THREE KEY STATS: OHIO STATE RUNNING BACKS CARRY THE LOAD IN SECOND HALF, BUCKEYES SHUT DOWN MICHIGAN WIDE RECEIVERS AND STAY TURNOVER-FREE
Although Ohio State ultimately won by double digits in its 31-20 victory over Michigan on Saturday, the full box score shows that the game was closely contested in most aspects.
Ohio State outgained Michigan, but not by a huge margin (350 yards to 295). The Buckeyes had only one more first down (17 to 16). Both teams converted on about half of their third-down attempts (Ohio State: 8-of-16, Michigan: 9-of-17), both teams scored touchdowns on all of their trips to the red zone (Ohio State: 2-for-2, Michigan: 3-for-3) and the time of possession in the game was also close to even, with Ohio State possessing the ball for 31:17 compared to Michigan’s 28:43.
There are a few key statistics we can point to, though, that point to how Ohio State was able to ultimately seize control of Saturday’s game and earn its sixth straight win over its biggest rival.
MIKE WEBER, J.K. DOBBINS RUN 20 TIMES FOR 122 YARDS, 2 TDS IN SECOND HALF
In the first half of Saturday’s game, in which Ohio State trailed for more than 15 minutes and ultimately went into the break tied, it looked as though Saturday might be another one of those games – as our James Grega detailed after Ohio State’s most recent loss to Iowa – in which the Buckeyes would fail to get their running backs involved in their game plan and lose as a result.
J.K. Dobbins had just six carries in the first half of Saturday’s game, while Mike Weber had just one. Quarterback J.T. Barrett, by contrast, ran the ball 11 times in the first 30 minutes.
In the second half, however, Ohio State smartly adjusted and went back to committing to their tailbacks in the power running game, giving them 20 carries while their quarterbacks had just seven.
Ohio State’s hand was forced to some extent, of course, by Barrett leaving the game due to injury in the third quarter and being replaced by Dwayne Haskins, which led the Buckeyes to take the ball out of their quarterback’s hands more often. Nonetheless, though, it should serve as yet another reminder – given that Dobbins and Weber combined for 158 yards (more than 5.8 yards per carry) for the game as a whole – that the Buckeyes’ most consistently effective offense is their tailback running game, and that Ohio State should continue to rely on it to give itself the best chance to win football games, regardless of Barrett’s health going forward.
MICHIGAN WIDE RECEIVERS CATCH ONLY SIX PASSES
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