COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football remains on a long-tracked path to put an explosive, experienced team for the ages on the field in 2023. That means by the end of this season, the Buckeyes should be pretty great, too. If some portion of J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and the young cornerbacks and defensive tackles pop in the months ahead, this defense will improve significantly. If all of them hit, this defense could surge back into contention for one of the nation’s best. It does not need to do the latter, though, for this team to make the playoff. It merely needs to solidify enough to provide this offense a reasonable margin for error in the toughest games. Due both to Jim Knowles’ schematic success and natural improvement from young players, I expect that defense to bounce back and provide stability during OSU’s third undefeated regular season in the…
Continue Reading: Why Ohio State football will chase the Alabama standard and fall short in 2022: Nathan Baird’s playoff picks
