Joel Klatt said that Ohio State's defense in 2024 could as good as a defense that college football fans have seen since Georgia in 2021.
No matter who you talk to right now, there is a consensus of who the top three teams in college football this preseason are: Georgia, Texas or Ohio State. If anyone had to have a slight edge over the others it would probably be Georgia regarding favoritism, but that doesn't mean any love is lacking for Ohio State or Texas. In fact, college football analyst Joel Klatt feels that the Buckeyes are on top right now.
Joel Klatt released his post-spring Top 25 college football rankings on Monday's edition of The Joel Klatt Show. He placed Ohio State on top, mostly because of what they return and what they added on defense this season. But Klatt doesn't just think that the Buckeyes will have a very good defense. He thinks they could have the best defense college football fans have seen since 2021 Georgia.
"The offseason that Ohio State had and the roster that they're going to put on the field, to me, makes them No. 1," Klatt said. "The defense for Ohio State is what makes them the No. 1 team in the country because they will be the best defense in the country. I think that Ohio State is going to have as good of a defense as we've seen in a long time, maybe all the way back to the 2021 Georgia team."
To put this in perspective, Georgia's defense in 2021 only allowed 8.8 points per game from offensive scores that season. They also had the best red zone defense of any power-five football team since Alabama in 2011. If you played Georgia during the 2021 regular season, you had a 62% chance of your drive ending in either a three-and-out or a turnover/turnover on downs.
There is no denying that Ohio State boasts a lot of talent on defense this next season. They returned multiple big-time contributors while also adding former Alabama safety Caleb Downs, who is already one of the best defenders in the sport.
It's safe to assume that the Buckeyes will have a great defense this season but they will have a lot of work to do before they get placed near the level that Georgia's 2021 defense was on.
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