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? Any stats concern you? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me against Michigan.

393 – The Buckeyes continued to dominate on the ground racking up 393 net rushing yards for an 8.5 yard average. Carlos Hyde finished the game with 226 yards while Braxton Miller gained 153. Nice work by both of them. I will reiterate what I said last week…the battle in the run game is going to be huge this week against MSU. Here is a comparison of OSU offense vs. MSU defense (a little preview of by the numbers):

OSU Rushing Offense (Cumulative):
547 Attempts – 3,855 net yards – 321.2 yards/game – 7.0 yards/rush

MSU Rushing Defense (Cumulative):
349 Attempts – 777 net yards – 64.8 yards/game – 2.2 yards/rush

I know a lot of these stats are relative to opponents faced, but through 11 games these are very impressive stats on both sides. What will give on Saturday?

451 – I know some of you will take issue with me even mentioning this, but Devin Gardner threw for 451 yards and 4 TD’s. I don’t know if I have a good explanation for this. I don’t think this is too alarming for this week, but if the title game is in our future, the defense needs to figure out how to fix these issues. I do believe some credit should be given to the Michigan offense for coming up huge on the big stage. OK, even I am now cringing thinking about it. Let’s move on…

3 for 8 – After being pretty strong on third down for most of the year, the Buckeyes struggled a bit in this game. They only converted on 3 of 8 3rd down attempts. Not the typical conversion rate we are used to seeing, but one game does not cause me to worry too much.

Enough with the stats…I am having a hard time coming up with stats that in my opinion influenced the outcome of the game. Throw the records out, the stats don’t matter, who wants it more, Saturday was the epitome of all the old clichés. We watched two teams that wanted it really bad. The Buckeyes literally made one play at the end of the game that made the difference. All of the other stats in some way shaped the outcome, but at the end of the day the most important stat was…

1 – One huge play at the end of the game. One interception by Tyvis Powell to cement the victory.

#ONEMORETOGO O-H!

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? Any stats concern you? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me against Indiana.

20, 5, 1, 1 – Ryan Shazier stole the show yesterday for the defense. He set out to honor Christian Bryant’s #2 and he did just that. His stat line: 20 tackles (16 solo), 5 TFL, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble. Not a bad day’s work.

39-311, 8.0 – The Buckeye’s have dominated the opposition with their rushing attack all year. This week was not an exception; the offense gained 311 yards on the ground (8.0 yards/rush). No one has been able to stop the ground attack. I don’t want to skip ahead and bypass this hallowed week, but this will be a telling story line for the B1G Championship Game against Michigan State.

4, 2 – I know SYR mentioned this is one of his tweets, but I was on the same wavelength as him. Cam Burrows is going to be a baller! The Hoosiers tried to pick on him multiple times after he entered the game. Cam was up to the task and made some huge plays. He finished the game with 4 tackles and 2 pass defenses (break-ups), but the impact goes well beyond what he was able to do in less than 1 half of play.

3 – The three turnovers left a little to be desired. Not a big deal in a game like this, but losing the turnover battle will be a bigger deal in the weeks to come.

16 – Thank you to the 16 seniors who played their last game at Ohio Stadium.

Any other key stats against Indiana?

GO BUCKS!!! BEAT MICHIGAN!! war eagle!

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? Any stats concern you? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me against Purdue.

0 – The so called experts will say it was Purdue and the Buckeyes should have won by a large margin. That is all well and good, but given the recent history against the Boilermakers it was nice to destroy them. Kudos to the defense for the shutout. 56-0 is nice regardless of the opponenent. In honor of the shutout, I will be focusing mainly on defensive stats.

116 – The defense yielded on 116 total yards. Impressive team defense. The Buckeyes have yet to give up a run of over 20 yards all season. The only team in the nation that can say that.

6 – Six players combined for a total of 6 sacks in the game. The Buckeyes sit atop the B1G with 17 sacks in conference games.

17% – Purdue managed only 2 (out of 12) first downs on third down. The Buckeye D was able to get off the field very effectivly on third down.

