Monday Film Session: Breaking Down Ohio State's Defense vs. Akron

Here's some film analysis of Ohio State's defensive rout of the Zips.

Author:
Pat Cavanaugh
Sep 27, 2021 8:00 AM EDT

Throughout the season, we will break down game film to spotlight certain plays that went well for the Buckeyes and others that did not. This week’s film breakdown will highlight the areas and plays that were successful for the Buckeyes.

If you missed our film evaluation of the Buckeye offense, check that out here.

Buckeye Defense vs. Akron Offense

After the first three games, the Buckeye defense ranked 118th nationally in total defense, allowing a staggering 471 yards per game. During this week’s press conference, head coach Ryan Day emphasized that “when you play with a four-down front, you want to see disruption in the backfield.”

Message received.

The front four of the Buckeyes were tenacious all night and were part of a defensive unit that collected nine sacks. The play-calling was aggressive with their blitz packages and stunts.

No one was more disruptive and relentless than All-American Haskell Garrett. Below are some clips displaying No. 92 Garrett’s incredible combination of power with his bull-rush and quickness to get around blockers.

The first three clips show Garrett's strength with his bull-rush against Akron’s left guard Ryan Beckman. Although D.J. Irons evades Garrett on this first play, he is not as successful the second and third time around. Plays like these early in the game give a defensive lineman a lot of confidence, while also helping to set up other pass rush moves in later snaps. This type of pressure can also add uneasiness for a quarterback.

This final Garrett clip shows his quick first step and ability to beat the double team between the center and guard.

Since secondary coach Matt Barnes has taken over as the defensive play-caller, there has been a noticeable increase of two-high safety looks and disguising of coverage. Over the past two weeks, there has been a heavy dose of pre- and post-snap movement by the secondary. The movement of even zone coverage (two-high safety) to odd (single-high) safety allows an extra defender in the box for run support, as well as for zone blitzing.

Here is a clip with the Buckeye secondary showing a two-high safety look and rolling to cover three with a zone blitz. Safety Ronnie Hickman rolls over top at the snap of the ball and is in great position on the intended receiver over the middle.

This clip shows a two-high look again, but this time Hickman drops down at the snap to cover the deep hole (middle of the field) and is able to pinch down to help linebacker Steele Chambers defend the curl route by the number three receiver. Hickman drops down to “rob” the middle of the field with this being open from safety Craig Young showing blitz, but eventually falling back a bit to spy on the elusive Irons.

The last clip is similar with a two-high look, but this time Hickman will drop to the middle to replace linebacker Tommy Eichenberg on the blitz.

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