Jonathon Cooper, Tommy Togiai Stuff Penn State Rushing Attack
After Nebraska scored two touchdowns in the first four series of the season-opener last week - and most of the yardage was gained on the ground - the Ohio State rush defense was under a microscope Saturday against Penn State. Even though the Nittany Lions were without their top two options at running back, the Buckeye defense rose to the occasion during the first road game of the year.
Penn State managed just 44 yards on 27 carries against the Scarlet and Gray - that included -2 rushing yards in the second half. Devyn Ford led the way with eight carries for 36 yards. Even if you adjust the yardage to account for the five Buckeye sacks, Penn State managed only 67 yards in 22 attempts.
Jonathon Cooper and Tommy Togiai were a huge reason for that success.
Ohio State Athletics
In perhaps their best games as Buckeyes, Cooper and Togiai anchored the defensive and totally silenced the Penn State ground game. They also applied a ton of pressure to Sean Clifford, who was just 2-for-7 passing in the first half before finding a rhythm after halftime.
Togiai registered seven tackles, including three sacks ... pretty impressive game for your nose tackle. Jonathon Cooper was credited with five stops and 0.5 sack, but it felt like he made an impact on nearly every play. In fact, Cooper had a big smile on his face when he learned about that stat line in his press conference. He looked at the athletic communications rep for the team and said “That’s all? That’s all they gave me? Dang. I need more.”
In fact, the Buckeye front four accumulated 17 of the 33 tackles in the first half. By the end of the game, all five sacks were registered by a defensive linemen.
But take the stats out of the equation for a moment, because they never tell the whole story. Despite the fact that Penn State's second half featured a much more competitive offensive attack after a pretty thorough first half beating, Cooper and Togiai were unstoppable. In fact, it's exactly the kind of performance Buckeye fans are expecting from Cooper, who is probably the most highly respected player on the team.
Ohio State Athletics
“I would say this one feels special, just being out there with my brothers, honestly,” Cooper said. “I feel like I’ve always had that in me. You guys haven’t really seen me play football in a year so it’s kind of hard for me to say that. I feel like just the environment, Penn State, the way our coaches had us prepared and ready took my game to the level that it was supposed to be.
“I feel like my leadership showed a lot tonight, just speaking for my defense and getting them ready to go. I feel like my leadership throughout the whole entire game was my best performance, honestly, regardless of what I did on the field. I feel like getting my guys going and making sure that they’re still in the game and still into it is what I do best.”
This was such an important test for the defensive line because it was their first big game against a ranked team without Chase Young, Joey Bosa or Nick Bosa on the defensive line. This was a chance for the Buckeyes to show off their depth and prove that their defensive line was ready for a challenge. Cooper isn't quite the same level talent as those aforementioned NFL stars, but he leads a group of talented, physical defensive ends that played very well yesterday.
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