Buckeyes' D committed to a better year

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - There is a nagging feeling hovering around Ohio State's defenders that they somehow let everyone down a year ago.

Sure, the offense had its problems and the special teams might not have been sterling during a tumultuous season off and on the field.

Yet to a man, the Buckeyes defense feels as if it owes everybody else on the team, the fans and the college football world a little bit of payback for not being able to stop teams on third down and permitting 21 points a game.

With most of the unit back -- led by John Simon up front and several mainstays behind him -- they're committed to getting back to the way things used to be, when they were among the best in the land.

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Rusty Miller can be reached at http://twitter.com/rustymillerap