defense is setting the offense up for success and the offense is executing consistently. But more than that, in this particular game, they’re indicative of just how lethal this defense really is.
Mathews, for example, managed to force two turnovers in one game, and he wasn’t even playing his usual position. While he usually plays in the outside cornerback spot, he moved inside to the nickel role, an adjustment made to cover for an injured Lorenzo Styles Jr.
Mathews’ success on Saturday is evidence of the tremendous versatility of this defense across the board. You have to wonder how you go about crafting an offensive scheme against a defense this well-rounded. With the exception of their game against Indiana, Altmyer has been a consistent force this season, and Illinois’ offense is nothing to scoff at. That they were thrown off from the first drive and didn’t establish any sort of a rhythm until well into the game speaks to this defense’s ability to mess with opponents’ heads.
Perhaps this is all a long-winded way of saying something Mathews himself put so succinctly in post-game interviews: “Defense crazy, ain’t it? Defense crazy.”
It certainly is, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
