EAST LANSING, Mich. — Three observations from Ohio State football’s 49-20 victory over Michigan State. 1. While Jim Knowles likely had many goals he wanted to accomplish in his first season as defensive coordinator, tightening up a leaky run defense had to be high on the list. The season is only halfway over, and some future OSU opponents boast ground games. Still, I think it’s fair to call Knowles’ influence on the run defense a resounding success — especially compared to where the Buckeyes were less than one year ago. Michigan State is, by no means, a dynamic offense right now. Kenneth Walker III is long gone. The Spartans ranked in the middle of the country at best in most of Football Outsiders’ offensive line metrics going into the game. They’ll rank even lower now. The stat sheet credited MSU with a mere 7 net rushing yards, though that included…
Continue Reading: Ohio State football’s defense spent the season’s first half building a wall: Nathan Baird’s observations