5-116-1 – I suppose scoring 56 points is worthy of one offensive stat. Jeff Heuerman was the leading receiver (and it wasn’t close) on Saturday. It was nice to see the tight ends getting some love. A lot of the credit goes to Braxton becasue of his ability to find the open guy. Jeff was open on Saturday; hauling in 5 catches for 116 yards and 1 TD. Nice game for Heuerman. Note: Nick Vannet also caught a TD. 11 players caught at least one pass.

Any other key stats against Purdue?

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?

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? Any stats concern you? The past two games have been eerily similar in flow (slow first half / dominant second half). Do the numbers tell the same story? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me against Iowa and a few bonus stats since I missed the last game against Northwestern.

273/222 – The headline of Bill Rabinowitz’s colmun in the Dispatch reads, “Ohio State 34, Iowa 24: Buckeyes regain their balance”. The Buckeyes used a balanced attack to outlast Iowa. OSU rushed for 273 and passed for 222 yards. Comparatively, the Buckeyes rushed for 248 and passed for 203 yards against Northwestern. Not sure what balance was regained this week; I think the Buckeyes have done a good job all year maintaining balance, especially since the return of Braxton and Carlos. Looking at the balance over the last two games got me thinking about the entire season. I have expressed some concern after other games about the lack of touches for some players. After looking at the yearly offensive stats to date, I was amazed how much this year has been a true “team effort”. Obviously there have been some extenuating circumstances such as injuries and suspensions that have led to the team balance, but nonetheless I thought this graphic was impressive.

The same can be said for the defense. In my opinion, not one defensive player has been head and shoulders better than anyone else. There have been a lot of guys contributing to the cause as seen by this graphic.

24-7 – After the first few games, we were raving about how the Buckeyes were starting games and absolutely dominating the first quarter. The last two games have been the complete opposite. The Buckeyes have started slow and dominated the second half. I agree with most things I have read, Iowa had a great game plan and the 24-7 second half score had a lot to do with adjustments at half time. Two consecutive 10 point wins were supported by an impressive second half. The Buckeyes beat down Northwestern 27-10 in the second half two weeks ago.

24-149-2 – Carlos Hyde is a huge reason why the Buckeyes dominated the second halves. He rushed for 149 yards and 2 TD’s (both in the second half) on 24 carries. Against NW, he rushed for 168 yards and 3 TD’s (all three in the second half) on 26 carries. HOLY BUCKEYE! He is crazy good.

25:00 – 35:00 – Time of Possession does not always decide who is going to win the game. In my opinion, its importance is dependent on a team’s offensive scheme and style. That being said, an offense cannot score without the ball (duh!). For OSU, I think time of possession is key because of its balanced attack of run and throw. The more time with the ball in Braxton’s hands, the better. Another eye-opening stat about the tale of two halves in the Iowa game was the ToP. Check out the difference between the first and second half (OSU on the right).

Contrast that with Oregon this past week…WSU ToP 35:39 – ORE ToP 24:21 and Oregon won 62-38.

0 – The number of punts and turnovers. If the OSU offense does that every week, they will be hard to beat. What we learned…keep the ball in the offense’s hands and the Buckeyes win. No one has been able to stop the offense on a consistent basis yet! GO BUCKS!

Any other key stats against Iowa?

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? Any stats concern you? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me against Wisconsin.

20(UW)-21(OSU); 399(UW)-390(OSU); 29:42(UW)-30:18(OSU) – Statistically speaking this game was extremely close. These three stats demonstrate how close it was by the numbers – First Downs; Total Yards; Time of Possession, respectively. Although the numbers may tell a different story, it felt like the Buckeyes were in control throughout the game. Coach Meyer made an interesting point after the game, he said he would have liked to close the game better. That will be an important aspect of games as the B1G season progresses.

