Most Telling Stat: Ohio State needs a rushing duo to amass 2,000 yards
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
If the Buckeyes can get 2,000 yards rushing from James Peoples and CJ Donaldson, they’ll be in good shape this season.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the numbers that will be most important for the Buckeyes this college football season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all our “Most Telling Stat” articles here.
There has been a common theme in
Ohio State’s last three national championship seasons. The Buckeyes have been able to get close to or more than 2,000 combined rushing yards from a pair of running backs.
It has become obvious that not only does a potent rushing attack keep opposing defenses honest, when there are two threats sharing the workload in the backfield, the ground game is even more effective since Ohio State’s running backs tend to be fresher than the defenses that are trying to slow them down.
Even though college football is wildly different from what we saw even just a decade ago, there are many philosophies and strategies that will remain unchanged. Despite teams using their passing attacks in creative ways, there is no replacing a strong running game.
Teams that have success running the football wear on opposing defenses, and they also tend to keep control of the football longer, allowing them to keep the offenses of their opponents off the field. Just look at what Michigan did to the Buckeyes in Columbus in November. Despite throwing for just over 60 yards, the Wolverines rolled up double that yardage running the football, allowing them to shock Ohio State 13-10.
For the first part of the 21st century, Ohio State’s bread and butter during Jim Tressel’s tenure as head coach was running the football. Tresselball centered on holding onto the football, building a bit of a lead and then counting on the defense to protect the lead. Urban Meyer spread out the offense a bit but a lot of the ideas were the same.
The major difference under Meyer is he wanted the offense to play with more of a rhythm, and by spreading out the offense he gave the group more room to operate. Ryan Day has carried over a lot of those ideas, putting his own spin on what was run under Meyer.
This year there are going to be a lot of new faces on offense for the Buckeyes. Gone are quarterback Will Howard, running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, as well as offensive linemen Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin.
The best way for Ohio State to try and gain some early confidence with Julian Sayin taking the snaps at quarterback is to trust in running backs James Peoples and West Virginia transfer CJ Donaldson. Let Peoples and Henderson tote the rock early on and it should not only open things up for Sayin, it will also give some confidence to an offensive line with a couple new starters.
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
A goal for the running backs for the Ohio State offense this year should be 2,000 yards. The reason for that number is the Buckeyes have had a pair of running backs combine for at least 2,000 yards in their last two title seasons, and Maurice Clarett and Lydell Ross were close to that number during the 2002 season.
Clarett and Ross finished with 1,856 yards between them, but back then there wasn’t a Big Ten Championship Game or multiple playoff games like there have been over the last decade. Had Clarett not missed a couple games due to injury during the 2002 season, there’s no doubt the freshman sensation and Ross would have eclipsed 2K on the ground.
During the 2014 season, Ezekiel Elliott nearly hit 2,000 yards by himself, finishing with 1,878 yards rushing after finishing the year by rushing for at least 200 yards in wins over Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon. Even with Elliott shouldering much of the load, Curtis Samuel added 383 yards rushing.
Elliott shined even brighter following the injury to J.T. Barrett in the win over Michigan. With Elliott’s tough running in Ohio State’s biggest games of the year, backup quarterback Cardale Jones had a little more room for error in his first true action as a Buckeye. Ohio State played 15 games in the 2014 season in the first year of the 4-team College Football Playoff.
Last year the Buckeyes played in 16 games for the first time in school history as the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams. Ryan Day knew the expanded playoff was going to make the season a grind, which is why he dipped into the transfer portal and brought in Quinshon Judkins from
Ole Miss to share the load with TreVeyon Henderson.
When it was all said and done, Henderson ran for 1,016 yards and Judkins finished with 1,060 yards. The rushing combo did have to work through a couple injuries on the offensive line, but by the end of the season they were hitting on all cylinders. The mix of Henderson and Judkins on the ground and Will Howard throwing the football to Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka was nightmare fuel for the four teams the Buckeyes battled following the embarrassing loss to Michigan in late November.
Does a 2,000 yard rusher guarantee a national title? Unfortunately it doesn’t. Just look at what J.K. Dobbins and Master Teague did in 2019, with Dobbins rushing for 2,000 yards by himself. Ohio State’s season ended with a controversial loss to Clemson in the
Fiesta Bowl, and even if the Buckeyes had beat the Tigers, they would have had a tough time slowing down Joe Burrow and the
LSU attack in the championship game.
While having an effective running game doesn’t guarantee a title, it certainly increases the odds that a team can sit on the throne of the college football world.
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Maybe I’m setting the bar too high for Donaldson and Peoples, but it’s not like running backs haven’t come to Ohio State and made an immediate impact. Clarett and Dobbins did so as freshmen, Trey Sermon set a single-game school record with over 300 yards rushing in the 2020 Big Ten Championship Game, and Judkins ran for over 1,000 yards last season.
Donaldson has plenty of experience and a bruising rushing style that can wear down opposing defenses, while Peoples has big play ability. Plus, running backs coach Carlos Locklyn has already shown he can get the most of Ohio State’s running backs in the short amount of time he has been on Ryan Day’s staff in Columbus.
The key for both running backs will be getting off to a strong start in the season opener since the Buckeyes have a rematch of last year’s CFP semifinal with Texas. Since the game against the Longhorns will be Sayin’s first start at quarterback at the college level, having a reliable rushing attack will do wonders for an Ohio State team that has to replace a lot of starters on each side of the football.
If the running backs can come out of the gates hot, they should be able to gain momentum in the following games since the non-conference schedule eases up following the clash with Texas.
Continue reading...