Why Ohio State defensive coordinator should be the favorite for a major award

As dominant as Ohio State’s offense can be, they’ve gotten off to some slow starts this season. Every time, it’s the defense rising up and keeping the Buckeyes in a good spot for the offense to heat up.

Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has been a key part of that and should be considered a favorite for the Broyles award, given to the best coordinator in college football. He is one of 63 nominees.

The 63 nominees for the Broyles Award (best assistant coach): pic.twitter.com/6uHbQj48i4
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) November 25, 2025

The Buckeyes defense has been dominant all season long. Patricia inherited an already stellar defense from last season, The Buckeyes allowed the fewest yards per game at 254.9.

So what did Patricia do? He managed to make the unit even better. This year the Buckeyes are leading the nation with even fewer yards allowed per game at 210.7, nearly 40 yards better than second place (Oregon, 249.2).

The Buckeyes are also the only team in college football to be allowing single digit points per game, giving up just 8.4 a game. This is an improvement on an already 12.9 PPG average last year.

The second place team in that category this season is Indiana, giving up 12.8, over a field goal difference per game.

Ohio State has not given up a 100-yard rusher this season or a 300-yard passer. They’ve only given up multiple touchdowns to two teams this season, Illinois and Penn State.

Patricia has also been able to get the most out of his players, helping several of them bump up their draft stock, and earn nominations for some key awards.

While a guy like Caleb Downs has already secured his spot as one of the best safeties in college football, and will likely be a top 10 pick in the NFL draft, he’s done nothing to hurt that reputation this year.

Meanwhile, teammates like Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, who were projected to go later, may now be joining him in the first round.

Reese was solid last year, recording 43 tackles and a half sack in 16 games last year. This year, he’s on a whole new level as a top linebacker in the game. He’s recorded 59 tackles and 6.5 sacks in just 11 games.

He’s shot up mock draft boards, and now finds himself as high as the top 10.

Styles was able to record 100 tackles last year, and this season he’s on pace to be around the same number, having 62 tackles in 11 games. He’s grown as a coverage linebacker, and his already stellar tackling has improved even further this season, limiting missed tackles. Styles has yet to miss a tackle this season.

Then you have guys like Caden Curry who went from 3.5 sacks to 13.5 this season. Kayden McDonald broke out with a 47 tackle, three sack year.

Even guys in the secondary like Davison Igbinosun have seen drastic improvement with Patricia leading the way. Last year, he led college football with 16 penalties. That resulted in him not declaring for the NFL draft and coming back for another season.

This year, he’s been one of the most improved corners of the season. He’s barely been called for penalties, and has recorded eight passes defended this season.

All this to say that Patricia has managed to turn a great Ohio State defense into a historic unit. There isn’t another coordinator in college football who has provided as much value to a team as Patricia. By all means, he has earned the right to be called the best coordinator in college football this year.

Patricia will have one last regular season game to help his case, proving just how dominant the defense can be against a school like Michigan. If the defense can be dominant and the Buckeyes pull off the win, the award should already have his name on it.