Mic Check: Rematch With Oregon Gives Ohio State's Defense a Shot at Revenge

Yesterday Ryan Day and Oregon head coach Dan Lanning participated in the first press conference to discuss the CFP quarterfinal matchup between Ohio State and Oregon, slated for January 1 in the Rose Bowl.

This game would be juicy no matter what - as it features what many would say are the two best teams in college football this season - but the fact it serves as a rematch to October's instant classic in Eugene adds even more intrigue.

The Ducks got the better of Ohio State that night, winning a 32-31 thriller that came down to the last play. Both teams made their share of highlight plays as well as mistakes but it was the OSU offense that blinked last as the clock ran out on a last gasp drive.

That said, the most shocking aspect of the defeat for Ryan Day's squad was the defense's inability to slow down the Ducks, giving up a ton of big plays on the way to allowing what became season highs in points and yards allowed. Make no mistake, Oregon's offense is elite but to see that the Buckeyes gave up 223 more yards and 15 more points than surrendered to any of their other 12 opponents is still a bit eye popping.

What we know is Day and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles went back into the lab after the loss and Ohio State's defense has since been dominant. Now the Silver Bullets get to see if those adjustments will be enough to make a meaningful difference in the rematch on New Year's Day.

Day feels like the defense will be ready.

They do a great job on offense, throwing the ball, running the ball. They have a good balance. You know, Gabriel is very, very talented and very accurate in what he does.

It is also very athletic and they have weapons on the outside. So it's, it's a challenge. we've seen that, you know, live and in color.

we've made adjustments coming off of that game and we've worked hard to make sure that we're putting our guys in the best position to be successful. We'll do that again this week and we'll go compete our tails off.

our defense is playing with great confidence right now. You can feel that on the field on Saturday and, and they've continued that build, after the game that we played with these guys last time, you can see every week it's gotten stronger and stronger.

So we've got to go do it. We've got to go put it on the field. I know we've got a great challenge ahead but our guys are ready for it.

The first matchup in Autzen Stadium saw the OSU defense surrender 496 yards on 7.6 yards per play. Ohio State currently leads the nation in yards per play allowed at 4.06 and the 12 opponents not named Oregon averaged 3.73 yards per snap versus the Buckeyes.

A big reason for the inflated yards per play allowed to Oregon in the first meeting was Ohio State's inability to limit big plays. The Ducks peeled off 10 chunk plays (runs of 10+ yards, passes of 15+) for 320 yards and two touchdowns. That included eight plays of 20+ yards. Ohio State's defense has allowed just 28 plays of 20+ yards to the other 12 opponents its faced so far this year, good for 2.33 per game.

Of course a root cause of those gaudy big play numbers in Round 1 was the excellent game turned in by Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and his elite receiving corps combined with the horrid performance from Ohio State's CB1, Denzel Burke.

Gabriel lit up the Buckeyes for 341 passing yards and two scores, boosted by connections of 69, 48, 32, 32, 38 and 26 yards across 34 passing attempts. Wideouts Evan Stewart (7 rec, 149 yds, 2 TD) and Tez Johnson (7 rec, 75 yds, TD) had a field day roaming OSU's secondary. Burke himself gave up eight catches for 179 yards and two scores.

In the seven games since the loss in Eugene, Ohio State's pass defense hasn't given up a single touchdown pass across 176 attempts and the longest pass play was just 33 yards.

Ohio State's pass rush did the back end no favors either, tallying zero sacks and two hurries. Since then, different stunts, twists and blitzes have helped Ohio State average 3.1 sacks per contest and generally create more pressure in the backfield.

We won't know until New Year's Day if the schematic changes in Ohio State's defense will be enough to slow down the Ducks and help the Buckeyes advance to the CFP semifinals but it's clear Day, Knowles and the defensive players feel really good about their readiness for a rematch.

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