The universe is full of crazy little coincidences. Or, depending on what you believe, perhaps it was fate that Ohio State shut out Western Michigan on Sept. 7, 2024.
See, it was on that exact date five years ago that the Buckeyes last registered a shutout, a 42-0 win over Cincinnati. Thinking of the journey the defense has gone on since then, from its doldrums under Kerry Coombs to a revamped Jim Knowles defense that lapsed in the biggest games in 2022 to a top-three unit in 2023 that couldn’t close the deal against Michigan, it just feels fitting.