Ryan Day Reveals What to Expect From Buckeyes Defense Under Matt Patricia

After bringing home the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship, the Ohio State Buckeyes cemented themselves in history. Now, they'll look to join the Georgia Bulldogs as the only programs to win two titles in a row since the end of the BCS era.

While there are still plenty of reigning champs on this roster, the 2025 Buckeyes will be searching for their own unique identity. Nine starters from last season are returning to defend their title, but there's naturally going to be a lot of turnover on Ohio State's depth chart.

Only three starting defenders from the 2024 team are back this year: safety Caleb Downs, linebacker Sonny Styles, and cornerback Davison Igbinosun. Also gone is the architect of last season's dominant unit, Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles, who went on to take the same role for the rival Penn State Nittany Lions. Ohio State replaced him with former New England Patriots coordinator Matt Patricia, but Head Coach Ryan Day doesn't expect too much to change with his defense.

Ryan Day says Matt Patricia's defense won't differ much from the Ohio State Buckeyes' identity

Last season, the Ohio State Buckeyes cruised to the College Football Playoff National Championship largely behind the strength of their defense, which ranked number one in the country with just 254.6 yards allowed per game. It makes sense why Head Coach Ryan Day wouldn't want to change too much of their defensive formula, even with Matt Patricia taking over on the sidelines. Speaking at Big Ten Media Day, he stated:

"We want to keep that continuity. We want to run the Ohio State defense and Matt was willing to embrace that. Matt has his own background and things he likes, and one of the things he does a great job of is putting guys in situations to be successful. He'll have his little different changes, but we want to keep the structure of what we've done in the past. I'm fired up. I think Matt has done a great job of building relationships already."

Day had also remarked that he doesn't view this team as "defending national champions," as this roster is a new group looking to carve out its own identity. Along with the returning players, though, the defense won't differ too much philosophically from last season's top unit.