Facebook with Latestnigeriannews  Twieet with latestnigeriannews  RSS Page Feed
Home  |  All Headlines  |  Punch  |  Thisday  |  Daily Sun  |  Vanguard   |  Guardian  |  The Nation  |  Daily Times  |  Daily Trust  |  Daily Independent
World  |  Sports  |  Technology  |  Entertainment  |  Business  |  Politics  |  Tribune  |  Leadership  |  National Mirror  |  BusinessDay  |  More Channels...

Viewing Mode:

Archive:

  1.     Tool Tips    
  2.    Collapsible   
  3.    Collapsed     
Click to view all Entertainment headlines today

Click to view all World headlines today

Can Ohio State's Defense Fuel a Run to the College Football Playoff

Published by Bleacher Report on Fri, 31 Oct 2014


When the College Football Playoff selection committee released its first Top 25 rankingson Tuesday night, Ohio State (6-1) was buried at No. 16placedbehind 13 other one-loss teams.The Buckeyes are facing a major uphill battle with just five games remaining in the regular season, needing to rise 12 spots in order to have a shot at this year's national title.A vastly improved and surging defense could push the Buckeyes up that hill and back into the playoff conversation.Ohio State has been known for its offense since Urban Meyer took over three years ago, but in 2013, a leaky defense that surrendered an average of38.3 points and 539 total yards to its final three opponentsMichigan, Michigan State and Clemsoncost the Buckeyes a chance to play for the national championship.That prompted the hiring of Chris Ash as co-defensive coordinator and the complete overhaul of Luke Fickell's unit.Meyer wanted a scheme that featured his defenders attacking the ball as opposed to the soft zones that opponents could pick apart.That, in essence, is what drove Ash to join Meyer's staff.[Meyer] said he wanted a defense that challenges the offense, thats aggressive, that will attack, not worry about the what ifs, create confusion, Ash toldStewart Mandel of Fox Sports. Those are things I believe in to be successful. When he started talking my language, I started listening.Early returns from Ash's overhaul have been positive, as opposing teams are having a much harder time moving the ball against this year's Buckeyes.Through seven games, Ohio State ranks 11th in total defense, 17th in passing yards allowed, ninth in interceptions and 25th in rushing and scoring defense. Led by super-sophomore defensive end Joey Bosa, who ranksfifthnationally in sacks per game, the Buckeyes have been very disruptive.Despite their improved play, the Buckeyes haven't come close to reaching their ceiling defensively.They're still susceptible to the occasional big playwhich Cincinnati took advantage of in Week 3 by connecting on three long touchdown passesand they can wear down latewhich almost cost them last week against Penn State and its late rally.With that said, Meyer knows that his team is close to reaching the dominant level he envisions.If the Buckeyes can reach it soon, they could shoot up the rankings.Consider Michigan State, which at this point last year wasunrankedwith the same 6-1 record as the Buckeyes. The Spartans used a dominant defensive stretch to climb the BCS standings, allowing just 9.2 points per game in their final five regular-season matchups.A 34-24 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten title game vaulted Mark Dantonio's squad to a No. 4 ranking ahead of bowl selections.It's hard to imagine the Buckeyes being that good, but if they continue to improve, they could see a similar rise in the polls.All stats viaNCAA.com.DavidRegimbalcovers Ohio State football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter@davidreg412.
Click here to read full news..

All Channels Nigerian Dailies: Punch  |  Vanguard   |  The Nation  |  Thisday  |  Daily Sun  |  Guardian  |  Daily Times  |  Daily Trust  |  Daily Independent  |   The Herald  |  Tribune  |  Leadership  |  National Mirror  |  BusinessDay  |  New Telegraph  |  Peoples Daily  |  Blueprint  |  Nigerian Pilot  |  Sahara Reporters  |  Premium Times  |  The Cable  |  PM News  |  APO Africa Newsroom

Categories Today: World  |  Sports  |  Technology  |  Entertainment  |  Business  |  Politics  |  Columns  |  All Headlines Today

Entertainment (Local): Linda Ikeji  |  Bella Naija  |  Tori  |  Pulse  |  The NET  |  DailyPost  |  Information Nigeria  |  Gistlover  |  Lailas Blog  |  Miss Petite  |  Olufamous  |  Stella Dimoko Korkus Blog  |  Ynaija  |  All Entertainment News Today

Entertainment (World): TMZ  |  Daily Mail  |  Huffington Post

Sports: Goal  |  African Football  |  Bleacher Report  |  FTBpro  |  Kickoff  |  All Sports Headlines Today

Business & Finance: Nairametrics  |  Nigerian Tenders  |  Business Insider  |  Forbes  |  Entrepreneur  |  The Economist  |  BusinessTech  |  Financial Watch  |  BusinessDay  |  All Business News Headlines Today

Technology (Local): Techpoint  |  TechMoran  |  TechCity  |  Innovation Village  |  IT News Africa  |  Technology Times  |  Technext  |  Techcabal  |  All Technology News Headlines Today

Technology (World): Techcrunch  |  Techmeme  |  Slashdot  |  Wired  |  Hackers News  |  Engadget  |  Pocket Lint  |  The Verge

International Networks:   |  CNN  |  BBC  |  Al Jazeera  |  Yahoo

Forum:   |  Nairaland  |  Naij

Other Links: Home   |  Nigerian Jobs