Ohio State enters Peach Bowl starved of takeaways
ATLANTA — Ohio State’s defense delivered turnovers in hordes after the Buckeyes off week. The unit created a total of 10 takeaways against Iowa and Penn State.
Six of those came versus the Hawkeyes, including a pick-six from Tommy Eichenberg that gave Ohio State the breathing room it needed late in the first half before a 28-point outburst in the final two quarters. And the Buckeyes notched the other four at Penn State, and defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau was responsible for all of them, most notably a game-clinching pick-six of his own.
But that two-game stretch was lightning in a bottle.
Ohio State has just seven other takeaways to show for in its other 10 games. The Buckeyes were particularly starved of takeaways during the final third of the regular season. Over the last four games, they forced just one turnover, and it was in the waning seconds at Maryland.
“We gotta emphasize it,” said Ohio State defensive end Zach Harrison, who was responsible for that lone takeaway in College Park. “You get what you emphasize.
“You go into the game with a game plan, making sure that we try to rip the ball out, contest every pass, get to the quarterback, any chance to get the ball out.”
There is boom potential for defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ unit in the takeaway department. It’s a 4-2-5 system that’s designed to create confusion with stunts up front and multiple coverage packages on the back end. Knowles’ 2021 Oklahoma State defense was tied for 36th nationally with 20 forced turnovers.
Right now, in Knowles’ first year at Ohio State, the Buckeyes are tied for 73rd with 17 takeaways.
Safety Tanner McCalister, a grad transfer with three picks this season who played under Knowles at Oklahoma State, is well aware that there’s no better time to change the Buckeyes’ takeaway fortune.
“In games like this — I mean, we’re in the College Football Playoff, once a lifetime opportunity — you never know how big just one turnover or two turnovers can be in a game like this. So obviously that’s always an emphasis. But I mean I guess you could say it’s more of an emphasis going into this game just because we know how game-changing a turnover can be.”
What’s more, Georgia is susceptible to turnovers.
The Bulldogs have a -0.08 turnover margin per game, according to Sports Reference. They’ve committed at least one turnover in six straight contests, and they have six games with multiple giveaways this season. Georgia even coughed up the ball three times against both Kent State and Florida.
Turnover issues, and the inability to offset them with its own takeaways, haven’t come back to haunt head coach Kirby Smart’s team yet.
There’s an opening for Ohio State to make the Bulldogs pay — if the Buckeyes, who allowed five touchdowns of 45-plus yards to Michigan, can actually win the ball back for their offense.
“Those things come at the right time,” Ohio State secondary/cornerbacks coach Tim Walton said. “When you watch a lot of teams, even through NFL and college, sometimes teams start off hot with turnovers, slow down, and then they pick up. I think they come in spurts.”
Walton continued: “When they come at the right time, they’ll hit.”
McCalister explained that turnovers are often the byproduct of delivering multiple hats to the ball, punching the rock while you tackle and reading the quarterback’s eyes in coverage.
Sometimes, though, it’s even simpler than that.
“I think effort can lead to turnovers,” McCalister said. “Sometimes, you’re just kind of in the right position at the right time.”
Walton said there’s a variance to takeaways, especially when it comes to interceptions. Ohio State’s corners have yet to record a pick this season.
Walton explained that Dallas Cowboys All-Pro corner Trevon Diggs is a great example how one year you can have double-digit interceptions and the next be hovering around two or three.
“Sometimes they don’t get them as much as you want, even though you emphasize it, but I think you just stay with the process with it, man,” Walton said, “and then hopefully they come at the right time.”
Walton also said that, similar to how sacks aren’t the tell-all for pass rushing success, takeaways aren’t a clear-cut indicator of stop rate.
Harrison noted that forced turnovers are “kind of like the icing on the cake.”
Still, they can change a game more than a pass deflection or a sack. And, in the CFP, where stops come at a premium in typically high-scoring affairs, takeaways are as good as gold.
“As a defense, we look at it as a challenge,” McCalister said. “Obviously, nobody’s going out there and wanting to allow 30 points or even 20 points. So we gotta go out there and defend every inch really.
“They line up 1st-and-10, we want to defend all those 10 yards. That’s our goal as a defense.”
