Central Ohio Natives Cooper, Harrison Help Buckeyes Crush Michigan

All season long, the Ohio State linebackers have been the target of harsh criticism.

Since Nick Bosa suffered a season-ending injury against TCU, the Buckeye defensive ends have struggled at times to meet expectations as well.

Saturday, everything finally clicked for the OSU defense in a 62-39 blowout of arch-rival Michigan.

And a pair of Central Ohio natives, Gahanna’s Jonathon Cooper and Malik Harrison from Columbus, were a big reason why.

Harrison had seven tackles, including two for a loss during the game. He came clean up the middle on a blitz on Michigan’s second play of the game, sacking Shea Patterson for a tone-setting 7-yard loss.

Cooper also had a sack, and three tackles.

After the game, OSU head coach Urban Meyer was thrilled for the junior defensive end.

“Coop just works his tail off,” Meyer said. “That was a rugged week for our defense. Last week, rugged. And to come out and just play like they did against that team was awesome.”

“He’s been working hard all season,” said junior defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones. “To have games like this where he goes crazy, he’s someone who deserves it.”

The Buckeyes limited Michigan to just 4.0 yards per rush, and 6.3 yards per pass attempt. Both were significantly lower than the Wolverines’ season averages.

It was a stunning reversal for a defense that was gashed on the ground by a middling Maryland offense a week earlier.

For Harrison, it meant a lot to not only play such a solid game, but to do it against Michigan in a matchup he’s been following his whole life.

“A kid 15 minutes away, it’s a great feeling,” Harrison said. “This rivalry, I’ve been watching since I was little, so it was great.”

“It makes it even more special to have my family in the stands, we were all Buckeye fans growing up, so just being able to play my best game against The Team Up North was great.”