39/4 – The ratio of carries from Braxton Miller/Carlos Hyde to the rest of the team. The ground attack was much different in this game compared to the previuos 4. It looked a lot like last year. Braxton and Carlos were solid (nice to see Braxton healthy), but I anticipate at some point the other running backs will see some more carries. I think the way this game played out was influenced by the coaching staff’s desire to be comfortable as the team faced their first big test of the season.

8-85-2 – Corey Brown had a great game. He finshed with 8 catches for 85 yards and 2 TD’s. With the exception of his laspe in judgement on the muffed punt (that was luckily negated by a penalty), he made some great plays in the passing game. The connection between he and Braxton was not affected by the 3 games Braxton missed.

104; 3 for 12 – I have spent a lot of time focusing on offensive stats, but I think the defensive performance in this game should not be understated. After allowing some big gains in the passing game during the first half, some key adjustments were made in the 2nd half. The defense really came up big when it mattered. The Buckeye D held the Badgers to 104 yards rushing. Wisconsin entered the game averaging nearly 350 yards on the ground. The Buckeyes also shined on third down; holding the Badgers to only 3 for 12 successful conversions.

10-207-1; 16 – I have no shame giving credit where credit is due (as long as the Buckeyes win :)). For one reason or another, Jared Abbrederis has a history of big games against the Buckeyes. He again had a strong showing in 2013 finishing the game with 10 catches for 207 yards and 1 TD. Also, the Ohio native (of course), Chris Borland had a nice game finishing with 16 total tackles. Even with the great games by these two players, the most important stat of the game was won the by the Buckeyes. 31-24 = win on the scoreboard.

Any other key stats against the Badgers?

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? Any stats concern you? In a game like this there is not a lot to glean from the stays, but here are a few that stood out to me in game 4.

76-0 – One of the most important outcomes in a game that is decided by 76 points is the amount of players that get reps. It was great to see some many players down the depth charts get in the game. Let’s be honest, there were players out there that you had no idea who they were nor ever seen their name before! That’s when you know your team has won by 76 points.

14 plays, 98 yards, TOP 10:15 – So this drive didn’t mean anything in the outcome of the game, but the fact the 3rd and 4th string (and beyond in some cases) could manufacture a drive of such magnitude in the fourth quarter was impressive. Urban was able to keep every player on the roster focused and ready to play til the last whistle. As was reported multiple times during the game, the competition is hot and heavy this year for playing time. Great win, but even more impressive was the fact players competed to the very end.

6 – Congratulations to Kenny Guiton for throwing a school record 6 touchdown passes! What a game half!

162 – SYR already touched on this in his instant reaction, but Ezekiel Elliott had himself a game. 162 yards and 2 TD’s on only 14 carries. The running back position is deep. It was nice to see another freshman shine this week. It was Dontre Wilson last week and Ezekiel this week.

4, 39, 46 – The amount of plays, yards, and time it took for the Buckeyes to be up 20-0 (not 21 or 22 due to failed 2 pt. conversion). If one of the goals of the game was to start fast, I don’t know how the Buckeyes could have done any better. The Buckeyes have outscored opponents 102-14 in the 1st quarter through 4 games.

Any other key stats against FAMU?

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? Any stats concern you? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me in week 3.

608 – Let’s face it, this game was all about offense. The Buckeyes racked up a 608 yards in total offense. Cal’s defense did not put up much of a resistence as the Buckeyes moved the football at will – Impressive showing both running and throwing. The Buckeye offense was clicking on all cylinders yesterday. I am sure there are plenty of people out there trashing the defense today. I did see @SYRmotsag threaten to turn off Twitter a couple of times. I am not one who is going to trash the defense. I think credit should be given to Cal’s offense. They are going to score a lot points this year. Their QB made some great plays, especially for a freshman. The Bears tallied 503 yards in total offense of their own.

11:42 – The Buckeyes dominated the 3rd quarter. The game was 21-0 after 6 minutes. Again, credit to Cal for not completely giving up at that point. Cal outscored Ohio State 20-10 the remainder of the first half. It was important for the Buckeye’s to re-establish their dominance in the 3rd quater and they did just that. The Buckeye offense possessed the ball for 11:42, scoring 3 TD’s.

