Ryan Day stresses importance of winning up front on defense

It’s not the most readily evident reason for Ohio State being 6-0 and considered one of the best teams in America — and fairly, as quarterback C.J. Stroud is a bona fide star — but the Buckeyes run defense has been excellent this season. Head coach Ryan Day hopes to keep it that way.

While the biggest tests to the Ohio State defense, particularly the run defense, lie ahead in Penn State and Michigan, day is pleased with the way his team has defended the run this year. And he knows it will need to remain a strong point for the rest of the season.

“It started with winning the game up front and we gotta continue to do that as we head into the second half,” Day said of the Buckeyes defensive performance in a 49-20 drubbing of Michigan State on Saturday.

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Through six games, Ohio State is allowing fewer than three yards a carry and less than 100 a game. They were particularly stingy on Saturday against the Spartans.

Including sacks of Payton Thorne, MSU had 20 carries for 7 yards. Take out Thorne’s seven carries for -23 yards — four of which were sacks — and the Spartans put up a paltry 30 yards on 13 carries. That’s 2.3 yards per carry.

Admittedly, game flow and a big deficit dictated plenty of passes for MSU, but there was no point when the starters were in that Michigan State could run it on Ohio State.

That’s the way Day wants it to be going forward.

“We stopped the run,” Day said. “There’s a point, I think, they really had no yards rushing. And then there was a defensive score for them and then, also, the last touchdown was in the fourth quarter. Not that we don’t expect to get stops, no matter who is in the game, but I think when you look, when our first group is out there, it was really good.”