COLUMBUS, Ohio — In an era of explosive offenses and video game-like scoring totals, Ohio State’s defense is doing something that no other team in college football can claim: completely shutting down opponents in the red zone.
During this week’s Buckeye Talk podcast, Stephen Means revealed a statistic that left his co-hosts stunned: “Do you know how many teams in the country right now, Andrew, have not allowed a touchdown in the red zone? … Yeah, it’s literally just Ohio State. Ohio State has had seven red zone trips from its opponents. They’ve given up two field goals. Both of those field goals happened Saturday. No touchdowns.”
Let that sink in for a moment. In a landscape where offenses are more sophisticated and explosive than ever before, the Buckeyes stand alone as the only program that has completely prevented opposing teams from finding the end zone once they cross the 20-yard line.
This isn’t just an interesting trivia point – it’s fundamentally changing how Ohio State can approach games. While the offense works through its red zone issues, the defense is providing such an extraordinary cushion that the team can win without putting up gaudy point totals.
“How many points does Ohio State have to score to win the football game, right? Like, and it doesn’t seem like they have to score a lot to win football games right now because of how good their defense is,” Means explained on the podcast.
This defensive excellence has already proven decisive in big moments. The Buckeyes defeated Texas 20-13 while scoring just two touchdowns. Against Washington, they surrendered only six points despite giving the Huskies multiple red zone opportunities. In both cases, the defense’s ability to transform touchdowns into field goals (or no points at all) proved to be the difference.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s game against Minnesota, the podcast hosts were nearly unanimous in their belief that the Gophers will struggle to score at all against this defensive juggernaut. Means confidently predicted Minnesota would fail to find the end zone, noting, “I don’t think Drake Lindsay just doesn’t have the weapons. PJ Fleck and Minnesota just don’t have the weapons to be able to just pull off explosive plays.”
This defensive dominance is forcing analysts to reconsider what’s possible in modern college football. While conventional wisdom suggests that championship teams need high-powered offenses capable of scoring 40+ points consistently, Ohio State may be crafting a different path to the playoff – one built on a defense so impenetrable that 24 points might be enough to defeat anyone on their schedule.
As Minnesota attempts to crack this code on Saturday night, viewers will witness one of college football’s most remarkable stories: a defense performing at a historical level that’s changing the very nature of how games are won and lost.
For Buckeye fans concerned about offensive inconsistencies, particularly in the red zone, this defense provides tremendous reassurance. When you’re the only team in the country that hasn’t allowed a red zone touchdown, you’ve earned a certain margin for error on the offensive side.
The question that remains is whether this defensive excellence can sustain through the gauntlet of Big Ten play and potentially into the playoff. If it does, Ohio State may have discovered a championship formula that defies the offensive-minded trends of modern college football – a throwback approach where defensive dominance leads the way to a national title.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.