Urban Meyer pays a huge compliment to Ohio State’s defense ahead of the National Championship game against Notre Dame

Ohio State's defense is top-notch, according to Urban Meyer. The former Buckeyes coach paid a momentous compliment to Ryan Day's defensive unit on Monday's edition of his "Triple Option" podcast on YouTube. At the 52-minute mark of the show, Meyer and co-hosts Mark Ingram and Rob Stone turned their attention to Ohio State's defense this season.

Shortly after Ingram said that the defense had carried Ohio State to the national championship game, Meyer interjected:

"Their red zone defense is the best I've ever seen. The best I've ever seen"

Ohio State's defense ranks No. 1 in the nation, allowing just 251.1 yards and 12.2 points per game. However, this will be an intriguing matchup as Notre Dame has the second-best defense in the nation in terms of points allowed, giving up an average of 14.3 points per game.

Expect the national championship game on Monday to be a close affair, between two teams accustomed to playing hard football.

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Ryan Day on how Ohio State is canceling the noise ahead of the national championship game

There's been much talk recently about how toxic the fandom environment can be around Ohio State. There's no doubt that winning is the expectation at Columbus, but some have started to wonder whether this constant pressure from the outside is detrimental to players and coaches trying to do their best to win.

During Wednesday's press conference, Ryan Day addressed this issue and said that he's doing his utmost to shield his players from this ahead of the game on Monday:

“To think too much about that right now is kind of over here,” Day said. “And I’m with you, I think you’re dead on (about there being pressure). I think it’s worth a lot of conversation. I think when you start to get into that though as a coach or as a player, it can be a distraction. One of the things we’re trying to do this week is eliminate all the distractions. What’s happened in the past doesn’t matter.

“… Pressure — whatever you call it, the way that you just continue to work during those moments just to focus on right now, focus on your job and focus on what’s in front of you because the rest of it doesn’t matter. That’s what I’m going to focus on right now. I think there’s great conversation to be had about (pressure) down the road and what comes with it because it isn’t the same as a lot of other places; it’s just different (here).”

The national championship game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Buckeyes are currently eight-point favorites according to ESPN Bet. The game will air on ESPN.