History Says Run The Ball, Win ‘The Game’

If you want to win The Game, you have to run the ball.

That’s what both Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore say.

It’s what history says as well.

If it sounds overly simplistic, then that should tell you how important it actually is to run the ball in this game.

For instance, the team that has rushed for more yards in the game is 22-0 this century. That is not a coincidence, it is a recipe. It is a blueprint to victory. It’s not the only way to win, but it sure seems like the surest way.

“Well, that’s how you control the game on both sides of the ball,” Day said on Tuesday. “So that’s something that has to be done. Just look historically, that’s how you win the game. But that’s not the only thing. There’s a lot that comes with it. And so, like every game we go into, we’ll work hard to do what we think best helps us win the game. But, yeah, the team who runs the ball and the team who stops the run is going to win the game.”

It has been 30 years since Ohio State won this game while being outrushed.

Way back in 1994, Michigan rushed for 141 yards on 34 attempts while holding the Buckeyes to 133 yards on 45 attempts. Ohio State won 22-6, so it can happen, but it sure is rare.

“Yeah, I think the biggest piece of this game is the rushing battle, and I think you’ve seen that every year is the team that wins the rushing battle wins the game,” Moore said on Monday. “So I know that we focus on the same thing, so that’s gotta be an emphasis for us to do.”

Ohio State comes into this game with the No. 3 rushing attack in the Big Ten, averaging 177.6 yards per game. They are fourth in yards per carry, averaging 5.2 yards per rush.

Michigan, meanwhile, is eighth in the Big Ten rushing, with 159.6 yards per game. They are seventh in yards per carry, averaging 4.5 yards per carry.

Those numbers are the product of all 11 previous games this season, and while they paint a picture of what could be expected, it should also be noted that the Buckeyes have the No. 2 rushing defense in the Big Ten (90.0 ypg) and the Wolverines are No. 3 (94.0).

Nothing is going to come easily in this game, so if one of these two teams has a better time of it that the other, that’s going to count for a lot.

Of course, rushing for more yards in this game can sometimes be a byproduct of having a large enough lead in the second half that the running game is used to burn the clock. But even if you look at yards per carry instead of total yardage, the math still works out.

The last time one of these two teams averaged more yards per carry and lost was 2001.

And that really only happened because Ohio State running back Jonathan Wells suffered an injury after rushing for 129 yards on 25 carries (and three touchdowns) and leading Ohio State to a 23-0 lead. Head coach Jim Tressel ran the clock like the Buckeyes’ lives depended on it. Without Wells, Lydell Ross, Jamar Martin, and Craig Krenzel combined for 24 carries for 10 yards. Ohio State ended up averaging just 2.7 yards per carry.

The Wolverines, meanwhile, rushed for 117 yards on 35 attempts, averaging 3.3 yards per carry.

Every game starts with a focus on stopping the running game. That’s a normal football operation.

It’s a much more delicate procedure in this game, however.

If you want to make sure you win this game, run the ball better than your opponent and stop it better than them as well.

It sounds simple, but try doing it.

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