Matt Patricia’s return is a continuity boost for Ohio State — and more

It’s safe to say not everyone was sold on Ryan Day’s hire of Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator when Jim Knowles took the Penn State job. Our own site listed the uncertainty of the choice as one of the Buckeyes’ biggest concerns last summer.

While things hadn’t gone so well for Patricia as an NFL head coach in Detroit — lack of success by no means being uncommon for Lions coaches from a historical standpoint — or in some of his positions since, his NFL experience is something Day covets.

Patricia got the job, and the reaction from Ohio State writers and fans was mixed, at best.

Those concerns were quickly put to rest. Despite having to completely rebuild a defense that lost a ton of departing talent to the NFL after the 2024 national championship season, Patricia’s unit was not only Ohio State’s best in 2025, but it was the top defense in college football.

The Buckeyes finished first in scoring defense, allowing fewer than double-digit points per game (9.3), and led the nation in total defense, allowing just an average of 219 yards per game. With an entirely new defensive line, Ohio State held opponents to less than 90 yards rushing per game, finishing seventh nationally in run defense, while leading the country in pass defense, giving up a stingy 129.7 yards per game through the air.

There is no room for criticism for the numbers in the above paragraph. It’s ludicrous to expect that kind of performance, let alone any improvement on it.

Leading the country in three of the four major defensive categories makes the 2025 defense historically good (and it’s even better when you consider the Buckeyes led the country in red zone defense and were No. 10 nationally in third-down defense), and the architect of that defense putting to rest any doubts about his return can be seen as nothing but a positive for Ohio State football in 2026.

A side effect of being one of the top programs in the country is that other schools are always coming for your coaches. At Ohio State, it isn’t just college programs coming for them; the NFL also comes calling. With the ridiculous season Patricia’s defense just had, there were no doubt suitors for his services from both college and NFL teams.

Although Patricia’s initial deal was through 2027, there was never any guarantee of his return after turning the OSU defense into a buzzsaw that improved a national championship-caliber defense.

Now that Patricia has committed to being in Columbus for another year, he has the unenviable task of replacing several key parts of his own elite defense.

The good news is there is plenty of talent returning and several new arrivals via the transfer portal that will help. The bad news is that it is a big ask to replace Kayden McDonald’s explosive play on the defensive line and “unicorn” players like Caleb Downs and Arvell Reese, along with an elite linebacker talent in Sonny Styles and top cornerback Davison Igbinosun.

Despite the losses of Downs, Reese, and Styles in particular, the job of rebuilding the defense seems less daunting now than it did a year ago.

Ohio State’s returning starters and depth players have been in Patricia’s system for a year. They should be better pepared in their second year, even if some of them will become first-time starters. New arrivals will help mitigate some of the losses.

Again, it’s ludicrous to expect a repeat of what Patricia’s defense did in 2025 in the season ahead, especially with a tougher schedule to play, but Ohio State’s second-year defensive coordinator has done enough to at least silence last year’s critics and build trust that the Silver Bullets will be back in 2026.

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the start of free agency next week, but the trade market is heating up just one week out, and the Bears have been a hot topic of conversation. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, wide receiver DJ Moore and quarterback Tyson Bagent have been mentioned as potential trade options for Chicago.

Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, who's entering the final year of his rookie contract, was reportedly garnering trade interest with teams inquiring about his availability. But Bears insider Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune clarified Dexter trade rumors, saying that Chicago has no intention of trading the former second-round defensive tackle.

"They're not taking (trade) calls on him," Biggs said on 104.3 The Score on Monday. "They're not making calls on him...I'm reporting nothing is happening on that... They've got two defensive tackles under contract, they're not looking to move one," Biggs said. "Gervon Dexter will be with the Bears next season."

Dexter, 24, started all 17 games with the Bears last season, where he totaled 44 tackles, including six tackles for loss, six sacks, 11 QB hits and two fumble recoveries.

