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‘No doubt’: Clemson OC believes Ohio State has best defense Tigers have faced

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

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There hasn’t been an opponent Ohio State has faced this season that has been able to contain the Buckeye defense. The unbelievable improvement the team has shown over a one-year period has been one of the biggest stories in college football.

Now, Ohio State will face Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 28, with a trip to the national championship hanging in the balance. While the Tigers will pose plenty of problems for the Buckeyes on both sides of the football, Clemson is equally concerned about what Ohio State brings to the field.

Tuesday, Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott met with the media to talk about the matchup between the Tigers offense and the Buckeyes defense. Quite simply, Elliott believes this will be the toughest challenge Clemson has faced all season.

“No doubt,” Elliott said, when asked if Ohio State has the best defense Clemson has faced this season.

“They’re deep at every position, they’ve got some of the most talented guys in the country. The defensive line is extremely talented, extremely deep, which allows the linebacker to run around and make a lot of plays, because you have to double those d-linemen. And then they got first-round talent on the back end that can hold up in man coverage, they can mix it up and play zone. They’re very, very well coached, they’re never out of position, they can make adjustments to any formation.”

Ohio State ranks No. 2 nationally in total defense and scoring defense this season, after finishing in the middle of the pack of college football a year ago. With stars like Chase Young on the defensive line and Jeff Okudah in the secondary, it’s been tough for teams to get any yardage on the Buckeyes this season.

Young’s performance this season has obviously made it very challenging for offenses this season. And it’s not just the 16.5 sacks and six forced fumbles that causes issues for teams, it’s the fact that he has to be accounted for on every single play.

“He’s one of those players that every single snap you have to know where he is and you have to have him accounted for,” Elliott said of Young. “What that does is it allows other guys to have one-on-one matchups, which I think makes them dangerous.”

Both Ohio State and Clemson have dominated opponents this season on both sides of the football, so it should be an interesting contest in the Fiesta Bowl.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB