Back to the Ohio State Buckeyes Newsfeed

Can Ohio State's Pass Defense Rebound from a Historic(ally Bad) Showing Against Indiana?

Related Topics: Indiana, Dave Ellis, Jeff Hafley

Kerry Coombs has coached a number of great secondaries during his 38 years in the business.

Film Study

This year's vintage is not one of them.

Though it has played just four games in 2020, Ohio State sits 115th nationally in pass defense - exactly 114 places below where it finished the 2019 season. Indiana torched Coombs' defensive backfield to the tune of 491 yards through the air last Saturday, further exposing a unit that had already shown signs of weakness.

As my colleague Dan Hope detailed shortly afterward, the performance was the fourth-highest total ever surrendered by an Ohio State defense.