3 reasons Ohio State will trample Rutgers
By Alec Hartman
3. The Buckeyes’ defense will stifle the Scarlet Knights.
The Buckeyes have had a quietly impressive start to the season. They currently lead the Big Ten in sacks with eight. Much of this success can be attributed to the defensive line who has been extremely productive thus far. A name that has stayed off the radar but is a significant contributor to this defense is junior defensive tackle Tommy Togiai. He is currently third in the Big Ten in sacks with three.
The Buckeyes have been touted as having some of the best defensive fronts during the last few seasons but this season includes a lineup that is just as impressive as a whole than the previous. This defensive line consisting of Jonathon Cooper, Tommy Togiai, Tyler Friday, Haskell Garrett, and others is stacked from top to bottom.
This lineup is not only talented but laden with experience as well. The Buckeyes may not have a superstar like Chase Young this season but they do have a full complement of talent which may be even better. One player who has been at the top of the list as a breakout star this season is a senior defensive end, Jonathon Cooper. He didn’t do much in the season opener against Nebraska with just two tackles but his game changed once the lights came on last weekend.
Cooper recorded five tackles along with 1.5 sacks at Penn State. He had one of the highlights of the game as he bull-rushed a Nittany Lion tight end straight back into the quarterback leading to a sack. This will certainly not be the last time Cooper makes a big play for the Buckeyes. Cooper has been an outspoken leader for the Buckeyes this season as he, among the other seniors on this team, are determined to make the most of their final season and most importantly avenge the ending of last season.
With that being said, the Nittany Lions were completely stifled in the running game as they gained just 44 yards on the ground. The Buckeyes did concede some numbers to the Nittany Lions’ passing game in the second half as they went into desperation mode airing it out in an attempt to come from behind. The Nittany Lions force-fed star receiver Jahan Dotson which produced several big plays. Senior defensive back Shaun Wade was tasked with checking Dotson which did not go well for Wade.
Credit goes to Dotson for making some great catches even with close man coverage by Wade. Fortunately, the Buckeyes won’t see that same caliber of talent from the Scarlet Knights. It will be expected for the Scarlet Knights to air it out early in order to keep pace with Justin Fields and the Buckeyes’ offense but their receivers will not be able to beat the Buckeyes’ defensive backs as Dotson did. One defensive back that did flash against the Nittany Lions was Marcus Hooker who was second on the team in tackles and made big plays in coverage including an interception.
The Buckeyes will be missing cornerback Cameron Brown as he suffered an Achilles injury which will sideline him for the remainder of the season. A positive to that information is that the next man up behind Cameron Brown will have plenty of time to gain experience throughout the Buckeyes’ soft remaining schedule. The Buckeyes should find plenty of success in shutting down the Scarlet Knights’ offense which ranks last in the Big Ten in total offense thus far.