Brett Ludwiczak
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Five of the Most Telling Stats from Ohio State’s College Football Playoff run
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 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
There are five stats from Ohio State’s four-game run in the CFP that go a long way in explaining why the Buckeyes were able to win it all last 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.
Just as fun as watching Ohio State during the College Football Playoff last season was, looking back at some of the stats that came out of the four games has been just as enjoyable. Even though we know how the games played out, analyzing the numbers shows how exactly the Buckeyes were able to put the loss to Michigan behind them and win their third national championship in the 21st century.
There are five stats from the four-game run by Ohio State that really stand out. The first two playoff games were blowouts by the Buckeyes, but there are a few numbers that go a long way to explain why they were able to defeat Tennessee and Oregon so easily.
The CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl was a contest that was tight throughout and the stats from both teams were eerily similar. Then in the title game against Notre Dame, Ohio State was able to jump out to a big lead, putting enough distance on the Fighting Irish that their comeback attempt was too little, too late.
Ohio State took some time to get going on offense in games during most of the regular season. Prior to scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter against the Volunteers, the last time the Buckeyes had scored more than seven points in the first quarter came all the way back in the second game of the season when they scored 21 points against Western Michigan.
To close out the regular season, Ohio State was especially stagnant early, with their only first quarter points in the final three regular season games being a field goal against Michigan.
The hot start against Tennessee was huge for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes since there was so much heat on the Ohio State head coach heading into the game following his fourth straight loss to Michigan. There had been talk that Tennessee fans were going to overrun Ohio Stadium, and nobody knew how Buckeye fans would react if Ohio State struggled in the first-ever December football game at the famous college football venue.
Even though Tennessee was able to cut 10 points off the lead in the second quarter, the electric first quarter by Ohio State was too much for the Volunteers to overcome.
By building such a big lead in the first quarter, along with running back Dylan Sampson suffering an injury early in the game, Ohio State forced Tennessee and Nico Iamaleava to throw the football. The pass defense was ready for what the Volunteers were going to try and throw at them, getting their hands on nine passes on the game.
By comparison, Tennessee was only able to register one PD against Will Howard and the Buckeyes. Ohio State nearly had as many PDs as Iamaleava had completions, as the now UCLA quarterback finished with 14 pass completions.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26025441/2191010691.jpg "Tennessee v Ohio State - Playoff First Round")
Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images
The defense the Buckeyes showed against the pass in Columbus against the Volunteers was truly a team effort, with those nine passes defensed coming from eight players. The only Ohio State player to finish with more than one PD was Jack Sawyer, who had two PDs in the game. In a game where it was obvious Iamaleava was rattled early on, Ohio State never allowed the Tennessee quarterback to settle into a rhythm.
Unlike the meeting in October between the two teams in Eugene that was a back-and-forth affair, Ohio State left little doubt in the result early on. The Buckeyes scored a minute into the game when Will Howard found Jeremiah Smith from 45 yards out to give Ohio State a 7-0 lead.
The touchdown opened the floodgates, as the Buckeyes would add three more touchdowns from over 40 yards out before the Ducks were able to finally put some points on the scoreboard just before halftime.
By building such a big early lead, Ohio State made Oregon change their game plan. In the regular season game between the teams, the Ducks finished with 155 yards rushing, with 115 of those yards coming from running back Jordan James.
On New Year’s Day in Pasadena, James finished with 14 yards on seven carries. James was the only Oregon player to finish with more than 10 yards rushing.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26025443/2192441594.jpg "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: JAN 01 CFP Quarterfinal Rose Bowl Game - Ohio State vs Oregon")
Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Since Oregon was behind big early on, Dillon Gabriel was forced to throw the football more than the Ducks would have liked. Since Ohio State knew Gabriel was going to be throwing more because of the deficit, the Buckeye defense could pin their ears back and get after Gabriel, sacking the quarterback eight times in the game.
With all the sacks, Gabriel’s final stat line saw him credited with 12 rushes for -43 yards. The performance by the Ohio State defense was a complete 180 from the first game against Oregon when Jim Knowles’ defense failed to register a sack of Gabriel.
The tensest game for Buckeye Nation during the CFP run was definitely the Cotton Bowl against Texas. The stat lines for both teams were almost mirror images of each other. The biggest difference in the game ended up being a play that Ohio State fans will never forget.
