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I happened to notice that Indiana scored 52 points today despite only having 365 yards of total offense on only 9 drives and only forcing 1 turnover. Ohio State had 671 yards of total offense and put up 56 points on 12 drives while also forcing 1 turnover. So, I did a bit of a deep dive and looked at average starting field position for both teams (and their opponents) today.

Rounded to the nearest yard, IU's average starting field position was its own 42 yard line. This was aided significantly by 67 and 41 yard kickoff returns and a 36 yard punt return. They only started 1 drive inside their own 20, on the 16, which resulted in their only punt, and 1 on their own 23. The worst starting field position for any of their 7 other drives was their own 39, snd they started three of their nine drives in North Texas territory despite giving up 367 yards of total offense to North Texas. On average they only had to go 58 yards per drive to score a TD, and they actually gained 40.55 yards per drive with 7 TDs, 1 FG (49 yards) and 1 punt.

North Texas's average starting field position was its own 25, so they had to go an average of 75 yards to score a TD, actually averaged 36.7 yards on their 10 drives (a number that might have been a bit higher if they didn't have the final drive of the game ended by the clock), and only scored 16 points. They actually outgained Indiana by 2 yards, but needed to go 17 yards further per drive to score and couldn't consistently do that.

Rounded to the nearest yard, Ohio State's average starting field position today was its own 24 yard line, with 5 of its 12 drives starting inside its own 10, two more at the 17 and 22, and none starting beyond its own 42 other than the drive following the interception, which put the ball at the Ball State 28. So, they had to go on average 76 yards,18 yards farther than Indiana, to score a TD. Credit to the offense, which averaged 55.91 yards per drive (over 15 more than Indiana) for mostly overcoming that with TD drives of 99, 94, 90, 83, 75, 62, 58, and 28 yards, but I doubt that 3 90+, 4 80+, or 5 75+ yard drives are likely against any quality opponent.

Ball State's average starting filed position was its own 29 yard line, which isn't too bad for OSU, and credit to Marcello Diomedes for getting touchbacks on all 9 of his kickoffs. So, they had to go an average of 71 yards, 5 fewer than Ohio State, to score a TD. Unfortunately for them, they only managed to gain 12.7 yards per drive, which seems like a testament to the quality of the Ohio State defense. This is basically a wash with what Indiana did as North Texas made the mistake of taking a kick out and getting a holding call, so I think it's fine.

TLDR and I'm sorry that it's so fucking obvious that it's annoying to say it: If Ohio State wants to win a national championship, it cannot constantly put itself behind the field position eight-ball with its horrific kick and punt return game. That's one of the big ways in which games against teams like Indiana are lost even when Ohio State may actually be better on both offense and defense. I'm not blaming Day as he has, finally, made what should be a good special teams coaching hire, but this bullshit with the kick and punt return game really needs to end.

Edit: I poked around some more to see how some other teams did. Georgia had 12 drives with average starting field position of its own 36. Miami had 12 drives with average starting field position of its own 26. USC had 10 drives with average starting position of its own 26. Texas had 9 drives with average starting field position of its own 40 (aided a lot by Texas State turnovers on its own 42, 45, and 16 yard lines). Oregon had 13 drives with average starting field position of its own 37 (aided some by Boise turning it over on downs at its own 31 towards the end of the game). finally, since they were as or more impressive than anyone overall, LSU had 12 drives with starting average field position of its own 30.

It's only one game, but we've seen this movie on repeat for years and I think it was especially glaring that Ohio State managed to have such horrible average starting field position despite allowing less than 13 yards per drive to Ball State. It's not all special teams returns of course as creating more defensive havoc (negative yardage plays of more than the 1-3 yard running game tackle for loss variety and turnovers) will help the average, but the punt and kick return game does seem to me to be by far the biggest issue in Ohio State's case.

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Im certainly rooting for this kid with everything he went through with his family

Do we actually know that he's good at calling the right protections and run blocking schemes? There seem to be enough missed assignments that my non-expert self is curious.

Purchased my plane ticket back to the Heartland this week and should be in attendance for this game with my Uncle. Go Bucks!

RAF SPOILER below:

















Vito, Nolf, ChubBo, Blades, Burroughs, Dake, Snyder, Zahid all win.
Zahid, Braunegal, Woodley lose (Braunegal wrestled well. Woodley forgot he can't go upper body).

