1. Teams like to come up with a slogan for the season: All In (Cavaliers) ... What If? (Indians) ... Send in the Clowns (Browns). For this year's Buckeye team, the slogan should be A Win Is a Win Is a Win, because all this team needs to do is keep on winning no matter how narrow or ugly those victories might be. If the Buckeyes end up with a 13-0 record and a second-straight Big Ten championship, then they will be invited to the playoffs regardless of what anyone else does.
2. Okay, I'll say the un-sayable: Ezekiel Elliott is the best running back ever to play for Ohio State. Archie has the gaudy numbers and those two Heisman Trophies. Eddie posted the best single season in Buckeye history and has a Heisman of his own. MoC had a special combination of speed, power, balance, and vision, and led the 2002 team to a national championship. Robert Smith was so smooth and fluid and just plain fast. And then there's Hopalong and Beanie and El Guapo and Keith Byars and Tim Spencer.... But Elliott is simply the best.
3. And here are some of the reasons why Zeke is the best. Through 31 games (20 starts) Elliott already has 2,869 yards, which puts him in 12th place among the Buckeyes' career rushing leaders. Elliott needs only 900 yards to move past Eddie George and into second place, and with at least eight games remaining this season he should accomplish that feat.
Elliott is averaging 92.5 yards per game, which is 4th best in Buckeye history, but only 1.6 yards from second place (Jim Otis, 94.1 yards per game). Zeke's average per game is especially impressive when you consider that he was the third-string tailback (behind Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall) as a true freshman in 2013, and he averaged only 23.8 yards per game during that season (262 yards in 11 games). In his 20 starts, Zeke is averaging 130.35 yards per game, which would be the best ever at Ohio State (Archie Griffin averaged 121.5 yards per game in 46 games, all starts).
Elliott is averaging 7.12 yards per carry for his career (2,869 yards on 403 carries), which leads all Buckeye runners by a full yard (6.11 ypc for Carlos Hyde; 6.05 ypc for Archie Griffin). Part of the reason Zeke has such a high average is that he has so many explosive runs to his credit. Elliott has ten rushes of 50+ yards, seven of which have gone for touchdowns (a Buckeye team record that he shares with Braxton Miller).
4. Elliott now has ten straight games of 100+ yards rushing. During that ten-game span, Zeke has 206 carries for 1,653 yards (8.02 yards per carry; 165.3 yards per game) and 19 touchdowns (1.9 TDs per game). He also has nine runs of 50+ yards, including touchdown runs of 55, 65, 65, 75, 80, 81, and 85 yards.
5. Now back to yesterday's game: Elliott had 23 carries for 274 yards (11.91 ypc) and 3 TD on runs of 55, 65, and 75 yards. Zeke's total is tied for second-best in Buckeye history with Keith Byars, who had 274 yards against Illinois in 1984.
6. Braxton Miller had only one rush for 14 yards, but that was enough to move him past Carlos Hyde and Keith Byars and into 5th place of the Buckeyes' all-time leading rushers. Brax now has 3,204 career rushing yards.
7. So much for the good from the Indiana game. After Zeke's 75-yard TD run gave the Buckeyes a 34-20 lead, on the very next play the defense allowed back-up quarterback Zander Diamont to go 79 yards for a touchdown. Safety Tyvis Powell was the main culprit, as he took a bad angle on the play and then missed a tackle:
Diamont's run was reminiscent of Tevin Coleman's 90-yard blast in last year's game (notice that Powell also took a bad angle on that play, which turned a 20-yard gain into a 90-yard touchdown):
Powell might be a great teammate but he puts himself in bad positions on the football field and big plays often result (see Byron Marshall's 70-yard TD reception for Oregon in last year's national title game).
8. Diamont also burned the Buckeyes with big plays in last year's contest with a 53-yard run and a 49-yard pass to Shane Wynn.
