COLUMBUS, Ohio — Denzel Burke picked a bad time to have what was probably his worst game as an Ohio State football player in a 32-31 loss to Oregon two weeks ago.
Burke was targeted eight times against the Ducks giving up catches on every target for 179 yards and two touchdowns. So much of Oregon’s explosiveness in the passing game came at the expense of OSU’s best cornerback in a way that it’s fair to question whether the coaching staff should’ve pulled him for a different option. It’s not like this team is short on cornerback talent.
It could’ve been a chance to show off that depth by inserting Jermaine Mathews, a proven backup who’s thrived on numerous other occasions when thrown into action thanks to Burke’s absences the last two years. But instead, the Buckeyes chose to let the four-year starter try to figure things out.
“It’s definitely part of the conversation,” head coach Day said. “You have to decide what gives you the best chance to win in that moment. A decision was made. We evaluate that and see if that’s the best thing moving forward.”
There’s a balance that comes with benching a player who isn’t performing well. Especially when that player is the most experienced person on your defense who’s proven that what happened against Oregon is probably more of a one-off than a trend.
But games like that are also why you build depth to pin yourself in a corner. Cornerback coach Tim Walton has spent three years recruiting and developing a room that has no less than four players who could start for any team in the Big Ten. But when the moment called for him to tap into that depth, he and Day chose not to.
In hindsight, maybe they should have. Or maybe that’s an easy thing to say now that we’ve seen the result because a change doesn’t automatically mean things would’ve gotten better.
Instead, Ohio State banked on Burke eventually figuring things out. That didn’t happen two weeks ago, but Burke’s track record suggests that his performance against Oregon isn’t a long-term issue to worry about.
“We believe in Denzel,” Day said. “We think he’s a great player. He did have a couple of a plays that weren’t good and he’ll tell you the same thing. He came out last week an had a good week of practice. He’ll rebound and play well ths week.”