Caleb Downs stats: How good was Ohio State DB in national championship game?
Ohio State opened the 12-team playoff era with a title, their first since a decade ago, in the first year of the four-team playoff era. The Buckeye defense was a significant part of the title win, and safety Caleb Downs was a strength of that defense. Downs transferred from Alabama, making him a rare player to star for two of the biggest programs in college football.
Downs posted 82 tackles, with eight tackles for loss and six passes broken up. Downs was a unanimous All-American pick for the Buckeyes, who led the nation in both scoring defense (12.9 points per game) and yardage allowed (254.6 yards per game). But how did he do in the season's biggest game, the CFP title game against Notre Dame?
Caleb Downs stats: How did Ohio State DB perform in the CFP title game?
Pass defense
Caleb Downs had five tackles, while Ohio State's entire team had just one pass break up. That came from defensive back Jordan Hancock. Ohio State had no interceptions and didn't force any fumbles, either.
For the game, Notre Dame passed for 255 yards against the Buckeye defense. Three teams on the season passed for more yardage against Ohio State. Oregon eclipsed that mark both in the regular season (341 yards) and the CFP (299), and Texas also had a bigger passing day (283 yards).
Run defense
Caleb Downs and the Buckeyes did stymie the Notre Dame rushing attack, holding the Irish to 53 rushing yards on 26 carries. This was by far the weakest rushing performance of the season by Notre Dame. Their previous low was 117 yards and 2.8 yards per carry.
Special teams
The other aspect of the game in which Downs theoretically could have made an impact was punt returns. On the season, Downs averaged 16.3 yards per punt return and took back one of his six returns for a touchdown. He also had a punt return touchdown a year ago against Alabama.
But in the CFP title game, the Buckeyes only returned one punt, and that was receiver Brandon Inniss. Downs did fair catch one punt, but the Notre Dame special teams kept him from pulling off any big plays in the special teams realm.
Still, Downs and his teammates slowed the Notre Dame ground attack and that may have ended up being the difference between winning and losing.
What do you think about Downs and the OSU defense? Share your take below in the comments section!