Key Takeaways: Ohio State Defense vs. Minnesota

Here are my lasting impressions of the Buckeyes' offense after digesting win over the Golden Gophers.

Author:
Brendan Gulick
Sep 5, 2021 4:52 PM EDT

After Ohio State held off a gutsy Minnesota attack and late push, here are my key takeaways from the Buckeyes' defensive effort on Thursday night. And don't forget - if you missed our defensive grades from the weekend, check those out here.

Strip Sack, Scoop and Score

It came at a time the Buckeyes so desperately needed a game-changing play. Ohio State created plenty of pressure during the 2020 season, but had a difficult time actually finishing off plays and getting to the quarterback. While they only registered two sacks on Thursday, they were extremely important.

Zach Harrison's strip sack of Tanner Morgan and Haskell Garrett's ensuing big-man touchdown was the biggest deflating play of the game for Minnesota. According to a recent study done in the NFL, teams that score a defensive touchdown are 86 percent more likely to win the game. You can't understate how important that score was for the Silver Bullets.

And did you see how fast Garrett ran?!

Linebacker Play Needs Consistency

Speaking of sacks, Cody Simon's great play to end the first half came at a consequential moment. After Minnesota mounted another threat and made it look like they could add to a 14-10 lead, Simon's delayed-blitz sack of Morgan ended the half with a punctuation mark for the Silver Bullets.

Aside from him, I thought the linebackers played fine. Some missed tackles were frustrating, but largely that unit was okay. Definitely room for improvement, but they weren't going to cost Ohio State the game. Teradja Mitchell was lucky his targeting call was overturned and he wasn't ejected. Our friends at Eleven Warriors noted that he played more snaps than anyone else on Thursday night (58 in all).

Dallas Gant's roughing the passer penalty was inexcusable. He's a better, smarter player than that. Even though it wasn't an egregious hit, it was high and late - not to mention, it cost Josh Proctor and the Buckeyes an interception. He'll learn and get better from that, but that flag really hurt.

Inexperienced Secondary Needs Work

Ohio State's DB's don't have a ton of game reps (and in some cases, literally had none prior to Thursday). I have to think that teams are going to try and pick on the back end of the Buckeyes defense until they prove they can play at an elite level. I thought Denzel Burke had a good game in his debut and I believe he has a very high ceiling. But he committed a foul in the end zone that directly led to a Minnesota touchdown, which certainly left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes believe in this personnel group and they believe in their ability to teaching and coach their scheme. Give them time, but eventually the results are going to have to get better if the Buckeyes want to win a national title.

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