INDIANAPOLIS -- Ohio State football defensive end Chase Young has been the nation’s most dominant player in this season, but for the past two weeks, his numbers haven’t shown it.
In the first nine games of the season, Young recorded 29 total tackles, 19.5 for loss, and a nation-leading 16.5 sacks. But Michigan discovered that the formula for neutralizing the pass rusher was consistency: Never let a play go by where he isn’t seeing multiple offensive linemen.
Wisconsin didn’t do that the first time it faced the Buckeyes, and it led to a record day by Young, vaulting him into the Heisman Trophy discussion. But smart people learn from their mistakes, and the Badgers applied what they learned the first time around and combined it with what they saw the Wolverines do.
The result was Young finding himself in situations like this:
Find someone that holds you like michigan players hold Chase Young ❤️ pic.twitter.com/jRbbBiPWGx
— Dustin from the Internet (@PizzaEnjoyer) December 3, 2019
And this:
This more valuable than a sack https://t.co/YaS16Qhg0a
— Wale (@Wale) December 8, 2019
The game plans of Michigan and Wisconsin are why he’s gone from an 11-game sack streak to a two-game drought. He was a non-factor against Michigan, finishing the game with no tangible stats and two quarterback hurries. But he’d learned from experience just as the Badgers had. He was prepared for what they may do and adjusted to it.
“It’s definitely making me more and more prepared,” Young said.
That preparation is why even though he didn’t get a sack Saturday night, he still recorded six tackles, 1.5 for loss, two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
Young was on a historic pace before his suspension, which means even a slight dropoff would still put him in a class above any player in the country. But those stats don’t matter. He’s a defensive end, so naturally, he’d like to get as many sacks as possible. But Ohio State’s at the point in the season where if a team is successfully executing the game plan for him, it should allow others to shine. His impact doesn’t have to show up in a boxscore to be felt.
He didn’t have a sack in the past two games, but teammates Jonathon Cooper, Jashon Cornell, Davon Hamilton and Zach Harrison all did. Regardless of whether his stat line reaches the standard he’s set this season or not, the outcome was the same. To him that’s all that matters.
Until someone can change the end result on the scoreboard, it’s not going to be a concern.
“As you see, they can’t do anything the whole game to win the game,” Young said as confetti rained down on him inside Lucas Oil Stadium. “They can keep doing that. We’re just going to keep winning.”
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