Chicago's biggest need this offseason is defensive tackle, where Dexter and Jarrett are the only players under contract. There's uncertainty about their futures beyond 2026, with Dexter hitting free agency and Jarrett getting up there in age. But there's a bigger need for a short-term solution for 2026, which is why trading Dexter wouldn't make sense for the Bears. They need to add defensive tackles, not get rid of them.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears insider sets record straight about Gervon Dexter trade rumors

NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets (15-45) are still looking for their first win coming out of the All-Star break, but they had a better chance of ending their losing streak with the Cleveland Cavaliers (38-24) missing Donovan Mitchell due to injury. Brooklyn came into the game dealing with two injuries to center Nic Claxton and rookie guard Egor Demin and it seems like the Nets could have used both of them.

The Netslost to the Cavaliers on Sunday 106-102 despite the fact that Brooklyn never trailed by more than 11 points as they had arguably their best effort since coming back from the break. Forward Michael Porter Jr. led the way for the Nets with 26 points and five rebounds while rookie forward Danny Wolf had 23 points and nine rebounds coming off the bench.

The main reason that the Cavaliers were able to emerge from this game with a victory was due to the efforts of guard James Harden (22 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) and center Jarrett Allen (20 points, six rebounds). Brooklyn was unable to come away from this game with their desired result, but they gave a much better effort. Here are three Nets takeaways from Sunday's loss to the Cavaliers:

Michael Porter Jr. Impacts Both Ends Of The Floor

Porter, who finished this game with 26 points (10-of-17 from the field, 5-of-8 from three-point land) and five rebounds, has clearly been the offensive engine for the Nets this entire season, but this game showed how impactful he can be on the defensive end when he's locked in. Porter used his length to get into the passing lanes and racked up three of Brooklyn's 10 steals against a Cavaliers team missing Donovan Mitchell.

Rookie Danny Wolf Impresses Off The Bench

Wolf has had some rough stretches this season while trying to provide some semblance of consistency off the bench as a rookie, but he has found his stride as of late. Coming off his best month of the season, Wolf had arguably his best game of the season against the Cavaliers after dropping 23 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in 27 minutes off the bench.

Grant Nelson Sparks Bench Unit

Nelson, playing in just his second game with Brooklyn after signing a 10-day contract with the club after spending the entire season in Long Island, came off the bench with quite the impact in his first stint on the floor. Nelson, who played 20 minutes for head coach Jordi Fernandez, dropped 11 points, four rebounds, one steal, and three blocks as he brought the kind of spark that the team is looking for in every game, especially one against a formidable opponent like the Cavaliers.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 106-102 loss to James Harden, Cavaliers

Nebraska baseball (5-5) finished its weekend series with No. 7 Auburn (9-2) on Sunday afternoon. The Huskers suffered another major defeat at the hands of the Tigers, 12-3, to lose the series 2-1.

Auburn jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning, highlighted by a three-run home run. Nebraska cut the deficit to three in the fourth with an infielder’s choice from Cole Kitchens and a sacrifice fly by Devin Nunez. The Tigers, however, added two more runs in the seventh and four in the eighth to put the game away.

Auburn finished with just seven hits, but capitalized on its 12 total walks, seven of which occurred in its final two innings at bat. The Huskers totaled eight hits on the day, but suffered 10 strikeouts and left 11 runners on base.

Kitchens, Nunez and Max Buettenback all drove in an RBI, despite not earning a hit in the loss. Dylan Carey, Joshua Overbeek, and Case Sanderson all finished with two hits on the afternoon. Carey's two hits bring his career total to 201, making him the 28th Husker in program history to reach the 200-hit mark. Mac Moyer and Preston Freeman each chipped in one hit.

Gavin Blachowicz (1-1) took the loss on the mound in his start for Nebraska. He recorded two strikeouts, but coughed up five runs, one earned, on four hits with two walks across 2.0 innings. Kevin Mannell pitched 4.0 innings, earning five strikeouts and surrendering a run on two hits.

Nebraska returns to Lincoln to start a nine-game stretch, beginning with a Tuesday afternoon matchup against Omaha. The first pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on B1G+.

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska drops series finale to No. 7 Auburn