9. The Buckeye defense played an inconsistent game yesterday. They surrendered 402 yards of total offense, but forced 9 three-and-outs. They forced 10 punts, but allowed 21 first downs. They held Indiana to 8 for 22 on third down conversions, but each of those eight conversions went for at least five yards, and seven of them went for at least seven yards. They held the Hoosiers to 3.2 yards per rush, but allowed reserve QB Zander Diamont to go 79 yards on a single play. They had 11 TFLs, but only one sack on 37 pass plays.
10. Defensive standouts included Raekwon McMillan (14 tackles); Tyquan Lewis (3.5 TFLs); and Joey Bosa (2.5 TFLs). Walk-on linebacker Joe Burger might have made the play of the game with a nice open field tackle on Indiana's punter on a fake punt play. If Burger had failed to diagnose the fake or missed the tackle, then IU would have gotten a big gain on the play.
11. Bosa now has 5.0 TFLs on the season, which gives him 39.5 for his Buckeye career, good for 11th place in Ohio State history.
12. Outside of Ezekiel Elliott, the offense was pretty much awful. Cardale Jones's numbers look good on paper (18/27 for 245 yards and a TD), but he threw a terrible interception in the red zone and he missed two wide open receivers in the end zone. Jalin Marshall had 6 receptions for 110 yards, and 6 punt returns for 76 yards, but he fumbled twice, once deep in the red zone and the other in the fourth quarter as the Buckeyes were nursing a 10-point lead. Nick Vannett had a big 26-yard reception, but his blocking was suspect. Curtis Samuel has shown big-play ability all year, but he got only one carry for four yards and no targets in the passing game.
13. The Buckeyes committed three more turnovers yesterday, which gives them 13 on the season (2.6 per game). They averaged an unhealthy 1.73 turnovers per game last season (26 turnovers in 15 games), and this year they are much worse with ball control. The Buckeyes are 117th in FBS in total turnovers (13) and 101st in turnover margin (-4).
14. The Buckeyes had just 48 punts in 15 games last year, for an average of 3.2 per game. This year they already have 25 punts in 5 games, for an average of 5.0 per game. That number is bad, and it is made even worse by the fact that the Buckeyes also have 13 turnovers so far this season.
15. The inordinate amount of turnovers and punts is balanced out by the Buckeyes' big play ability (offensive TDs of 20+ yards; defensive and special teams TDs). Last year, the team scored 90 total touchdowns, 37 on big plays (41.1%). This season, the team has 22 total touchdowns, 16 of them on big plays (72.7%).
16. All four of the Buckeyes' touchdowns against Indiana came on big plays (Elliott's TD runs of 55, 65, and 75; Michael Thomas's 23-yard TD reception). That's great, but the Buckeyes also made it into the red zone five times and came away with just six points (two FGs; missed FG; fumble; interception). The Buckeye offense must eventually learn how to sustain drives and score touchdowns in the red zone - they cannot rely on big plays to save them all year long.
17. The offense had 517 yards on 61 plays for an average of 8.5 yards per play. Take out Zeke's three huge runs and the offense had 322 yards on 58 plays, for an average of 5.6 yards per play.
18. Last season, Sean Nuernberger proved that he is not the answer at kicker (13/20 FG, 5/10 over 40 yards). This season, Jack Willoughby is proving that he is not the answer at kicker (6/8 FG, long of 31, both misses were from 43 yards). Prep superstar Blake Haubeil does not arrive on campus until the 2017 season. If the Buckeyes need a field goal to win a game before that time, then I'm betting against them.
19. Ohio State's big win over Virginia Tech doesn't look quite so big anymore. After losing to the Buckeyes in week one, the Hokies have wins against FCS Furman and Big Ten patsy Purdue in weeks two and three, but losses to East Carolina and Pittsburgh in weeks four and five. Now sitting at 2-3, the Hokies will be fortunate to finish the regular season with a .500 record in a weak ACC.
20. The Maryland Terrapins are up next for the Buckeyes. Quite frankly, Maryland is terrible, with wins against FCS Richmond and non-P5 South Florida, and blow-out losses to Bowling Green (48-27), West Virginia (45-6), and most recently Michigan (28-0). If the Buckeyes can't get healthy against Maryland....
