When the College Football Playoff selection committee released its first Top 25 rankings on Tuesday night, Ohio State (6-1) was buried at No. 16—placed behind 13 other one-loss teams.
The Buckeyes are facing a major uphill battle with just five games remaining in the regular season, needing to rise 12 spots in order to have a shot at this year’s national title.
A vastly improved and surging defense could push the Buckeyes up that hill and back into the playoff conversation.
Ohio State has been known for its offense since Urban Meyer took over three years ago, but in 2013, a leaky defense that surrendered an average of 38.3 points and 539 total yards to its final three opponents—Michigan, Michigan State and Clemson—cost the Buckeyes a chance to play for the national championship.
That prompted the hiring of Chris Ash as co-defensive coordinator and the complete overhaul of Luke Fickell’s unit.
Meyer wanted a scheme that featured his defenders attacking the ball as opposed to the soft zones that opponents could pick apart.
That, in essence, is what drove Ash to join Meyer’s staff.
“Meyer said he wanted a defense that challenges the offense, that’s aggressive, that will attack, not worry about the ‘what ifs,’ create confusion,” Ash told Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports. “Those are things I believe in to be successful. When he started talking my language, I started listening.”
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Continue Reading: Can Ohio State’s Defense Fuel a Run to the College Football Playoff?
