The Ohio State football team knows the defense has to be better this year. Over the past three seasons, the offense was championship-level. No one was disputing that even though the Buckeyes lost the ability to run last season after a rash of injuries at running back.
The defense is what kept the Buckeyes from winning a national championship in each of those seasons. Alabama cooked the defense in the National Championship Game in 2020. TTUN cooked it in both 2021 and 2022. Georgia overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl.