The first challenge for Ohio State this week is not stopping Arch Manning’s arm. It is figuring out how to tackle a quarterback who does not play like a normal quarterback. That is why Matt Patricia has reached for Ben Roethlisberger tape, a reminder that preparation sometimes starts by studying an older problem that looks a lot like the new one.
Ohio State is preparing for Texas in Week 2 of the college football season, and the Buckeyes are adjusting their tackling emphasis for Manning’s size and movement. Christian Alliegro said the focus this week is more of an emphasis because of “how tall Arch is,” noting that when a defender goes for his legs, “he’s just going to run out of that.” The answer, at least in Ohio State’s view, is to get hands on him and finish the play rather than dive and hope for the best.
That is where Patricia’s background matters. He coached in New England from 2004 through 2017, spent 2006 through 2017 on the defensive side of the ball, and was the defensive coordinator from 2012 through 2017. He also had a second stint with New England from 2021 through 2022. That long NFL run gave him a specific reference point for physical quarterbacks, and Roethlisberger is an obvious one. Drafted in the first round in 2004, he spent years making defenses look foolish with size, toughness, a pump fake and pocket movement that could turn clean contact into broken structure.
According to Alliegro, Patricia was showing the defense clips of how teams tackled Big Ben back in the day. That is not just a nostalgic coaching detail. It tells you exactly what Ohio State thinks this matchup might become: a test of leverage, discipline and body control against a quarterback who is over 220 pounds and can still create problems when the pocket starts to close.
Why the comparison matters
Roethlisberger is useful here because his film gives Ohio State a way to coach the specifics, not just the theory. A taller, sturdier quarterback changes the geometry of a tackle. If the defender arrives too low, there is a chance the runner slips through. If the defender dives, the play can keep alive. That is why Alliegro stressed wrapping high and having everyone else arrive to help. “No diving this week for sure,” he said, and that sounds less like a slogan than a rule.
The bigger point is that Ohio State is not treating Manning like a standard pocket passer. It is treating him like a quarterback whose frame and mobility can punish ordinary technique. That is a smart place to start, because playoff-caliber games are often decided by details most people miss. The right hand placement, the right angle, the willingness to finish as a unit — those are the things that turn a dangerous quarterback from a game-breaker into just another challenge.
It also says something about Patricia’s teaching style. He is not asking his defense to guess. He is giving them a visual reference, one rooted in NFL history and tailored to a very specific body type. For Ohio State, that is the practical side of elite preparation: find the closest old problem, study it honestly and use it to make the new one less mysterious.
That will not guarantee the Buckeyes solve Manning. But it does show they understand what the problem is. In a matchup like this, that is usually where good defensive plans begin.
