Caden Curry and crew have made defense the national byword for Ohio State’s fast 5-0 start. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Five games in gives Ryan Day caution about saying too much too soon. But it’s clear Matt Patricia’s influence is creating a historically great Ohio State 11 that defends the end zone with hunger and desperation.
Columbus, OH – Ryan Day might think it. And if he does? Then it would be as close to unanimity as a sports debate can get.
Almost everyone else is saying it, but it’s not his style to be swayed by popular opinion. He hates “the noise.”
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So, predictably, after practice Wednesday, Day wouldn’t bite on what is typically a subjective argument about the group he entrusted to Matt Patricia. He felt no need to defend anything, to state what is objectively true by many measurements and what our eyes tell us: No. 1 Ohio State’s defense is the best in America.
Day didn’t say his defense isn’t the best. He didn’t say that maybe someday it will be the best. Instead, he answered the question about whether the Ohio State defense is the best in the nation just as you would expect. Frankly, as he should.
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“I always say, just like everybody else, ignore the noise, but more importantly right now, ignore the noise,” Day said. “When you hear something like that you’re just getting set up. Nobody’s probably going to remember much about the first five games we played, but they’re going to remember the rest of them. So, we gotta keep getting better every day. What will matter at the end is who has the best defense at the end of the year. Not right now.”
He’s correct. But, right now, the Ohio State defense is unmatched.
The Silver Bullets are the most difficult team from sea to shining sea to score on, allowing five points a game.
They’ve grudgingly permitted two touchdowns in five games, the best mark by anyone to open a season in four years.
Opponents have entered the red zone only eight times to find themselves trapped in the Twilight Zone, never the end zone. That’s the best rate since South Carolina started 2010 with 11 straight zone outs.
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“That’s one of the best defenses I’ve ever seen in 13 years,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said Saturday after his team lost 42-3 in the Horseshoe.
The Buckeyes are loaded with talent as they should be. Caleb Downs is a safety who lines up in multiple positions. He is the best defensive player in the nation. He might also be the most intelligent.
Find a better linebacking duo than Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese. Or a better third linebacker for certain situations than sophomore Payton Pierce. The defensive line isn’t being called the best there is, but with all new starters, it is a formidable group that dominated Washington and kept dynamic quarterback Demond Williams in a cage.
The ‘Guru’…Matt Patricia has made worry over the departure of former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles an afterthought.
When defensive coordinator Jim Knowles bolted after last season for Penn State, the void was large. But the rest of the defensive staff remained intact, a point Day has made when asked about reasons for this season’s successes.
When Day hired Patricia to be General Guru of the defense, the narrow-minded balked because of Patricia’s failed tenure as head coach of the Detroit Lions. But Patricia’s resume is far more than that. He learned defense and how to run one from his long tenure with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichik.
Patricia came to Ohio State to do what he was born to do. His addition will go down as one of the best coordinator hires ever at Ohio State. The results speak for themselves. But this is about more than talent, scheme and process.
No player has let us see past the pencil Patricia keeps tucked in his hat like Pierce did Wednesday. By now his response to the question about his relationship with Patricia is breaking the internet like Ezekiel Elliott broke tackles.
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“A lot different than the previous defensive coordinator,” Pierce began. “I talked to Patricia more probably his first two days here than I did with our defensive coordinator my whole time being here. He’s poured into all of us, and he does every single day. He’s still sitting out here talking to players, and any questions we got, he’s always here to help. And not just in football, but in life. He’s given us different advice, and he’s been through so much. It’s great hearing from him every single day, and I appreciate him a lot.”
That part about Patricia still hanging around the indoor practice field talking to players is its own internet sensation. At least 30 minutes after practice ended, he was still there investing in his players’ lives.
Some have taken shots at Knowles because of this. But that’s unfair. He has a different personality. His way produced great results, too. However, Patricia’s personality to be engaging has been evident from the first time he met with the media after being hired. It wasn’t an act. And it is a difference maker.
Pierce went on about the effect of Patricia’s style.
“It makes you trust that he wants what’s best for you and what’s best for everyone else,” Pierce said. “We can just go have fun and play fast and play free and love each other.”
And here is what struck me the most that Pierce said: “A lot of people talk about the process. He said, ‘It’s not even about the process. It’s about the company and who you do it with. And he truly means that. And we’re living that every single day.”
That’s the good life. When you enjoy those around you, it makes achievement worth the sacrifice, it creates unforgettable times.
Matt Patricia has the defense playing deperately, sacking quarterbacks, stuffing run lanes, running down ballcarriers should they happen to find open space, making receivers seem invisible.
Day is fond of saying the team that is the most hungry and desperate wins. Patricia has the defense playing like it, sacking quarterbacks, stuffing run lanes, running down ballcarriers should they happen to find open space, making receivers seem invisible.
There is no natty hangover. There won’t be a Minnesota hangover this Saturday at Illinois. There’s just hunger for the next day. Day demands it, and Patricia and the rest of the defensive staff make sure the boss’s orders are carried out seven days a week.
“We need to be the hardest playing team in the country every single play and every single practice,” Pierce said. “This week our goal is to have the most physical, best practice we’ve had all year, and always the next practice. We’ve done a really good job of that. We’re just trying to stack and make tomorrow the best practice of the year.”
I’ve heard coach speak and player speak be just what Pierce said when you see teams fail to consistently back up what they say. Not this team. At least not yet.
And it won’t matter what No. 17 Illinois does Saturday. They have one of the Big Ten’s best and most experienced quarterbacks in Luke Altmyer. He’s thrown 12 touchdowns and no interceptions. He will have to be at his best Saturday to give the Illini a fighting chance.
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There is precedent.
In an expected mismatch between these two teams in 1980, I was a high school kid at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes and Art Schlichter led 28-0 late in the first half when an Illinois quarterback named Dave Wilson took over.
The Buckeyes still won 49-42, but Wilson threw for a then-record 621 yards and six touchdowns. He completed 43 of 69 attempts. In those days, there was no way to track stats at the game. We were so wrapped up in the score that we didn’t think about how many attempts or yards. When we heard the numbers on the radio on the way home, we were stunned.
To have a chance Saturday, the Illini would have to abandon the run again and give Altmyer a chance to be Wilson. Illinois can try, but that won’t work against this defense. Not a chance. Too much talent, too many confusing schemes, too much hunger and too much coaching.
Day held back on the question about being the best defense. Pierce did not.
“Yeah, 100%,” he said. “We come out there with the confidence and a trust in each other that everyone’s going to do their job and be one of the most athletic, meanest guys you know in the country.”
And that’s what desperate looks like. Just the way Day wants it.
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