When Matt Patricia was hired as defensive coordinator for Ohio State, many were critical of the hire. I did not think a coach who had struggled with the Detroit Lions as Head Coach would have the ability to come into Ohio State and deliver a good defense. On Saturday, Matt Patricia quickly proved everyone wrong as what he did to Arch Manning and Texas by holding only 7 points was impressive. Matt Patricia deserves credit for his defense because they played well in helping Ohio State to a 14-7 win over Texas and knocking off the top-ranked team in the country.
Ohio state 3 safety presentation vs Texas .
— coachkou (@coachkou) August 30, 2025
Align middle field closed 3 double buzz. Bring cb and will delayed loop and play cover 2 w 4 man replacement pressure drop de to field, great design. pic.twitter.com/ZJVYhQFOE6
Last year's team, Ohio State, lost 8 starters from its defense. All 8 were drafted in the NFL, which is especially concerning considering that they had to replace all 4 defensive linemen starters. Patricia is working with an inexperienced group compared to last year's veteran team yet the way they played on Saturday against Texas was excellent.
Matt Patricia on his first game at Ohio Stadium: “It's loud, man. This place is loud. I love it. I absolutely love it. The fans, you don't get that kind of noise in an NFL game. So I'm super appreciative of that. If we can play at home every game, if we can figure that out,…
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 31, 2025
The biggest area that Patrica excelled at was the way he mixed and matched coverages. He was able to have his secondary line up all over the field. He lined up All-American safety Caleb Downs all over the field. I saw him play as a deep safety, slot cornerback, and played as a rover in the middle of the field. Downs was able to make an impact all over the field, because Patricia put him in ideal situations all night. The ability to manipulate the defense to confuse Texas quarterback Arch Manning was excellent all night by Patricia.
The other area of strength for Patricia was his ability to make the right calls with situational football. Texas was 1 of 5 on 4th downs during the game. They also stopped Texas at the goal-line on 4th and goal from the 1. It was a key moment to not allow Texas to score a touchdown in a close game. They also had an interception when Jordan Matthews undercut the Texas wide receiver to make the key play. Patricia had his defense flying around and making plays.
I questioned Patricia's hire because I didn’t think he had the personality to deal with college kids, but I was completely wrong. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day knew what he was doing with this hire, as he wanted a veteran defensive coordinator who had experience in the NFL. He knew he had a new offensive coordinator in Brian Hartline, and Day would need to spend more time helping him with the offense, so he went with a veteran Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator. It looks like it was a great hire, and someone whom Day can count on. Sorry, Matt Patricia, you were a great hire.
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