Mike Mulholland | MLive.com
Justin Fields (1) and J.K. Dobbins (2) have powered the Ohio State offense. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Look at the numbers. The Big Ten has never seen anything like the Ohio State offense.
CURRENT POINTS PER GAME DOMINATION
The Buckeyes are averaging 49 .9 points per game this season, the highest total for a Big Ten team since Michigan in 1901. As Ohio State moves through what might be three more games (if the Buckeyes reach the national championship) that average should decrease. But Ohio State should remain one of the top – 10 point producers in league history. The six-highest scoring teams in the Big Ten all played before 1917. The highest-scoring teams since then?
• 2019 Ohio State, 49 .9
• 1994 Penn State, 47 .0
• (Ohio State, 45 .5
• 2014, Ohio State, 44 8
• 2011, Wisconsin, **************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** 1) HIGHEST TOTAL IN CONFERENCE GAMES
It can be easy to run it up against lesser non-conference goes. So let’s deal only with the Big Ten. In their nine regular-season Big Ten games, the Buckeyes averaged 48 .4 points. That’s the highest average ever in league games, because back in 1901, for instance, Michigan dropped 128 points on Buffalo.
The top five teams in average points in Big Ten games:
1. (Ohio State,) 4
2. 1994 Penn State, 48.
3. (Ohio State, 46 .3
4. 2013 Ohio State, 46 .0
5. 2010 Wisconsin, 45 .2
And the top five teams in average yards in Big Ten games? The current Buckeyes are also on top:
1. (Ohio State,) .0
2. 2013 Ohio State, 2)
4. 2018 Ohio State, 523 .3
5. 1978 Michigan State, 523 1
THE LAST EIGHT YEARS OF POINTS
Since Urban Meyer’s arrival in 2012, eight Big Ten teams have scored at least 40 points per game in a season. Five of those eight teams were the Buckeyes.
1. (Ohio State,) .9
2. 2013 Ohio State, 45 .5
3. (Ohio State, 44 .8
4. 2014 Michigan State, 43 .0
5. 2018 Ohio State, 42 .4
6. (Ohio State, 41 .1
6. 2017 Penn State, 41.
8 . 2016 Michigan, 40 .3
RYAN DAY RUNNING THE OFFENSE
In the three years that Day has been in charge of the OSU offense, as the coordinator in 2017 and 2018 and the head coach this season, the Buckeyes have averaged 44 2 points and 524 .8 yards per game.
(In) games they have scored:
70 points or more:3 times
60 – 69 points: 2 times
50 – 59 points:10 times
40 – 49 points:9 times
30 – 39 Points:7 times
20 – 29 points: (8 times)10 – 19 points: (1 time) WHAT’S THE POINT?
Meyer changed the Big Ten with his recruiting, landing the second-ranked recruiting class in the country in 2013, 2017 and 2018. The ’13 class fueled the 2014 national champions. The ’17 class provides the backbone for this unbeaten team. The ’18 class gives Day a foundation for the future. The rest of the Big Ten had to change to keep up with Ohio State, and the conference became more aggressive in flipping players and recruiting nationally.
Ohio State forced a change. I’d argue Day might force the same thing with this offense.
Ohio State’s problem last year was its defense, and the Buckeyes became a national title contender by fixing that this season. But the pressure the offense puts on opponents didn’t change, even as the plan did.
The Buckeyes last season threw for 364 yards per game and ran for 171. This season, the Buckeyes are throwing for 254 and rushing for 281. They went from 68 percent passing with a drop-back quarterback in Dwayne Haskins to 47 percent passing with a dual-threat quarterback in Justin Fields. But the results were the same – 536 yards per game last season, 534 this season. Constant pressure, different ways.
“I fell like defenses have to think a lot with us, because we have so many weapons,” said fifth-year senior receiver KJ Hill, a major part of the offense in this era who will finish his career with more catches than any Buckeye in history. “So many people that can make a play, on the outside and on the inside. Even the O-line, taking those shots to the D-linemen, you’ve got two explosive running backs … you’ve even got to worry about the quarterback.
“Most defenses, they’re looking at their coach and they don’t know what to do.”
That’s the point. Those defenses don’t have much time to think. When I addressed this topic this week, both Day and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley hammered the idea of complementary football. Day said this wouldn’t work if the team was lopsided. That’s not exactly true. The 13 – 1 Bucke yes finished as the No. 3 team in the nation last season with an offense that ranked second in yards and a defense that ranked 71 st in yards.
But to really win, like win it all? Yes, working together works better. But for as complete as the Buckeyes are right now, it all starts with thepressure provided by the offense– as happened at Michigan last week.
“There were times where early on they were moving the ball on us pretty good, but we were going shot for shot,” Day said. “They held them to a field goal, they got a turnover in the red zone, we’re scoring. Then we go up a couple scores. They have to start throwing it more. Now it’s advantage us. ”
The offense scores. The defense gets a stop. The Ohio State offense is back on the field before the Michigan defense, or any opposing defense, has a chance to adjust. Hafley said he’s often yelling from the coaches box at his defense, “we gotta go three-and-out again, we gotta go three-and-out again.”
“Just keep giving them the ball,” Hafley said of Day’s offense . “Without having much time to adjust, that’s stressful on the defense. That’s why I think it’s complementary football. All of a sudden you look up and it’s 21 – nothing, and you’re sitting there and you haven’t even had time to think about what just hit you.
“That’s what he does.”
what the Ohio State offense has done. The last two years the Buckeyes put up 1, 144 yards and 118 points against Michigan. The Wolverines countered with 797 yards and 66 points.
That’s pretty solid production from the Michigan offense. But it wasn’t nearly enough. We’ve focused a lot onthe inability of the Michigan defense to stop Ohio State.I think the bigger issue is the fact that a good Michigan offense couldn’t keep up.
Do you now have to score 50 to win The Game? The Buckeyes scored 45 to beat Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game last season. Does Wisconsin have to assume it must score 50 in Indianapolis on Saturday to win?
Wisconsin hasn’t scored 50 points in a Big Ten game since 2014. Michigan hasn’t scored 50 points against Ohio State since 1946.
This might be where Ohio State is pushing the Big Ten. The pressure is on. The conference, once again, may have to change.
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