Led by its defensive line, the Ohio State defense turned in its best performance of the season in powering the Buckeyes to a 24-7 Cotton Bowl victory.

Defensive coordinator Greg Schiano largely worked within the Buckeyes’ defensive framework. Yet he was also more aggressive against USC’s largely pro-style formula.

Ohio State most frequently played a 4-3 under to the field. On early downs, the Buckeyes mixed quarters with edge linebacker pressure behind a slanting defensive front, protected by a 3 deep, 3 under zone. The safety would fill underneath behind the blitzing linebacker.

If USC was in a balanced formation, that edge blitz came from Sam Chris Worley. If it was trips, the pressure came from Mike linebacker Tuf Borland, with Worley over the number 2 receiver.

This limited the Trojan run game, allowing the Buckeye defensive line to make plays in the backfield and limit runs to the boundary.

And it set up Damon Webb’s interception for a touchdown. As James Light describes below, from a trips formation, USC ran a run-pass option where quarterback Sam Darnold read the backside linebacker Borland. Seeing Borland blitz, Darnold pulled and threw the pass – only for the middle of the field safety Webb to step in front.