College football: Ohio State defense still performing at elite level

COLUMBUS — When it comes to a second off weekend of this college football season, top-ranked Ohio State's approach is different strokes for different folks. "Everyone's a little bit different," coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. "There's guys who have played a whole bunch of football who need maintenance, and there's some young guys that need a whole bunch of football and a whole bunch of reps. So we'll use the formula that we've used in the past for the bye week, but try to give everybody what they need." So far, some obvious strengths have emerged for the defending national champion. The defense is No. 1 in the nation in points allowed (5.9 per game) and second in yards allowed (216.9). Despite losing five starters from the front seven and three more in the secondary, this version of the "Silver Bullets" ranks in the top 10 in the nation against the run (9th), pass (3rd), passing efficiency (7th), on third down (1st) and in the red zone (1st). Day described that as a team effort. First-year defensive coordinator Matt Patricia joined returning assistants Larry Johnson (defensive line), James Laurinaitis (linebackers), Tim Walton (secondary/cornerbacks) and Matt Guerrieri (safeties) to craft a unit that has been praised for its ability to morph into different forms from down to down. They've done that by utilizing the unique and varied talents of several players, including linebackers Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese, safety Caleb Downs and cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. "These guys who have played a lot of football, they were able to take some of the new stuff and communicate it to the guys around them to build confidence so that they can go put it on the field," Day said. "Because some of the guys haven't played a lot of football, so I think all of those combined is why you're seeing the success we've had in the first half of the season. "But the first half of the season is just prep for the rest of the run, so we've all got to look back on the first half of the season here, figure out the things that we've done well, and then figure out where we may have tendencies. We've always said that good offenses and defenses have tendencies, but we've got to make sure we're ahead of them so we're not getting nailed down." The offense is still more of a work in progress. The Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) are a respectable 23rd in the nation in scoring (36.4 points per game) and 36th in total offense (431.4 yards per game), but quarterback Julian Sayin is coming off his best game yet. The first-year starter was named the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Week after throwing for a career-high 393 yards and four touchdown passes in a 34-0 win at Wisconsin, a game that showcased the talents not only of star receivers Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith but also involved tight end Max Klare, secondary receivers Brandon Inniss and Quincy Porter and others. "Now he's got to grow from that and continue to build," Day said of Sayin. "We're just halfway through the season, so we've got a lot of football left, but the No. 1 thing we've got to do is continue to take care of the football, lead the team, command the game." On the other hand, the running game took a step backward against the Badgers. In a performance Day described as "unacceptable," the Buckeyes amassed only 98 yards on the ground, their lowest total since getting 77 in the season-opener against Texas, and averaged 3.5 yards per carry. Both of those figures were enhanced by a couple of late pops by freshman Isaiah West when the starters were still in the game, but the result was far from in doubt. That was after six games in which the rushing attack wasn't all that inspiring to begin with, and Day acknowledged that will be studied over the next two weeks of practice before the Buckeyes get a Nov. 1 visit from Penn State. That could include personnel changes both up front and in the backfield. "I don't think it's about fixing it as much as there was some breakdowns in terms of technique in the game," Day said. "I don't really get into pointing fingers, but we've got to be more consistent in terms of identifying who we're going to block and using technique to block them."