Ahead of this weekend’s Big Ten Conference Championship, I called upon a friend of mine from my time on the Ohio State beat. Bill Landis has covered Ohio State for several years now — for The Athletic during my time in Columbus and now on Substack at Bill and Doug on Ohio State Football (the 15th-bestselling sports Substack just months after launching) — and he’s viewed as one of the most revered reporters in Columbus. I’m very thankful for his time and insight this week!
Bill has also invited me on his podcast later this week, so stay tuned for more from Bill and Doug Lesmerises — two of the best in the business.
Q: What should fans make of this Ohio State team, whose schedule isn’t as difficult as it has been historically?
Ohio State has played seven teams that will play in a bowl game, two teams in Texas and Michigan that could finish with double-digit wins, and another three — Ohio, Washington, Illinois — that could finish with nine wins. Texas, Michigan, Washington and Illinois could all finish ranked. The strength of schedule is what it is, and the Buckeyes didn’t have to play at Oregon and Iowa, as Indiana did. But I’m not sure it’s a schedule that a bunch of teams would go 12-0 against, and especially not with the ease Ohio State did.
This team still hasn’t trailed in a second half this year. That’s both a tribute to its dominance and something that gets held against it as people try to figure out how good this team really is. The Buckeyes have navigated some tense moments early in games, but they haven’t been in a real four-quarter dogfight yet. The Texas win was a one-score game, but the Longhorns scored with three minutes left in the fourth quarter to make it 14-7. Aside from that, and a slow start against Michigan. Things have been mostly comfortable.
But I wouldn’t take that to mean Ohio State is secretly not any good. I’m reminded of two recent, unbeaten champs. In 2022, Georgia played only three teams in the regular season that won more than eight games. Still, it dispatched of LSU in the SEC Championship and Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals before beating an out-classed TCU team for a second straight national championship. In 2023, Michigan didn’t play a ranked team until November, and only three of its regular-season opponents won more than eight games. But it beat Ohio State, a ranked Iowa in the Big Ten title game, Alabama and Washington in succession to win it all.
I’d put this Ohio State team in a similar position. Has it been really pushed? No. But it’s still the best team in the country until someone proves otherwise.
Q: One of the biggest question marks about this team coming into 2025 was how the coordinators would fare – Brian Hartline as a first-time OC and Matt Patricia as a first-time collegiate DC. How has that path unfolded over the season?
I was more skeptical of the Patricia hire, and he’s been great. The players love him. He’s meshed incredibly well with the defensive staff, all of whom were held over from last year. Ohio State has great defensive talent, yes, but Patricia’s scheme, combined with that talent, has made this defense incredibly difficult for anyone to crack. It’s allowed nine touchdowns in 12 games.
Hartline is doing this for the first time, and you’ve felt that on occasion this year. Some of the red zone play-calling has left something to be desired. Explosive plays have not been a constant. OSU’s current mark of 6.85 yards per play, while still good, would be the second-lowest since Ryan Day took over as head coach in 2019. But I’ll say this for Hartline, I thought the game plans and play calling against Penn State and Michigan, probably the two best Big Ten defenses Ohio State has faced this year, were pretty solid.
Q: Ohio State doesn’t force the most havoc, like an Indiana aims to do, for example. What makes the OSU defense effective?
The defense is structurally sound. You don’t see guys getting pulled out of position very often. And aside from a couple of runs against Penn State and Michigan, you don’t see them get out-leveraged. The coverage schemes can get pretty complex, which has forced quarterbacks off their game despite Ohio State not being a heavy blitz team. And Patricia is really smart about how he disguises his coverages. This defense also tackles incredibly well at all three levels. OSU has the third-highest PFF tackling grade in the country.
Q: There were some serious questions about this offensive line coming into the season. How has that shored up so far?
The offensive line just turned in its best game of the season against Michigan. The potential momentum that could be created from that can’t be overstated. The line of scrimmage defined Ohio State’s four-game losing streak to Michigan. Well, that and Connor Stalions. To get the better of the Wolverines on both lines was massive for this program.
But on the OSU offensive line specifically, it’s been a better pass-blocking unit than run-blocking unit. That was still true against Michigan (the OL didn’t allow a pressure), but the run game got going, too, and that was a big development. Left tackle Austin Siereveld has been one of the better linemen in the Big Ten this year. Left guard Luke Montgomery and center Carson Hinzman have had some mild consistency issues but have been mostly solid.
The right side has been the problem. Right tackle Phillip Daniels, a transfer from Minnesota, had a stretch of rough play in the middle season. But since sitting out the Purdue game with an undisclosed injury and then returning against UCLA, Rutgers and Michigan, he’s played better. Right guard Tegra Tshabola, the only returning full-time starter from last year, looked like he might lose his job midseason, but his backup was injured against Penn State, so OSU sort of had to roll with Tshabola. He’s rewarded the coaching staff by playing better lately, and reasonably well against Michigan. He also played his best ball in the postseason last year. So maybe this is the time of year when he turns it on.
Q: What do you believe are some vulnerabilities Indiana (or any other team) may be able to exploit, on either side of the ball?
When teams have managed to hit some deeper throws on the defense, it’s been down the seam. But OSU has not yet seen a combination of quarterback and receivers that could consistently exploit that. I could see Indiana being that team, which could force Ohio State into some different looks. Teams have had some success with gap scheme runs, though only a little, and almost none on zone scheme runs against this defensive front seven.
If opposing defenses can somehow take away or at least limit the impact of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, the ceiling at pass-catcher gets significantly lower beyond them and Ohio State wasn’t explosive at all without those two in the lineup. I do think OSU’s run game is getting better, but I wouldn’t say this offensive line has faced a truly great defensive front yet. I’d be interested in seeing what that looks like.
Q: How does a defense slow down OSU’s passing attack?
Michigan and Texas laid down a bit of a blueprint last year by playing two high safeties, not blitzing, and testing OSU’s patience by forcing it to work the ball down the field slowly. But those teams also had dynamite defensive lines that didn’t need much help. For instance, Michigan tried to do the same this year, and Julian Sayin had all day to throw, finishing with 233 yards and three touchdowns. Texas was slightly less effective this year, too. That low score was more a product of Ohio State coming in with a plan to play conservatively.
It’s very much an easier-said-than-done kind of thing. Slowing down the passing attack might have less to do with how teams defend Smith and Tate, and more to do with making Sayin uncomfortable. He’s been excellent against the blitz this year and good under pressure, but he did look out of sorts in a game against UCLA, where the Bruins blitzed more than Sayin had seen in a while, Tate was out and Smith was limited.
Q: Hoosiers like to follow former Indiana high school stars. Can you offer an update (if there is one) on the following Indiana recruits who signed with Ohio State – Caden Curry (Center Grove), Joshua Mickens (Lawrence Central), Mylan Graham (New Haven), and Ian Moore (New Palestine)?
Curry has been excellent. He’s been on the field all four years in Columbus, starting as a core special teamer and then building up his role in the defensive rotation. But this year, he’s one of the defense’s most important players. Patricia moves him around the line some, and he’s been disruptive. He leads the defense with 38 pressures, nine sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
Of the Indiana guys on the roster, Curry is the only one who plays regularly. Moore got a spot start against Purdue and played well, but he’s primarily been a backup at tackle. Graham hasn’t broken through yet. He got some extended opportunities late in the year while Tate and Smith nursed injuries, but he didn’t make the most of them. He has six catches on 12 targets. I’ve certainly not written him off. He’s only a sophomore. But he didn’t exactly pop when he had the chance.
Mickens has played 44 snaps this year, mostly in garbage time.
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