21. After the game, Urban Meyer was briefly interviewed by the sideline reporter. The look on his face said it all. Urban was sporting a bemused grin, like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at what he'd just seen. But a win is a win is a win, even when it's just a 7-point win over lowly Indiana.
2. Okay, I'll say the un-sayable: Ezekiel Elliott is the best running back ever to play for Ohio State. Archie has the gaudy numbers and those two Heisman Trophies. Eddie posted the best single season in Buckeye history and has a Heisman of his own. MoC had a special combination of speed, power, balance, and vision, and led the 2002 team to a national championship. Robert Smith was so smooth and fluid and just plain fast. And then there's Hopalong and Beanie and El Guapo and Keith Byars and Tim Spencer.... But Elliott is simply the best.
3. And here are some of the reasons why Zeke is the best. Through 31 games (20 starts) Elliott already has 2,869 yards, which puts him in 12th place among the Buckeyes' career rushing leaders. Elliott needs only 900 yards to move past Eddie George and into second place, and with at least eight games remaining this season he should accomplish that feat.
Elliott is averaging 92.5 yards per game, which is 4th best in Buckeye history, but only 1.6 yards from second place (Jim Otis, 94.1 yards per game). Zeke's average per game is especially impressive when you consider that he was the third-string tailback (behind Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall) as a true freshman in 2013, and he averaged only 23.8 yards per game during that season (262 yards in 11 games). In his 20 starts, Zeke is averaging 130.35 yards per game, which would be the best ever at Ohio State (Archie Griffin averaged 121.5 yards per game in 46 games, all starts).
Elliott is averaging 7.12 yards per carry for his career (2,869 yards on 403 carries), which leads all Buckeye runners by a full yard (6.11 ypc for Carlos Hyde; 6.05 ypc for Archie Griffin). Part of the reason Zeke has such a high average is that he has so many explosive runs to his credit. Elliott has ten rushes of 50+ yards, seven of which have gone for touchdowns (a Buckeye team record that he shares with Braxton Miller).
4. Elliott now has ten straight games of 100+ yards rushing. During that ten-game span, Zeke has 206 carries for 1,653 yards (8.02 yards per carry; 165.3 yards per game) and 19 touchdowns (1.9 TDs per game). He also has nine runs of 50+ yards, including touchdown runs of 55, 65, 65, 75, 80, 81, and 85 yards.
5. Now back to yesterday's game: Elliott had 23 carries for 274 yards (11.91 ypc) and 3 TD on runs of 55, 65, and 75 yards. Zeke's total is tied for second-best in Buckeye history with Keith Byars, who had 274 yards against Illinois in 1984.
6. Braxton Miller had only one rush for 14 yards, but that was enough to move him past Carlos Hyde and Keith Byars and into 5th place of the Buckeyes' all-time leading rushers. Brax now has 3,204 career rushing yards.
7. So much for the good from the Indiana game. After Zeke's 75-yard TD run gave the Buckeyes a 34-20 lead, on the very next play the defense allowed back-up quarterback Zander Diamont to go 79 yards for a touchdown. Safety Tyvis Powell was the main culprit, as he took a bad angle on the play and then missed a tackle:
Diamont's run was reminiscent of Tevin Coleman's 90-yard blast in last year's game (notice that Powell also took a bad angle on that play, which turned a 20-yard gain into a 90-yard touchdown):
Powell might be a great teammate but he puts himself in bad positions on the football field and big plays often result (see Byron Marshall's 70-yard TD reception for Oregon in last year's national title game).
8. Diamont also burned the Buckeyes with big plays in last year's contest with a 53-yard run and a 49-yard pass to Shane Wynn.
9. The Buckeye defense played an inconsistent game yesterday. They surrendered 402 yards of total offense, but forced 9 three-and-outs. They forced 10 punts, but allowed 21 first downs. They held Indiana to 8 for 22 on third down conversions, but each of those eight conversions went for at least five yards, and seven of them went for at least seven yards. They held the Hoosiers to 3.2 yards per rush, but allowed reserve QB Zander Diamont to go 79 yards on a single play. They had 11 TFLs, but only one sack on 37 pass plays.