OHSportsFan said:

I know it’s football season but this could be the year for an American to win a grand slam (first since 2003 Roddick).

A lot of Americans with chances at the US Open. Four are already into the Round of 16. Three more have a chance to join them today. Sinner is out, Djokovic met Father Time and Alcaraz is coming off a long rehab for his wrist.

Shelton, Fritz and Tiafoe lead the way, in my opinion.

Carlos still looks the favorite but this is the best chance by pure numbers I can remember.

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L O L

Nevermind.

Tomateaux Quinoa Gumbeaux said:

@Thump

bad?

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Yes

pnuts34 said:

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Jeez. I need to rob a couple banks or something. That is sick.

BB73 said:

But your eyebrows might come off when the duct tape is removed.

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If I let my eyebrows go, they get to Martin Scorsese-level. I'll take the trim.

I was about to tell the good Lord He could have my left testicle in exchange if something happened that would postpone or cancel the game today.
GO BUCKEYES!!

And another come from behind win in their second game yesterday. Bazzana with the big hits.

St. Ignatius appears back, absolutely mollywhopped Mentor 51-7

Hoban has had a brutal schedule but falls to 0-3, could be headed towards a 2-7 season. Woof. Losing to Walsh could put them at 0-6 and Walsh looks tough this year.

Nutriaitch said:

i don’t think you can go to training camp without a contract.

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This is from a yahoo article.

The NCAA does not allow football players to return to college if they get drafted or sign a professional contract. That appeared to be the case for Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson, for example. Hutson, who returned to the Longhorns after he filed a separate successful eligibility lawsuit, had gone undrafted and participated in NFL training camp but didn't sign compensation contracts. But some of the players in the Louisiana case not only participated in training camps, but also signed and played in the NFL preseason.

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CBS

Hutson played 48 games for the Longhorns over the past four years, including 10 starts at center and left guard in 2025. After going undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, Hutson participated in rookie minicamps with both the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys, ultimately failing to land a permanent contract.

Weeks after the passage of five-for-five -- with Texas facing injury and depth questions along the offensive line -- Hutson filed a lawsuit to gain eligibility. He was granted a temporary restraining order, joining a wave of college athletes who have returned to the field via the courts.

Hutson's case does not fall under the specific scenarios banned by the SEC's rule. While players typically receive stipends for participating in minicamps, Hutson never officially signed a contract with an NFL team because one was never offered.

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Buckeyeskickbuttocks said:

Did someone say....

umm...
*looks around, lowers voice*

noodle pulling.

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@Thump ’s mom

Yeah, I think our WR room may be in good shape the next couple of recruiting cycles between Jamier and Jett.

Awful Ohio State vs. Indiana noon start will end up being a blessing in disguise​

The one time we might actually be happy with a Big Noon Kickoff.

This is going to be a showdown that Ohio State and Ryan Day will have serious revenge on their minds for. You're not alone if you've circled Oct. 17 on your schedule, as the Buckeyes will travel to Indiana for a rematch of the Big Ten title game last December. We now know that contest will get started at 12 p.m., with Big Noon Kickoff on the way.

What?! Chairs have been thrown in anger, while both fanbases are annoyed beyond belief that this epic contest is going to have an early start. We get it. At the same time, could this end up being a blessing in disguise for Day and his players? Here's why this 12 p.m. kickoff is actually beneficial.

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Ohio State vs. Indiana getting the Big Noon Kickoff treatment has fans on both sides annoyed​

Sure, on one hand you can make the case these two of the top teams in the country should never go to war in the opening window. However, nothing can be done if FOX prioritized making sure they had the rights for this one. On top of that, it truly could end up being a good thing for the Buckeyes.

Think about it: there's a reason so many Ohio State fans hate when this is the case for a home game, blasting it for being awful left and right. People aren't able to tailgate for as long as they want, and their day has to get started much earlier. If this was a night game or something, Hoosiers fans would be FIRED UP in the stands, after a full day of eating and drinking with their friends.

Do we really expect the same kind of energy for a noon start? Definitely not. There's no question that Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith, and others are going to benefit from the atmosphere in Bloomington not being the same as a night game showdown. Yes, it's still going to be a tough environment, no one is arguing with that.
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