Rose Bowl: Ryan Day breaks down the Washington defense Ohio State must solve

Credit: Icon Sportswire

Credit: Icon Sportswire

Strength will meet strength when Ohio State has the ball in the Rose Bowl.

While the Buckeyes have the No. 2 offense in the country (548.8 yards per game) and rank seventh in scoring (43.5 points per game), Washington will counter with a defense allowing 15.5 points per game, tied for fifth in the country, and 301.8 yards per game (12th).

The Huskies are No. 19 against the pass and 21st in pass efficiency defense.

MORE ROSE BOWL COVERAGE: Buckeyes arrive in CaliforniaGreg Schiano on his futureCan defense find itself? 

As far as advanced stats, Football Outsiders S&P+ rates Washington No. 11 against the run and No. 19 against the pass with the No. 9 defense in the country on passing downs.

“Well, they have a great scheme,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Ryan Day said. "They're very, very well coached. Jimmy Lake does a great job and the whole staff does a great job. They play very hard. They're powerful up front. They don't give up a lot of big plays. Their secondary does a great job of keeping things in front of them. They break on the ball really well and opportunistic obviously in turnovers.

“And so they make you work the thing down the field. They're not going to give you big plays. So we're going to have to do a good job there. Stay on schedule and then do a good job in situational football.”

About the Author