Worst defense ever?

I don't write the weekly "Grading the Bucks" column.  But after watching the most pitiful defensive performance from the Scarlet and Gray that I've ever seen, I thought I would provide a little historical perspective for the inevitable "F" that John will award them later.

Just how bad was that showing?  Indiana racked up 481 yards on 78 plays (6.2 yards per play), despite only having the ball for 23:06.  The Buckeye D did have 6 tackles for loss, but recorded no sacks and forced no turnovers.  Indiana broke off a 59-yard TD run and a 76-yard TD pass.  To their merit, the OSU defense forced 5 three-and-outs, but only one of these came in the second half, in which the defense managed to stop Indiana from scoring all of two times.

Don't blame the offense and special teams for putting the defense in a bad spot, either.  Indiana's average starting field position was at their own 29 yard line and they started only 3 of 16 drives inside Ohio State territory (blocked punt in 1st, long kick return in 3rd, onside kick at the end).

But these failings are not the point of this post.  To find the most glaring problem, we need look no farther than the scoreboard.  49 points.  Ohio State gave up forty-nine points.  Let that sink in for a moment.  When was the last time you saw Ohio State surrender (and I mean surrender) 49 points?  If you're drawing a blank, don't worry, it doesn't happen often.  Let's crack open the record books to see how historically awful this performance truly was.

Before we start, guess how many times before Saturday a team had scored 49 or more points against OSU.  Keep in mind that's 123 years and 1,202 games from which to draw.  Ready?  It's seven.  Unsurprisingly, all were blowout losses (0-64 to Wooster in 1890, 6-50 to Western Reserve in 1891, 0-50 to Oberlin in 1892, 0-49 to Western Reserve in 1898, 0-86 to Michigan in 1902, 6-58 to Michigan in 1946, and 14-63 to Penn State in 1994).

You may have noticed from that list that most of these defensive embarrassments occurred when the Bucks were essentially a mid-major team, prior to joining the Big Ten.  The only one of those games you may have possibly remembered was the debacle against an unstoppable Penn State team in 1994.

"But what's the big deal?" you may say.  "It's just one game, and besides, we won!"  That's true; this game was an outlier of historical magnitude.  But it's part of a disturbing trend that has arisen in the wake of Jim Tressel's exit.  For all the scathing abuse the offense took last season, the losing record fell squarely on the shoulders of the defense.  The 2011 Buckeyes gave up 23.25 points per game in Big Ten play, their fifth worst effort of all time.  The only worse conference marks were produced by the 1999 (26 ppg), 1988 (24.875 ppg), 1946 (24 ppg), and 1943 (26.8 ppg) squads.  Those of you with long memories know that 1999 and 1988 were the last two years before 2011 that the Bucks did not have a winning record (thank you John Cooper).  The worst effort came in last year's Michigan game, where Ohio State exploded for 34 points...and lost, the highest score the Buckeyes have ever attained in a loss.

So 2011 was bad.  How is 2012 going?  In 3 conference games, the Silver BB's have given up 16, 38, and 49 points, good for a 34.3 ppg average.  In other words, the 2012 crew are on track to be the worst defense in Ohio State history, and by a wide margin to boot.  Remember, this is Ohio State.  5 years ago the Buckeyes led the nation in scoring defense.  Ohio State has had 27 seasons in which the defense allowed less than 49 points or less total in Big Ten play.

Perhaps the game has changed.  Perhaps the balance has shifted toward offensive efficiency and defensive futility.  But what occurred in Bloomington on October 13th was an embarrassment.  OSU defensive coaches, you're on notice.

Oh, and I don't know whether this is a glimmer of hope or a sign of how far we've sunk, but the leading tackler yesterday?  Zach Boren.  The fullback who became a linebacker 5 days ago.