After it looked like it was a given that Texas was going to tie the game at 21 in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes put together a memorable goal line stand, capped off by Jack Sawyer’s strip-sack of Quinn Ewers on fourth down.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26025445/2193351622.jpg "Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic - Ohio State v Texas")
Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Had Texas been able to punch the football into the end zone, who knows if Ohio State would have gone on to win the game and move on to the championship game against Notre Dame. Thanks to Sawyer and the heroics of the Buckeye defense over those four plays, we didn’t have to find out what might have happened.
Much like when Ohio State beat Alabama in the first College Football Playoff, following such a tough semifinal win, victory in the title game felt like a foregone conclusion.
The talents of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson became apparent in the championship game against Notre Dame. The duo combined for 149 yards on 23 carries, while Will Howard added 57 yards on the ground in Atlanta. The effort running the football was massive for the Buckeyes, as they were able to control the clock, holding onto the football for five minutes more than the Fighting Irish in the game.
Because of their success running the football, Ohio State made Notre Dame throw the football to try and catch up, which is something Notre Dame wasn’t all that comfortable doing. In a perfect world, the Fighting Irish would have had every drive look like their first drive, where they ran the football 12 times on their way to a touchdown to give them a 7-0 lead.
Notre Dame couldn’t continue their success on the ground, as they finished with just 53 yards rushing in the game, with 40 coming from Leonard after yardage lost from sacks was factored in.
Despite Jaden Greathouse hauling in a couple second half touchdowns to close the gap on the scoreboard, Notre Dame wasn’t able to play the game they wanted to offensively because of how the Buckeyes were able to run the football, which opened up the passing attack for Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and the other Ohio State receivers.
Along with controlling the line of scrimmage with their ability to run the football, Ohio State was also money on third down against Notre Dame. Of the three third downs the Buckeyes didn’t convert, two resulted in field goals by Jayden Fielding on the next play.
All three unsuccessful third down conversions took place in the second half with Ohio State ahead of the scoreboard. The Fighting Irish weren’t nearly as successful on third downs, going just 5-for-12.
Had Notre Dame been able to convert even just a couple more third downs, the game might have played out differently.
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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 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
There are five stats from Ohio State’s four-game run in the CFP that go a long way in explaining why the Buckeyes were able to win it all last 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.
Just as fun as watching Ohio State during the College Football Playoff last season was, looking back at some of the stats that came out of the four games has been just as enjoyable. Even though we know how the games played out, analyzing the numbers shows how exactly the Buckeyes were able to put the loss to Michigan behind them and win their third national championship in the 21st century.
There are five stats from the four-game run by Ohio State that really stand out. The first two playoff games were blowouts by the Buckeyes, but there are a few numbers that go a long way to explain why they were able to defeat Tennessee and Oregon so easily.
The CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl was a contest that was tight throughout and the stats from both teams were eerily similar. Then in the title game against Notre Dame, Ohio State was able to jump out to a big lead, putting enough distance on the Fighting Irish that their comeback attempt was too little, too late.
21-0 at end of 1st quarter - CFP First Round v. Tennessee
Ohio State took some time to get going on offense in games during most of the regular season. Prior to scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter against the Volunteers, the last time the Buckeyes had scored more than seven points in the first quarter came all the way back in the second game of the season when they scored 21 points against Western Michigan.
To close out the regular season, Ohio State was especially stagnant early, with their only first quarter points in the final three regular season games being a field goal against Michigan.
The hot start against Tennessee was huge for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes since there was so much heat on the Ohio State head coach heading into the game following his fourth straight loss to Michigan. There had been talk that Tennessee fans were going to overrun Ohio Stadium, and nobody knew how Buckeye fans would react if Ohio State struggled in the first-ever December football game at the famous college football venue.
Even though Tennessee was able to cut 10 points off the lead in the second quarter, the electric first quarter by Ohio State was too much for the Volunteers to overcome.
9 passes defensed - CFP First Round v. Tennessee
By building such a big lead in the first quarter, along with running back Dylan Sampson suffering an injury early in the game, Ohio State forced Tennessee and Nico Iamaleava to throw the football. The pass defense was ready for what the Volunteers were going to try and throw at them, getting their hands on nine passes on the game.
