COLUMBUS, Ohio - If you took a look at the stats at halftime of Ohio State’s 45-21 victory over Florida Atlantic, one number might have jumped out at you: -14. Those are the total number of yards given up (or taken away, depending on how you look at it) by the Buckeyes’ defense through the first two quarters of play.

If stats and numbers aren’t something you’re worried about, the impact was also obvious just looking at the field. Jordan Fuller and Pete Werner were everywhere on Saturday making tackles. Jeff Okudah looked like he was having the time of his life after every tackle, forced fumble and broken up pass that he had a hand in.

Comparing this year’s defense to the much discussed 2018 defense is something that will inevitably happen after a disappointing year for the Silver Bullets, but it’s hard not to notice how much more energy and speed the Buckeyes first-team defense played with on Saturday against Florida Atlantic than they did last year.

As we’ve been told by co-defensive coordinators Jeff Hafley and Greg Mattison as well as numerous players over the course of fall camp, you can credit this faster defense to the new system and mindset that the new coordinators have put in place that focuses on two simple things; playing fast and getting to the ball.

It’s meant to be a simple system for the players to understand. With deep depth on defense, there will be a variety of players at different positions rotating in and out, so things don’t need to be complicated, and according to Ryan Day, it is working pretty well so far.

“Yeah, what I was looking for there was guys running to the ball and hitting. I felt that,” Day said. “I was watching Pete Werner and Malik Harrison and Jeff Okudah coming to the ball, and you could feel the violence on the field and that’s what we want. We want that toughness and I felt that.”

For Hafley and Mattison, this is the first look not only for fans but for them to see the product they’re putting on the field and whether or not the work that has been done over the offseason will translate to games. An important part of this first game is seeing how the players work together and how much the game can slow down for them.

From where Hafley was in the box, he may not have heard the hits being laid down on the field, but he could certainly see the defense swarming the Owls, and overall he was happy with the performance of the defense.

“I agree, especially in the first half. I was really proud of those guys,” Hafley said when asked about Day’s positive reaction to the defense. “The way we ran to the ball, the way we tackled, it looked to me, at least from upstairs, like there were seven guys around the ball carrier on every single play, so from that regard, which is probably the thing I was most anxious about, I’m really proud of those guys. I think they did a really good job.”

Hafley knew that his defense put on a strong performance, but he didn’t know until after the game how much difficulty Florida Atlantic had moving the ball, not knowing that Ohio State held the Owls to negative yardage in the first half.

“I’m glad you told me that,” Hafley said. “That’s kind of how it felt when I looked at it from up there. That’s impressive. I mean, minus four yards against anybody, and I think Lane Kiffin is a really good coach. That’s impressive, that says a lot about our players and coaches.”

While the first-team defense only gave up three points in the first half, Florida Atlantic began driving in the second half once the rotations began and some of the second-team came in for Ohio State. After the 28-0 first quarter, the Buckeyes were outscored 21-17 the rest of the way.

Day knows that Ohio State has depth, and he wants to use it, so he’d like to see more from the two deep guys as they prepare to take on Cincinnati this week.

“On defense, I thought we ran to the ball early on and our second team came in a little bit and let them come down the field, and we can’t let that happen,” Day said. “We have to play with depth this season, so a lot to learn from, first step, but we’re 1-0, so it’s a good start, but again, a first step in a long journey.”