Ohio has been among the MAC’s best in scoring defense the last two seasons, and last fall the ‘Cats finished ninth nationally in third-down conversion percentage (29.9) — a critical stat that coordinators always look at.
But, Ohio’s secondary hasn’t been up to its own standards either. There were just enough breakdowns in the back end of the defense to cost the Bobcats a MAC East title in 2017, and passing yards came too easily at times as well.
“It just wasn’t good enough,” Ohio Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Burrow said this spring. “We just have to get better there.