Junior wide receiver Parris Campbell (21) stands on the field during the 2017 season opener vs Indiana. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
Examining the box score after the Ohio State-Indiana football game, it is clear there are a lot of statistics that could have significant implications for the rest of the season. Certain trends to notice, problems to address or strengths the team might have will inevitably appear after the first game of the season. Here are a couple of stats worth delving into.
12 – Number of pass plays allowed by Ohio State defense that went for 15-plus yards. Having lost safety Malik Hooker and cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley to the draft, Ohio State has just one returning starter in safety Damon Webb and the third man of last season’s rotation of cornerbacks, Denzel Ward to lead a fresh-faced secondary.
The inexperience showed Thursday as Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow systematically picked apart the Ohio State secondary, totalling 410 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air. His primary wide receiver, the 6-foot-4 Simmie Cobbs, towered over all cornerbacks that covered him and bullied the defense on his way to 149 receiving yards on just 11 catches.
One of the reasons Ohio State reached the College Football Playoff last season was because its secondary was among the NCAA’s elite when it came to defending the pass. The Buckeyes allowed an average of just 164.5 passing yards on 5.4 passing yards per attempt each game. It could be tough to replicate last season’s success, but the secondary will have to fare better than allowing 420 passing yards in a single game.
17 – Total Indiana rushing yards. Yes, that number is correct. The Indiana offense found plenty of success through the air, but that was the only success it had moving the ball. As expected, Ohio State’s stout defensive line looked intimidating against the Hoosiers and ensured the team found no success on the ground. Indiana failed to tally a single rushing play that went for more than 9 rushing yards. No one on its team reached even 25 net rushing yards. At the end of the game, the team averaged just 0.6 rushing yards per attempt.
With defensive ends Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes, Nick Bosa and Sam Hubbard, as well as defensive tackles Tracy Sprinkle and Dre’Mont Jones returning to Ohio State’s formidable defensive line, Ohio State’s coaching staff expects opposing rushing attacks to struggle against the Buckeyes. The unit is one of the best in the nation and had a chance to flex its muscles for the first time all season in a dominant performance against the Hoosiers. Heading into the game against Oklahoma, a team that lost its two top running backs, Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine, to the draft and had no player tally more than 60 yards on the ground against the University of Texas-El Paso Saturday, expect to see the Buckeyes defensive line dominate the run game once again.
0 – The number of successful deep ball passes. Heading into the season, questions persisted around the Ohio State offense about whether or not co-offensive coordinators Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day would be able to return the deep ball to Columbus. After Thursday night, those questions have still not been answered.
There were instances when quarterback J.T. Barrett did everything in his power to make the deep ball work. He dropped a dime from 41 yards away into the hands of H-back Parris Campbell in the end zone, but Campbell let if fall through his arms. Then there were other times Barrett overshot his man, like when he aired out a 33-yard pass over tight end Marcus Baugh in the end zone. The Buckeyes managed to win this game in spite of no successful deep balls, but if another goose egg is found in the box score against Oklahoma on Saturday, Ohio State might not have such a favorable result at the end.
67 – Ohio State red zone touchdown percentage. The Buckeyes might not have had that much success from a distance, but they were effective when close to the end zone. Against the Hoosiers, Ohio State was able to convert four of six trips into the red zone for touchdowns — three on the ground and one through the air. The only two times the Buckeyes didn’t score a touchdown inside the 20-yard line was in the first half when they settled for a pair of field goals.
If Ohio State is not going to make the most of the deep ball, it has to be able to convert on nearly every opportunity to score it has once they are in the red zone. The inability to pick up yards in bulk will limit the speed that the offense can move, and in order to score at a higher rate, it will need to make the most of every opportunity. Last season, the team scored a touchdown on only 65 percent of red zone appearances and ranked 40th overall among Division I teams in red zone efficiency (87.1 percent). The results against Indiana were overall favorable, but Ohio State will need to prove they can score at a high rate once they reach the red zone if its offense is going to carry it to another title.
45.3 – Average distance on punts from Drue Chrisman. Punters are not often the position fans think of when they think of team’s top talents, but Ohio State certainly had a star punter in Cameron Johnston before he graduated after last season. Replacing the Ray Guy finalist certainly was going to be a daunting task, but Ohio State almost certainly received a boost in confidence after watching Chrisman perform Thursday.
The redshirt freshman averaged just 1.4 yards short of Johnston’s season average a year ago, booted two punts farther than 50 yards and placed three of six punts within the 20-yard line. For comparison’s sake, Johnston finished last season with 19 50-plus yard punts and 26 inside the 20-yard line. It still remains to be seen whether Chrisman can keep up this level of performance for the rest of the season, but if early results are any indicator, Ohio State might have found a suitable replacement at a key position.
