While Ohio State didn’t lose to Michigan because of its defense, the one aspect of Ohio State’s defensive game plan that has drawn scrutiny is its lack of defensive line rotation.
Although Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson said before the season that he wanted to rotate more on the defensive line than he did last year, that hasn’t come to pass in the Buckeyes’ biggest games of the year. The lack of rotation was particularly noticeable against the Wolverines.
Kayden McDonald was the only backup defensive lineman to play double-digit snaps (13) against Michigan.