Desmond Howard: Ohio State Has a 'Porous Defense'

Desmond Howard was not all that impressed with the defensive performance of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

In their 2021 debut, the Buckeyes went on the road against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and left with a 45-31 conference victory to start their season.

Appearing on ESPN's "Get Up" morning show on Friday, the college football analyst explained why the Buckeyes defense was unimpressive against the Golden Gophers.

“I thought they did not look like the No. 4 team in the country last night,” Howard said via The Spun. “Of course, CJ Stroud, the redshirt freshman quarterback, he struggled early. Made some big throws late, and they had to rely on the big play to win the game. But, they could not put an unranked Minnesota away.

“And then defensively, a very porous defense … Their secondary, especially the cornerbacks, were very handsy. I don’t know if these officials had those yellow flags stitched into their hands last night, but they would not throw PI on those DBs.”

Like many across the country have echoed, Howard praised the play-calling abilities of Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day.

“But, credit Ryan Day. He’s a brilliant play-caller,” Howard explained.

Ohio State will match up against the Oregon Ducks, the No. 12 team in the country, next weekend.

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