COLUMBUS, Ohio — When senior cornerback Sevyn Banks was asked about Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, he tried so hard to suppress a smile.

“They’re a good team,” Banks said. “We just have to step up to the plate. Do our thing. If we do our job, nine strong, we’re going to be good.”

But there was no nervousness surrounding this answer. There was an aura of confidence over Banks even though he hadn’t seen the field as much as he was expecting, suffering a setback from a knee injury he suffered in spring ball during fall camp.

If anything, there was this sense of opportunity, an opportunity Iowa took advantage of last weekend.

Facing the ball-hawking Hawkeyes defense — a unit that leads the country in interceptions and turnover margin — Tagovailoa struggled, throwing five interceptions and only 157 yards. To Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, it was a mix of a high-octane Iowa defense creating turnovers with a few throws he feels the quarterbacks wishes he had back.

But that’s not the Tagovailoa Day’s watching.

“Last week, let’s throw that game out and go off on what we’ve seen in the past because they are dangerous,” the Ohio State head coach said.

But as the weeks have continued, the Ohio State secondary has become more and more dangerous, recording seven interceptions in the past three weeks — taking in three for touchdowns. Through five games, the Buckeyes have 31 pass breakups, second most in the country and the most by a Power 5 program.

As young players have found their roles in the Ohio State defense, Day said he sees a unit that’s much more aggressive and adaptive, using a combination of looks in the defensive backfield — switching between the one and two-high safety looks interchangeably — and an increased pressure from the defensive front to silence opposing offenses to 40 points in the past three games.

But when Day thinks about the turnovers, those impact plays his defense has made in the past three weeks, he said it starts with what’s happening up front.

“I think when you look at the timing of when the quarterback’s getting the ball out of his hand and when our defensive linemen are getting to the quarterback, you add those two things up and I think that’s why you are seeing some of those turnovers from the passing game,” Day said. “If the ball is coming out of the hand quick... the rush isn’t getting home, it’s too easy. Now it’s holding the ball for an extra second or two, the d-line has an opportunity to get home.”

With each defensive rep, with each snap of game experience, Day sees a unit that’s feeling more and more comfortable, something freshman defensive end Jack Sawyer sees clearly.

“Our confidence is rising by the practice,” he said.

As to what the defensive backfield will be like against the Terrapins, Ohio State was a bit more coy.

Banks said the Cover 2 looks add “a little bit of spice” to the defense’s overall approach, while sophomore safety Bryson Shaw said the defensive backs have been comfortable with the changes made.

“We got talent at every position, and it allows us to do a lot of different things,” Shaw said. “I think whatever we do, we’ll execute.”

But this is also a Maryland pass offense that has the potential to play at a level Ohio State hasn’t seen yet.

In each of the Terrapins first four wins of 2021, Tagovailoa completed 75.6% of his passes for 1,340 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception.

This is an offense built on Tagovailoa’s arm, coming in as the No. 2 pass offense in the Big Ten and the No. 13 pass offense in the nation.

While Day preached that last week was an anomaly for the Terrapins offense, the Ohio State defense seems to be approaching this week as an opportunity to show that it was not one.

“I think there’s a bright future for all our secondary,” Shaw said. “There's a lot of young guys out there and I feel like as a team, as a group, as a defense, every snap that’s going by, we’re getting better.”