Ohio State Football: 5 Reasons The Buckeyes Will Beat Michigan State
Oct 17, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Joey Bosa (in black) rushes the passer in the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State defeated Penn State 38-10. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
Joey Bosa Will Eat Up Blockers
With Joey Bosa eating up opposing blockers, the remaining defenders on Ohio State’s stellar defense are poised to make life difficult for Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook.
Bosa may not be having a dominant season statically–he has just four sacks– but as this recent article on Sports On Earth noted, the Thomas Aquinas High School product has been a quiet storm, as Ohio State hasn’t allowed opposing offense to score more than 14 points in each of their last four games.
"“Bosa’s job isn’t merely sacking the quarterback. Regardless of what his modest sack total says this year, nobody on one of the most talented defenses in the country impacts games like Bosa. His job is to disrupt offenses. That doesn’t mean making the move that ends a play and shows up in the stat sheet. It means heavily impacting the process that leads to a positive result that someone else often gets credit for.”"
Bosa faced a barrage of triple teams against Illinois last week, and one of the moments went viral on Twitter, as Buckeye nation was able to pay homage to just how valuable Bosa is to the defensive line.
With Bosa occupying bodies on the line, tackle Adolphus Washington has tallied 40 tackles, including six for a loss, along with three sacks. Sophomore linebacker Raekwon McMillan has quietly become one of college football’s best linebacker, as he’s compiled 97 tackles with two regular season games to play.
Linebacker Darron Lee continues to shoot up NFL draft charts, and he’s proved to be a guy who can make plays all over the field, while Joshua Perry has proven to be more than capable opposite of Lee, as he has 6.5 tackles for a loss.
With Michigan State trying to get its run game on track, the Buckeyes’ defense could be poised for a big day if all they have to do is worry about Connor Cook.
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