By comparison, Tennessee was only able to register one PD against Will Howard and the Buckeyes. Ohio State nearly had as many PDs as Iamaleava had completions, as the now UCLA quarterback finished with 14 pass completions.
The defense the Buckeyes showed against the pass in Columbus against the Volunteers was truly a team effort, with those nine passes defensed coming from eight players. The only Ohio State player to finish with more than one PD was Jack Sawyer, who had two PDs in the game. In a game where it was obvious Iamaleava was rattled early on, Ohio State never allowed the Tennessee quarterback to settle into a rhythm.
34 unanswered points - CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl v. Oregon
Unlike the meeting in October between the two teams in Eugene that was a back-and-forth affair, Ohio State left little doubt in the result early on. The Buckeyes scored a minute into the game when Will Howard found Jeremiah Smith from 45 yards out to give Ohio State a 7-0 lead.
The touchdown opened the floodgates, as the Buckeyes would add three more touchdowns from over 40 yards out before the Ducks were able to finally put some points on the scoreboard just before halftime.
-23 yards rushing - CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl v. Oregon
By building such a big early lead, Ohio State made Oregon change their game plan. In the regular season game between the teams, the Ducks finished with 155 yards rushing, with 115 of those yards coming from running back Jordan James.
On New Year’s Day in Pasadena, James finished with 14 yards on seven carries. James was the only Oregon player to finish with more than 10 yards rushing.
Since Oregon was behind big early on, Dillon Gabriel was forced to throw the football more than the Ducks would have liked. Since Ohio State knew Gabriel was going to be throwing more because of the deficit, the Buckeye defense could pin their ears back and get after Gabriel, sacking the quarterback eight times in the game.
With all the sacks, Gabriel’s final stat line saw him credited with 12 rushes for -43 yards. The performance by the Ohio State defense was a complete 180 from the first game against Oregon when Jim Knowles’ defense failed to register a sack of Gabriel.
50% red zone percentage - CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl v. Texas
The tensest game for Buckeye Nation during the CFP run was definitely the Cotton Bowl against Texas. The stat lines for both teams were almost mirror images of each other. The biggest difference in the game ended up being a play that Ohio State fans will never forget.
After it looked like it was a given that Texas was going to tie the game at 21 in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes put together a memorable goal line stand, capped off by Jack Sawyer’s strip-sack of Quinn Ewers on fourth down.
Had Texas been able to punch the football into the end zone, who knows if Ohio State would have gone on to win the game and move on to the championship game against Notre Dame. Thanks to Sawyer and the heroics of the Buckeye defense over those four plays, we didn’t have to find out what might have happened.
Much like when Ohio State beat Alabama in the first College Football Playoff, following such a tough semifinal win, victory in the title game felt like a foregone conclusion.
214-53 rushing yardage advantage - CFP National Championship v. Notre Dame
The talents of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson became apparent in the championship game against Notre Dame. The duo combined for 149 yards on 23 carries, while Will Howard added 57 yards on the ground in Atlanta. The effort running the football was massive for the Buckeyes, as they were able to control the clock, holding onto the football for five minutes more than the Fighting Irish in the game.
Because of their success running the football, Ohio State made Notre Dame throw the football to try and catch up, which is something Notre Dame wasn’t all that comfortable doing. In a perfect world, the Fighting Irish would have had every drive look like their first drive, where they ran the football 12 times on their way to a touchdown to give them a 7-0 lead.
Notre Dame couldn’t continue their success on the ground, as they finished with just 53 yards rushing in the game, with 40 coming from Leonard after yardage lost from sacks was factored in.
Despite Jaden Greathouse hauling in a couple second half touchdowns to close the gap on the scoreboard, Notre Dame wasn’t able to play the game they wanted to offensively because of how the Buckeyes were able to run the football, which opened up the passing attack for Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and the other Ohio State receivers.
9-for-12 on Third Down - CFP National Championship v. Notre Dame
Along with controlling the line of scrimmage with their ability to run the football, Ohio State was also money on third down against Notre Dame. Of the three third downs the Buckeyes didn’t convert, two resulted in field goals by Jayden Fielding on the next play.
All three unsuccessful third down conversions took place in the second half with Ohio State ahead of the scoreboard. The Fighting Irish weren’t nearly as successful on third downs, going just 5-for-12.
Had Notre Dame been able to convert even just a couple more third downs, the game might have played out differently.
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