Ohio State's Defense Had One of the Greatest Regular Seasons Of All Time

The Ohio State Buckeyes hoisted the 2024 National Championship Trophy and while they basked in the glory of winning the title, the realization set in that they would be saying goodbye to one of the best defenses in program history.

They would ultimately be burdened with replacing a total of eight starters, one at each level of the defense, all four of the starting defensive linemen, the starting MIKE linebacker, their vocal leader in the secondary, and two of the three safeties. They received the news in late January that they would be replacing the coordinator on that side of the ball.

There was no way that they could put together a quality unit, right? Wrong.

Quality is the floor, spectacular is the norm, and historic is the ceiling.

From the front to the back, this Ohio State defense is filled with superstars, and because of that, they put together one of the greatest seasons that you'll ever see out of a defense.

The final number is 7.75. Opponents averaged 7.75 points per game against the Buckeyes.

They gave up one touchdown per game. For context, the 2001 Miami Hurricanes defense (which Ohio State beat) that featured four NFL Hall of Famers, seven first-round draft picks, and 10 qualitry NFL players gave up an average of 9.5 points per game.

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That number only tells half of the story, as several of the points surrendered came in "garbage" time, either the third or fourth quarter, when the game was out of reach.

The Buckeyes notched two shutouts on the season, and they held eight of their twelve opponents under 10 points and held 10 of the 12 opponents to 10 or fewer points. The most points they gave up in a game was 16, and that was against Illinois who scored their final touchdown with four minutes to go in a blowout.

There are too many players to call out on the defense. Caleb Downs and Arvell Reese will each be top-15 picks in the 2025 NFL draft. Kayden McDonald has proven to be an elite defensive tackle, Kenyatta Jackson is a matchup nightmare at defensive end, Davison Igbinosun is a true lockdown corner, and Sonny Styles is the leader of them all.

The biggest surprise from that side of the ball is Matt Patricia. I, specifically, was very outspoken against the decision to hire Patricia. He had never coached at the college level, and I didn't think he would be able to make the adjustment.

Boy, was I 100 percent wrong.

Not only has he been a perfect fit for this team, but he may have found his true calling to be a college football coach.

It helps that he can run early 2010s Patriots defensive schemes with his players, but he has a true love for coaching these young men, and he is one of the best to do it.

To say that the Ohio State defense is one of the best in the country is an understatement. They are one of the best defenses ever.

They are the main reason why Ohio State is thinking repeat.