IRVING, Texas — Imagine this scenario as a college quarterback:
It’s third-and-long, and across from you stand two linebackers, both somewhere around 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. Both have identified a gap and are standing in a way that suggests they are about to bring pressure, but you’re not entirely sure if they will or not. The film has shown you that sometimes both come, sometimes only one, and sometimes both are bluffing.
The problem is that they’ve already had enough time this season to provide a reason why you can’t afford to just assume that either is only bluffing. Because being wrong has dire consequences
That is the dilemma that every quarterback has faced since the moment Ohio State beat Texas 14-7. Matt Patricia spent nine months installing a defense designed to toy with the minds of quarterbacks and offensive coordinators. And third-down situations have become the Buckeyes’ playground.
“It’s one of the most fun downs for us,” Sonny Styles said. “I remember…in spring ball, and the way he was coaching it’s like we have a lot of free will to choose what we wanted to do. He was giving us all the tools. It’s so much fun out there, especially when you get to third-and-long. You get to really play with the offense a little bit and have fun.”
Patricia’s scheme is simply a structure that his linebackers are playing inside of, but it’s not a box. It’s more like a blank canvas that the two have been given the proper tools to paint a disruptive picture.
Styles is the run-stopping saveant with 80 tackles, five tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, three pass breakups, a forced fumble, an interception and 13 pressures. He’s the only FBS player to play more than 350 snaps and is still yet to miss a tackle this season. The captain and ‘Block O’ recipient is so good as a linebacker that it’s almost unbelievable that he’s technically only in his second season playing the position.
Yet somehow, a guy this good is constantly overshadowed by a player no one outside of Ohio knew much about before that win over the Longhorns.
Arvell Reese has become the biggest breakout story of the 2025 season. He walked into OSU’s season-opener as a Cleveland native making his first appearance as a full-time starter and left it as an NFL Draft prospect. His performance — nine tackles, a tackle for loss and five pressures — vaulted him to the top of the scouting report of every offensive coordinator. Then he’d spent the next two months repeating it every Saturday.
Then November arrived, and all of it stopped.
“A lot of the stuff we attacked early in the season now, I think teams have kind of seen enough film on it,” Patricia said. “A lot of times, they’ll slide to his spot where he is, or they’ll try to make sure they have him accounted for in different ways. But that’s great. That gives opportunities for other players on the field,” Patricia said. “I think his impact has been great. His role, his flexibility, the way that we’ve been able to utilize him is super special.”
Teams adjusting to his presence is one thing. But Ohio State has also played a role in why a player who had 22 pressures in the first eight games has only had three in the last five.
The idea that Reese might be coming to get your quarterback is so powerful that there hasn’t been much of a need to make that idea a reality lately. But at some point, you have to validate that fear you’ve already instilled in people, right?
“He’s really showcased what he can do and how he can impact the game, which has been awesome to see,” Patricia said. ”But we are seeing some of those game plan things that offenses do to handle — when you have an impact player like that, offenses have to adjust, you know, they have to do something. We’re gonna try to stay in front of that a little bit.”
That’s where that blank canvas idea comes back into play. Patricia’s scheme has been built on the back of the absolute trust he has in the 11 people on the field, especially Reese and Styles. You can even throw Caleb Downs into that mix, given he’s played at practically every level of the defense this year. They have the freedom to do what they feel is necessary in those situations as long as the basic parts of their jobs are being done and there’s a high level of communication happening every snap.
Patricia’s job is giving them the tools. The picture they paint is up to them.
“Sometimes you get on the field, and you give them the concept of the call,” Patricia said. “But they’re making the changes on the field based on what they see.”
Teams are only converting 29.01% of their third-down attempts. That’s fifth among Power 4 teams and second only to Indiana among teams left in the College Football Playoff. To Styles’ point, this team is having a lot of fun in those situations, and his defensive coordinator agrees, especially as more people get involved.
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Caden Curry was the first Buckeye since Chase Young to have double-digit sacks in the regular season with 11. Kenyatta Jackson went from asking Patricia for permission to use pass-rushing moves to having unlocked the best version of himself over the past month. Kayden McDonald turned into the Big Ten’s best defensive lineman. Tywone Malone and Will Smith Jr. have become more than just serviceable players. Eddrick Houston is starting to round into shape now that he’s a year into his transition from defensive end to defensive tackle.
Everybody in OSU’s front seven is having fun. But for the last month of the season, that appeared to be happening without its most terrorizing weapon getting in on it.
Maybe it’s time to unleash that weapon again, as Ohio State tries to repeat as national champions.
“As much as we can get out there and let the guys show off their ability and their talent in that situation, it’s great,” Patricia said. “Both of them have really good coverage skills. They’re both really good in the rush. They’re big. They’re long. I think some of the match-up stuff they can do, and they have a little bit of savviness suddenness to them. When you are inside, and some of those alignments, sometimes that quickness is just a little bit different than a defensive tackle three technique or something like that.
“I like to keep that spinning, but they do a lot of it on their own, which is fun.”