What To Watch For: Ohio State Defense vs. Notre Dame

It's time to show just how seriously the Buckeyes took their off-season training after they got pushed around against Michigan last year.

The 2022 Ohio State Buckeyes will probably go as far as the defense can take them, given the offensive juggernaut Ryan Day has at his disposal.

The Silver Bullets went through a major overhaul this off-season, with a new coordinator, two other new position coaches and a couple of transfers that should see the field immediately. Jim Knowles has his work cut out for him after the Buckeye defense was far below their own standards the last two years.

Saturday night at The Shoe, the Buckeyes are going to have a chance to make things pretty frustrating for a first-time (but very talented) starting quarterback in Tyler Buchner.

Here's what I'll be monitoring most closely when the Buckeyes are out there against the Fighting Irish:

1. Tommy Eichenberg struggled early in the season in 2021 when he was put in man-to-man situations. He's an inside zone run-stuffing machine. Jim Knowles loves him and has made no secret about it from the moment he walked in the door. I want to see how he uses the Cleveland native, who had a career-high 17 tackles against Utah and won Rose Bowl Defensive MVP honors.
   
   
2. Ronnie Hickman told the media about the tangible difference he's seen this year - last year, opposing running backs were getting to his level of the defense untouched (which is why he had a breakout year and led the Buckeyes in tackles by a country mile). Hickman said in camp so far, running backs are struggling to get through the line of scrimmage unscathed. How does his perspective hold up on Saturday night?
   
   
3. Ohio State's weak point of the defense last November in Ann Arbor was pretty clear ... the interior of the defensive line wasn't good enough against a very good offensive front from the Wolverines. Who's going to show us that things are different this year? Ty Hamilton, Jerron Cage, Taron Vincent, Mike Hall, Tyleik Williams ... some of them, all of them ... all eyes are on the trenches.

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