Ohio State has once again put together one of college football's best defenses as it chases back-to-back national championships. Ten games into 2025, it's clear this unit is going to have a ton of gas left in the tank for their College Football Playoff run.
Why is that? Because the Buckeyes, who remain No. 2 in this week's updated stop rate standings, are so efficient at getting stops that they've played the fewest defensive plays in the country so far this season.
What is stop rate? It's a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense's drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. Defensive coordinators have the same goal regardless of their scheme, opponent or conference: prevent points and get off the field. Stop rate is a simple metric but can offer a good reflection of a defense's effectiveness on a per-drive basis in today's faster-tempo game.
Stop rate is not an advanced stat and is no substitute for Bill Connelly's SP+, FPI or other more comprehensive metrics. It's merely a different method for evaluating success on defense against FBS opponents. Here's the current leaderboard entering Week 13:
Ohio State's defense currently ranks No. 1 in SP+ and No. 2 in stop rate with stops on 82.1% of drives against FBS opponents. Their 48-10 rout of a UCLA team missing starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava played out a lot like most of their wins: the Bruins weren't given the opportunity to do much on offense.
UCLA got a season-low 48 plays on offense over nine full drives. The Bruins only got 21 plays in during the first half, with their longest drive going six plays and 14 yards, and trailed 27-0 by halftime.
That's been the magic trick of this unit under first-year defensive coordinator and longtime NFL coach Matt Patricia. The Buckeyes aren't leading the country in sacks or takeaways. They're leading the way -- and on a historic pace -- when it comes to playing less defense.
Ohio State's defense has been on the field for 550 snaps this season, which is 74 fewer than Texas A&M, 75 fewer than Georgia and 111 fewer than Texas Tech through those teams' first 10 games. They're defending 53.3 plays per game in conference play this season, the fewest by any Big Ten defense in more than 20 years according to ESPN Research.
Over the past decade, no Power 4 defense has averaged fewer than 10.3 drives per game on defense over a full season. Ohio State is currently at 9.9 -- and if you filter out the end-of-half drives, it's actually 9.4.
Patricia's defense has given up 75 points over 84 drives against FBS opponents this season and still ranks No. 2 in yards per play allowed (3.98) against FBS offenses as well. That weekly dominance has allowed this Buckeyes team to play with a lead on more than 80% of its snaps this season, a nice jump up from 72% last season during its run to the national title.
The stats are impressive, but the long-term benefits are more valuable. Fewer drives and plays means less tread on the tires as this unit continues to develop its depth and prepare for tougher tests in December and January.
A few more updates to note regarding this week's stop rate standings:
Texas Tech held down the No. 1 spot in this week's stop rate standings after another dominant day in a 48-9 win over UCF. The Red Raiders got stops on 10 of 11 drives and pitched a first-half shutout on defense for the sixth time this season. They've allowed 47 first-half points over 11 games this season, including just 7 over the past month.
Indiana joined the top five in this week's stop rate standings and is leading the country in turnover margin (plus-15) after grabbing two more takeaways in a 31-7 win over Wisconsin. The Hoosiers have now played 24 games under coach Curt Cignetti. They've won the turnover battle 17 times during his tenure and have lost it just once.
Miami moved into the top 10 in stop rate this week following its 41-7 blowout of NC State. Since their overtime loss to SMU put their CFP hopes in peril, the Hurricanes' defense has allowed just two touchdowns in two games, and both were scored in the last three minutes.
Three defenses moved into the top 25 in stop rate this week: Fresno State (No. 18), Virginia (22) and Notre Dame (23). The Fighting Irish have a stop rate of 74.7% since their 0-2 start, which ranks 11th best in FBS during that span.
Note: All data is courtesy of ESPN Research. Games against FCS opponents and end-of-half drives in which the opponent took a knee or ran out the clock were filtered out.