3 takeaways from Ohio State football’s win over Indiana

Ohio State’s defense has improved

Who had Ohio State only giving up three points in their season opener? Indiana’s not exactly an offensive juggernaut. They were ranked 98th last season in scoring offense, averaging only 23.2 points per game. The Buckeyes only allowed one field goal Saturday afternoon.

Ohio State had given up too many big plays in the final two games of their 2022 season, and it appears defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and the Buckeye defense got the memo. Indiana’s longest pass play was 24 yards to start a drive in the second quarter that eventually led to a field goal.

Outside of that one pass play, the Buckeyes held the new look Hoosier offense to only 153 total yards. Indiana attempted to run a version of the option offense, but it appeared the Buckeyes were ready, staying patient within their scheme and technically solid with their fundamentals.

Although the sack numbers weren’t as impressive as I was expecting, finishing with only one on the afternoon, that doesn’t mean the Buckeye defense wasn’t creating chaos. The Buckeyes finished with six tackles for loss, and maybe even more importantly, the defensive backfield looked much improved.

If the Ohio State offense is going to look more like one being led by Jim Tressel than Ryan Day, then it will be important that this defense also plays like one led by Jim Tressel than Ryan Day.