Ohio State’s on-field performance shouldn’t be graded relative to the rest of the sport. The amount of elite talent and recent championship results puts the Buckeyes in rarified air. That means Ohio State’s defense is, by its potential, putrid. Through seven games, the Buckeyes are one of only two top-15 programs in the S&P+ ranking with a Defensive S&P+ ranking outside the top 40. They’re 41st, and if that ranking held over the rest of the season, it would be Urban Meyer’s worst defense since 2013 (his second season in Columbus) by a wide margin. We just rarely see an Ohio State team this vulnerable. First of all, Nick Bosa ain’t walkin’ back through that door, but it almost didn’t matter whether he was there or not. Bosa elected to withdraw from OSU and begin preparing for the NFL Draft a few weeks after sustaining a core muscle injury against…
Continue Reading: With or without Nick Bosa, Ohio State’s defense is not up to Ohio State standards
