Ohio State was on a high. The Buckeyes had just scored their third touchdown of the day — a quick pass from quarterback C.J. Stroud to wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who took it 32 yards to give them a 24-0 first-quarter lead.
Ohio State had the momentum from the jump. And it wasn't momentum that was going to be lost by one play.
But the Buckeyes saw a glimpse of the defense of old against Rutgers Saturday afternoon.
Taking the ball at the 25-yard line after a touchback, Scarlet Knights quarterback Noah Vedral lined up and took the snap on first down. Ohio State defensive back Cameron Martinez, initially lined up against wide receiver Aron Cruickshank, bit on the run, running past the line of scrimmage and into the backfield.
Cruickshank runs to the middle of the field on a slant, and takes the pass in stride just to the right of Ohio State safety Ronnie Hickman, who was seemingly going for the ball, and he was off to the races, scoring a 75-yard touchdown — one of two touchdowns for the Scarlet Knights offense against Ohio State.
That was a low point in a game with a lot of highs for the Ohio State defense, allowing three yards per rush before a 21-yard carry by Jamier Wright-Collins with 20 seconds in the came, forcing the Rutgers offense to become one-dimensional with Verdral, who threw three interceptions after not throwing one through the first four games of the season.
But that one glimpse of the defense of old was overshadowed by a game filled with a defense that players were used to seeing every day in practice: an aggressive unit that feeds off stops and big plays, a unit that has learned how to play together.
“I think it did take a few games,” Martinez said. “We’re kind of at the first quarter of the season now. We just really need the experience, I know I need the experience and I feel that we all have that now. Now that we all feel like we’re comfortable, we can get this thing rolling and just keep on going.”
That comfort is showing up.
Denzel Burke’s first career interception — Ohio State’s third-straight game with a pick-six — started with pressure on the defensive line by Antwuan Jackson, Cormontae Hamilton and J.T. Tuimoloau, leading to an overthrown pass, the pick and the score.
Both LB Tommy Eichenberg and CB Ryan Watts’ interceptions of Vedral were helped by pressure up front by DE Zach Harrison and Williams, respectively.
To head coach Ryan Day, Ohio State brought out a well-planned defensive look, mixing up coverages and creating disruption, leading to turnovers.
That’s experience.
“It’s now a bunch of guys who are expecting to make plays,” Day said. “They were just trying to get lined up. Everything they were doing was for the first time.”
To Burke, this is just the Ohio State defense.
This was a group that was having fun, playing the game the players love. It was a group that trusted each other and trusted the coaches had them in the right positions to make plays.
This, the freshman corner said, is how Ohio State practices, bringing energy to each rep like it’s a game. And against the Scarlet Knights, that energy found the field.
“I feel like we’re starting to get confidence, guys are starting to get their feet wet,” Burke said. “We’re just starting to get the feel for the game, and I feel like we;re just starting to get our groove.”
That doesn’t mean Ohio State’s defense has peaked.
There’s still issues — ranked in the bottom third in both rush and pass defense, missing 21 tackles Saturday against Rutgers, finishing only three tackles for loss and one sack. Ohio State has work to do.
But the reason why Martinez is in an Ohio State uniform is to make plays in an Ohio State uniform.
It’s something he already did at Muskegon High School in Michigan. He wanted the opportunity to see if it would translate.
It’s an idea the entire defense is still trying to master.
“It's why you come here,” Martinez said. “You made plays before in high school. I know I have. They kind of just correlate that to college. Personally from my experience, in-game experience is definitely a different feeling. Once you have that, you start having a lot more fun.”
