I mean we did have 7 sacks against Rutgers so maybe not totally ready to throw in the towel in relation to the D-Line.
We had to bring the house on most all of them. At least, that's my recollection.
6 of the 7 were attributed to defensive lineman. Only non DL to get a sack was Perich so if we were bringing the house the DL were the ones getting home.
they ran on us and moved the ball at will for a good share of the game.
Menz has looked like he could be something, Hicks as well. But yeah likely going to have to hit the portal hard for interior lineman and probably a pass rusher as well.
The ripped us apart with the passing game in the first half....we adjusted....they only scored 7 points in the second half and we got a bunch of sacks.
they ripped us with the passing game early because we couldn't get near AK bringing the front four.
TBD on if we lose Smith. Still have Howard, and Menz has flashed potential. We don’t have a lot of bodies in the junior class so a lot of the young guys haven’t played much yet. I don’t think the dline has been that bad this year, but I was hoping they’d be better. Other than Smith, our DEs have not been as good as in the past at generating pressure.
I like both Mentz and Hicks and would like to see them both play more just to keep everyone fresh. I think the Dline has actually been decent. Oline it is hard to tell if it is line play or the RB not picking the right holes to run through. Neither Oline or Dline has been that bad really, and not the worst we have had, not even close.
Even in that type of D you as an interior DL are expected to make plays and rush the passer. We haven’t had a good interior pass rusher under Fleck, I don’t think. Baugh was probably the closest to that. The Vikings got rid of their interior DL because they did neither. Look at the two young guys they play now along with the free agents they splash.
Emmanuel Karmo would like to have a word with you.
With a lot of NIL money perhaps.
I rewatched the game and felt our pass protection wasn’t bad. The lack of separation from or receiving crew was notable after first series. That NFL defense was pretty good
I'd argue Karmo is more of an LB, drops into coverage.
Thank God someone else realizes this. That is EXACTLY what they are doing, 100%. Also, we just played by far the best defense in all of college, a team with probably a 40 million plus player pay roll. An NFL coaching staff. I mean, come on. If you expected a different outcome, you haven't been paying attention.
Some of this is scheme and the offensive philosophy. You don't control the TOP with big plays. The play calling could be interpreted as focused on 5-yard gains vs. home runs.
We’re not plug and play and viola, excellence.
www.startribune.com
A pod I listened to said Ohio State, like most teams, started out in zone because that's the safest way to play if you can get away with it, but Drake picked it apart. After that, they went more to man and their athletes basically blanketed our receivers for the rest of the game.
