COLUMBUS, Ohio - As the final countdown began to Ohio State's season opener, almost every publication, talk-show host and Web site had the same opinion: great offense, questions on defense.

Four games later, with the showdown with No. 13 Iowa coming up Saturday night, it seems all of those defensive questions have been answered by the top-ranked Buckeyes.

The defense, despite nine new starters, is allowing just eight points a game, seventh best in the nation.

"I had really high expectations for this defense coming in this year," tackle David Patterson said. "The offense saw these guys playing for so long. I knew we had the talent. I thought it was going to be a matter of them getting used to the speed of the game."

They were apparently pretty good even before making that adjustment in the games.

Back during preseason workouts in August, tailback Antonio Pittman was concerned about the offense because it was having so much difficulty moving the ball. He thought the offense was not being disciplined. Turns out, it had a lot more to do with a rock-ribbed defense than it did with the guys in his huddle.

"In camp, the defense really took it to us. It kind of had me worried going into the season because we had all this talk about us being a young defense and our offense was supposed to be all this and that, you know," Pittman said. "We really couldn't move the ball on the defense in camp. Honestly speaking. I knew they were going to be ready from that point on."

Most other numbers don't tell the whole story. The Buckeyes rank just 32nd among the 119 Division I-A programs against the pass (167 yards per game), are tied for 53rd (115 ypg) against the run and are 37th in total defense (383 ypg).

One key area where the Buckeyes have been a surprise is in producing turnovers. They've picked off eight passes -tied for second in the country, one back of Western Michigan -and also have recovered a fumble.

The 2005 Ohio State defense, considered one of the best in the country with veteran linebackers A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter and four returning starters in the secondary, had only seven interceptions in the regular season.

"We're doing a better job of getting turnovers this year," Patterson said. "The D-line is getting some pressure and the linebackers are playing great coverage and the DBs are stingy and selfish. They have the mentality back there that if the ball's in the air it's ours and they need to go get it."

Malcolm Jenkins, one of the new starters at cornerback, said he knew all along that there wouldn't be a falloff when all the starting linebackers and secondary were gone after last season.

"We're playing really, really well and I'm proud of how the whole defense is playing," he said. "We're not surprised because of how hard we worked in the offseason and preseason camp. It's starting to pay off."

Quarterback Troy Smith, who faces the starting defense almost every day in practice, never doubted the Buckeyes wouldn't skip a beat on the other side of the ball. He even thinks that it is the defense, and not the vaunted and volatile offense, which is the backbone of the team.

"The defense is going to (prop) us up for the rest of the season," he said.