10. Defensive standouts included Raekwon McMillan (14 tackles); Tyquan Lewis (3.5 TFLs); and Joey Bosa (2.5 TFLs). Walk-on linebacker Joe Burger might have made the play of the game with a nice open field tackle on Indiana's punter on a fake punt play. If Burger had failed to diagnose the fake or missed the tackle, then IU would have gotten a big gain on the play.
11. Bosa now has 5.0 TFLs on the season, which gives him 39.5 for his Buckeye career, good for 11th place in Ohio State history.
12. Outside of Ezekiel Elliott, the offense was pretty much awful. Cardale Jones's numbers look good on paper (18/27 for 245 yards and a TD), but he threw a terrible interception in the red zone and he missed two wide open receivers in the end zone. Jalin Marshall had 6 receptions for 110 yards, and 6 punt returns for 76 yards, but he fumbled twice, once deep in the red zone and the other in the fourth quarter as the Buckeyes were nursing a 10-point lead. Nick Vannett had a big 26-yard reception, but his blocking was suspect. Curtis Samuel has shown big-play ability all year, but he got only one carry for four yards and no targets in the passing game.
13. The Buckeyes committed three more turnovers yesterday, which gives them 13 on the season (2.6 per game). They averaged an unhealthy 1.73 turnovers per game last season (26 turnovers in 15 games), and this year they are much worse with ball control. The Buckeyes are 117th in FBS in total turnovers (13) and 101st in turnover margin (-4).
14. The Buckeyes had just 48 punts in 15 games last year, for an average of 3.2 per game. This year they already have 25 punts in 5 games, for an average of 5.0 per game. That number is bad, and it is made even worse by the fact that the Buckeyes also have 13 turnovers so far this season.
15. The inordinate amount of turnovers and punts is balanced out by the Buckeyes' big play ability (offensive TDs of 20+ yards; defensive and special teams TDs). Last year, the team scored 90 total touchdowns, 37 on big plays (41.1%). This season, the team has 22 total touchdowns, 16 of them on big plays (72.7%).
16. All four of the Buckeyes' touchdowns against Indiana came on big plays (Elliott's TD runs of 55, 65, and 75; Michael Thomas's 23-yard TD reception). That's great, but the Buckeyes also made it into the red zone five times and came away with just six points (two FGs; missed FG; fumble; interception). The Buckeye offense must eventually learn how to sustain drives and score touchdowns in the red zone - they cannot rely on big plays to save them all year long.
17. The offense had 517 yards on 61 plays for an average of 8.5 yards per play. Take out Zeke's three huge runs and the offense had 322 yards on 58 plays, for an average of 5.6 yards per play.
18. Last season, Sean Nuernberger proved that he is not the answer at kicker (13/20 FG, 5/10 over 40 yards). This season, Jack Willoughby is proving that he is not the answer at kicker (6/8 FG, long of 31, both misses were from 43 yards). Prep superstar Blake Haubeil does not arrive on campus until the 2017 season. If the Buckeyes need a field goal to win a game before that time, then I'm betting against them.
19. Ohio State's big win over Virginia Tech doesn't look quite so big anymore. After losing to the Buckeyes in week one, the Hokies have wins against FCS Furman and Big Ten patsy Purdue in weeks two and three, but losses to East Carolina and Pittsburgh in weeks four and five. Now sitting at 2-3, the Hokies will be fortunate to finish the regular season with a .500 record in a weak ACC.
20. The Maryland Terrapins are up next for the Buckeyes. Quite frankly, Maryland is terrible, with wins against FCS Richmond and non-P5 South Florida, and blow-out losses to Bowling Green (48-27), West Virginia (45-6), and most recently Michigan (28-0). If the Buckeyes can't get healthy against Maryland....
21. After the game, Urban Meyer was briefly interviewed by the sideline reporter. The look on his face said it all. Urban was sporting a bemused grin, like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at what he'd just seen. But a win is a win is a win, even when it's just a 7-point win over lowly Indiana.
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does not weigh in on that decision