49.7 – Devin Smith again demonstrated that he is the best deep threat at wide receiver. With Devin the quality of receptions definitely trumps the quantity, but he sure makes them count. Devin caught threee passes in the game which resulted in 149 yards and 2 TD’s – a 49.7 average per reception! That is crazy! His big play ability is a huge threat to opposing defenses. Speaking of big play ability…

11.8 / 16.0 – I featured Dontre Wilson last week, but his role in the offense continues to expand and he continues to impress. He is worthy of recognition this week too. Dontre average 11.8 yards/rush and 16 yards/reception against Cal.

An Abundance – Does anyone have a figure for this? So “an abundance” is not exactly a stat, but the Buckeye faithful turned out in droves for this game. There was plenty of Scarlet and Gray in the crowd!

Courtesy Eamon Queeny, Dispatch

Images like this one make me proud to be a part of Buckeye Nation! O-H! For Ol’ times sake Carmen Ohio by Cie Grant. Video quality not great, but Buckeye pride in full effect!

Any other key stats against Cal?

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? Any stats concern you? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me in week 2.

7 – The number of players that recorded a rushing attempt and caught a pass. While I think we were all impressed with Kenny Guiton, I thought the team played much better as a whole. Multiple players contributed and rallied to overcome the absence of Braxton Miller.

23 – Even more impressive to me is the fact the 23 defensive players recored at least 1 tackle in the game. Of course the number of players msy be skewed a little becasuse backups were in the game, but the team defense was strong especially against the run. They held the Aztecs to 64 net rushing yards. I was also impressed by the pass rush. The Buckeye D-line was in the backfield a lot, recording 3 sacks on the day.

3-3 – The number of redzone chances resulting in touchdowns. The buckeyes were 1-1 in this category last week. This tells me two things. When the Buckeyes get in the red zone, they are making it count (100% touchdowns thru 2 games). Also, the big play ability of the offense has been off the charts. The Buckeyes have scored 11 touchdowns in 2 games. 7 of the 11 have been plays > 20 yards. Wow!

1 – I was happy to see Dontre Wilson score his first touchdown as a Buckeye. His speed is going to an X-factor for this offense. After the game he spoke about scoring his first touchdown and moving on from his fumble last week:

“When I saw the endzone I had to get there. I think about it [fumbling last week] all the time. I wish I had that play back, but you have to move on and keep playing. I’m way faster than a lot of people. Now, I have to go out and prove it.”

8/75 – Not too much negative for this game, but if there is one stat that could use improvement – dumb penalties. Most of the pentaliies yesterday were mental mistakes. You can live with some pentailies resulting from agressive play, but too many mental errors especially on the offensive line (I am looking at you Marcus Hall). I think this will be a point of emphasis in practice this week.

All in all a very impressive game. Any other key stats?

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? Any stats concern you? Here are 5 stats that stood out to me in week 1.

261 – The amount of total rushing yards led by Jordan Hall’s 159. Jordan ran for 2 touchdowns of 49 and 37 yards. Huge game for Jordan.

7 of 12 – Ohio State’s conversion rate on third down, very efficient. Braxton was poised in the pocket. The development of Braxton as a passer is noticeable. He is waiting the extra second and getting through a couple more progressions before he takes off.

12.5 – the average kick-off return yards for Buffalo. The special teams was solid. Buffalo consistently was backed up inside the 20 after Buckeye kickoffs.

1 – the number of sacks by the Ohio State defense. As I wrote in the linebacker preview, one thing that concerned me this year is the ability of the front four to get pressure on the opposing QB. This number will have to improve as the season progresses.

45/23 – the ratio of rushing to passing attempts. I realize this number is dependent on the ebb and flow of the game, but I would have liked to see this ratio less than 2 to 1. The total number of plays is lower than I expected as well. I will be interested to see how this ratio fluctuates as the season continues.

What is on your mind? Any other key stats?