June 21, 2026

Who are the best defensive football players Ohio State has faced in the last three decades?


Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard knocks the ball away from Ohio State receiver Devin Smith during the Spartans’ 34-24 win over OSU in the 2013 Big Ten championship game. Don Speck | AIM Media Midwest When the Big Ten Network announced its all-decade team last week it reminded me how many great players I have seen play against Ohio State in writing about OSU football since 1992. So, I decided to make a list of the best players I’ve seen at each position based on how they played when they competed against Ohio State and on their overall careers. Call it my All-Opponents All-Three Decades Team. The No. 1 requirement was that they had to have been a starter in a game against Ohio State, which eliminated great players like Pat Fitzgerald and Dallas Clark. No. 2 was that I had to have been in the press box when they played…

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