The Buckeyes overhauled their defensive coaching staff in response to their weakest defense in years, choosing not to renew Kerry Coombs as defensive coordinator and hiring Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in response. The Ohio State defense, specifically its run defense, got gashed by Michigan, Oregon and Utah, giving up 35 or more points and 200+ rushing yards in each of those games. Last season, it is no mystery what killed the Buckeyes. No, Ohio State has not lost the mantle as the kings of the Big Ten after one loss to a Harbaugh-led Michigan team on a snowy Saturday in Ann Arbor.
![jim leonhard stats jim leonhard stats](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wX5IgHjHAI_hdpjSnE2iNIJAzrY=/0x53:4256x2447/1600x900/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46528204/usa-today-8257874.0.jpg)
The Big Ten West will certainly be an exciting race, with five teams having a realistic chance to win the division. A repeat is not going to be easy for Michigan, however, and OSU will look to regain its position as Big Ten champion.
![jim leonhard stats jim leonhard stats](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/niKAqGH7ssxD-PfRziZjxRBL4vs=/3x487:3389x2392/1600x900/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/35639760/181580269.0.jpg)
Last season, the Ohio State Buckeyes were beaten by Michigan for the first time in the Harbaugh-era in Ann Arbor, and the Wolverines rode this success over their sworn nemesis to a Big Ten Championship and a berth in the CFP - albeit only to be shellacked 34-11 by Georgia in the semifinal. A seven-year television deal with media giants CBS, FOX and NBC worth around $1.2 billion per year has solidified the value of the conference as a viewership juggernaut every fall Saturday, while the bombshell recruitment of USC and UCLA to the ranks of the Big Ten has expanded the conference’s reach to nearly 2800 miles.īack to actual play, though. If there was ever any doubt about the Big Ten’s status as one of the premier conferences in college football, this past offseason has erased that.