The Rose Bowl was yet another display of how much the Ohio State defense has evolved this season. It was a perfect combination of good scheme and players executing. Let’s jump right in and take a look.
Jim Knowles was extremely multiple in his coverage calls throughout the game and did not lean too much on any one particular coverage. However, he probably called Tampa-2 more than anything else. See an example of Ohio State’s pre-rotated Tampa-2 out of a 3-high safety look below:
Knowles also frequently relied on a drop-8 version of Tampa-2 on 3rd downs. Below, as you can see, Ohio State is running Tampa-2 while only rushing three. This allowed for Tampa-2 coverage plus a spy on the quarterback (in this case, Mike linebacker Cody Simon is the spy):
Ohio State also ran a surprising amount of Cover 1, which came as a surprise considering how many times they got beat in man coverage in their first meeting against Oregon. However, Knowles was generally pretty smart in the way he called Cover 1. For example, in the below clip, Knowles calls for Cover 1 Hole (meaning the safety to the passing strength drops down as a robber), but he only rushes three and again leaves Simon as a spy:
And in the following clip, Knowles calls Cover 1 “Lurk” (meaning a linebacker will be the robber defender). In this case, Sonny Styles is the robber defender while Cody Simon is in man coverage on the RB. However, rather than letting the linebackers “green dog” (attack the QB when in man coverage on the RB and it appears the RB is staying in to pass block), it was obvious that Jim Knowles instructed the linebackers to just sit in the low hole instead, which is another example of how Jim Knowles was a little more “safe” with his Cover 1 calls.
Knowles also called more Cover 3 against Oregon than he probably has in any previous game this season. This was especially apparent against the run, where Cover 3 Buzz allows the boundary safety (Lathan Ransom) to drop down as a box defender and makes plays. See below, where Oregon runs Duo. Ohio State is in 3-buzz, so Lathan Ransom is dropping down because he is the hook defender to the boundary, and he makes a phenomenal play:
Ohio State also had a lot of success stopping Oregon’s run game simply by using line movement and stunts that Oregon Struggled to pick up. See the “Tam” stunt (3-tech stunting to the A-gap) below from Tyleik Williams against Oregon’s Zone RPO:
And below, Ohio State pinches their entire defensive line against Oregon’s wide zone concept:
And you can see once again how much Oregon struggled with the defensive line movement below, as Knowles calls for his patented blitz that sends the boundary safety through the B-gap against Oregon’s GT Counter Slide RPO. Tyleik Williams is again on a “Tam” stunt as part of this blitz, and he blows the play up:
The defense appears to be peaking at the right time – this goes for both the staff and the players. At this moment, I do not think they need to do anything differently from a schematic standpoint.
Ohio State Offensive Tackle George Fitzpatrick Reportedly Entering Transfer Portal
‘Reckless’ Buckeye Defense Again Too Much To Handle
Mitchell Melton Intending To Enter Transfer Portal After The Season
What’s It Gonna Take For Ohio State To Get A Holding Call?
In Order To Win: Defense
Ross Fulton Analysis: How Jim Knowles’ Defense Locked Down Oregon In The Rose Bowl
Ross Fulton Analysis: How Chip Kelly And Ryan Day Broke The Oregon Defense
Ohio State Running Back Sam Williams-Dixon Entering Transfer Portal