Welcome to the weekly installment where we look at the game from a statistical perspective. Feel free to add your thoughts. What stats impressed you? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me against Penn State.
2; 1 – After scoring 63 points, it may be sacrilegious to start on the defensive end, but Noah Spence had himself a great game. He was smothering the quarterback and disrupting pass plays consistently. We heard his name called on the broadcast on several occasions, well Deserved. He finished the game with 2 sacks and 1 TFL, but his impact was felt well beyond those three stats. The entire defensive front deserves a shout out for a game well-played.
75% – I know it is cliché and the expression was overused last night by the announcers, but Braxton is “becoming a QB”. The progression is amazing to watch, especially as a passer. Braxton had another strong game last night. I was most impressed with his ability to keep plays alive and still find receivers open down field. He completed 75% of his passes following up a strong 81% completion rate last week.
8.9 – The individual stats of a lot of players were amazing. That probably goes without saying after putting up 63 points and gaining 686 total yards. As a team, the Buckeyes averaged 8.9 yards/play. To me that number is mind-boggling. The Buckeye offense moved the ball at will.
8.0 – Just to show how much I am in love with the yards/play stat from this game, here is another one…The Buckeye offense averaged 8 yards/carry. Not one player, as a team. I am not sure if anyone else thought the same thing, but I found myself thinking on numerous occasions why would Braxton not give the ball to Carlos Hyde on every play because he picked up 8 or 9 yards every time he touched it. Then I reminded myself, it didn’t matter what play they called because the offense picked up 8.9 (on average) yards every time anyone touched it. SEVEN players averaged more than 6.2 yards/carry, SEVEN! Carlos Hyde (9.2), Jordan Hall (10.1), Braxton Miller (6.2), Cardale Jones (10.4), Kenny Guiton (7.7), Ezekiel Elliot (8.5), and Dontre Wilson (12.0). Unreal!
0 – Two straight games with 0 turnovers. Other notable – 70% 3rd down conversion rate. There were so many impressive stats against PSU. I could have just screen captured the box score and posted that but then you would get the delightful commentary that comes with these stats ;). If you want to check out the box score yourself, I highly encourage you to do so. Be prepared to be blown away!
Any other key stats against Penn State?
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