By PAUL GOTHAM
COLUMBUS, N.Y. — Credit Ohio State’s Darron Lee for being able to recognize a game-changing play before it happened.
Lee’s interception and return for a touchdown represented the play of the game as the top-ranked Buckeyes held off Northern Illinois, 20-13. It was the result of an astute player recognizing a possibility and representative of yet another dominant showing by the Buckeye defensive unit. It was also something he predicted.
“I mean, really just read it and went and made a play,” Lee said of his play with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. “Knew we needed something. Just tried to make something happen.”
When NIU quarterback Andrew Hare dropped back, Lee saw a screen pass developing and jumped it.
“Just keying in on their splits. We saw a bunch of times in the first half,” Lee added. “I knew it was coming, made a play.”
Lee returned the pick 41 yards to give Ohio State a 20-10 in a game which they trailed 10-3 midway through the second half.
Buckeye defensive coordinator, Luke Fickell, noted his sophomore linebacker’s attention to detail and ability to recognize the play.
“He said ‘I’m picking one of those things off if they run that again,” Fickell said of the discussion on the sidelines. “It was a great play. It was a great anticipation. It’s not just a guess. The guy understands and sees it and does a great job reacting to it. I’m not going to say he called it. They had run it a few times.
“We weren’t really in the same type of defense. We weren’t in the same coverage that you would think he’d have an opportunity to go make that play, but players make plays. He anticipated. He saw it. He did a heckuva job. In some ways he called it. He said ‘they try to run that again I’m gonna pick it off.”
That one play stands above an overall Buckeye defensive effort which, for the second week in a row, dominated the opposing offense. In the process, the Ohio State defense is giving a struggling Buckeye offense a chance to find its rhythm.
Northern Illinois came into the game averaging 7.8 yards per play. Ohio State held the Huskies to 2.6. Hare threw for 359 yards a game in NIU’s first two. The junior completed 14 of 31 passes for 80 yards against Ohio State. This one week after Ohio State held Hawai’i to 85 through the air.
“We kept them under 100 yards, right?,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer asked immediately after the game. “That’s unheard of.”
Fickell pointed to the play of cornerbacks Eli Apple and Gareon Conley who limited NIU’s Kenny Golladay to 19 yards on three receptions.
“Two guys you might not talk a whole bunch about,” Fickell said of the sophomores. “I don’t know how many balls their outside receivers caught. Those guys just go about doing their business. We couldn’t do what we do without having those guys on the outside and have the utmost confidence
Golladay caught 17 passes for 357 yards in the Huskies’ first two games.
“Being late in games and having confidence enough to leave them up on guys,” Fickell added. “Sometimes you don’t talk about them because they don’t get any picks. They just do their job.”
Through three games, Ohio State’s defense has allowed ten second-half points. Junior defensive back Vonn Bell registered a career-high 10 tackles in Saturday’s win.
“I think we’re playing phenomenal,” Bell stated. “We’re playing at a high level.It’s all on the DBs. We’re going to defend all the big plays. All those post plays down the field is on us. We like to take that joy.”
The defensive play has been nothing if it isn’t timely as Ohio State’s offense continues to struggle. The Buckeyes saw 31-game streak scoring three or more touchdowns come to an end.
“We know those guys are going to put points on the board,” Bell said. “They are a little sluggish right now. We just got to hold the load right now.”
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