A Magical Numerical Run – Part One

The numbers are complete with the conclusion of the College Football Playoffs and Ohio State winning the first ever 12-team playoff.

Ohio State fans lived and died with every game, every play, and every moment of the playoffs. It took 16 quarters of football to go from a team that many critics questioned the inclusion of in the postseason tournament to football immortality.

But it also got us to thinking about how much the Buckeyes had to raise the level of their game from the 12-game regular season to the four-game run through some of the bigger names in the sport.

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Some of the numbers won’t come as a surprise while others may be a little shocking as we all witnessed a four-game run that will live on forever in Ohio State football lore. We are not adding conference championship games to the deep dive, with Ohio State not taking part in the Big Ten game and wanting to try and keep the numbers of games (12 regular season games, up to four postseason game) somewhat even.

It isn’t exactly apples-to-apples in minutes played, but still a fun dive into the numbers and more importantly, comparing the December/January run to the regular season.

offense

Total Offense – The Buckeyes averaged 447 yards per game over the four-game postseason, good enough for No. 2 of all the playoff teams. That number was up from the regular season number of 423.5 YPG over the span of 12 games. The Buckeyes ranked No. 38 nationally during the regular season and behind three of their eventual next four opponents, only with Notre Dame ranking slightly lower over the course of the first chapter of the season. Don’t forget that Ohio State called off the dogs in both the Tennessee and Oregon games, or the number could have been higher.

Rushing Offense – The Buckeyes would go on to rank No. 3 of playoff teams in rushing offense and 158.0 YPG. It isn’t only about yards however, and Ohio State’s 10 rushing touchdowns over the course of the postseason run is three more than any other team (Penn State). This number (yards per game) is down a little from the regular season mark of 169.2 yards per game, but the touchdown number for the postseason is half a touchdown better with the regular season mark seeing Ohio State good for two touchdowns per game on the ground on average.

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Pass Efficiency Offense – We are going to use this number instead of passing yards because things should not be just about volume and Will Howard led all CFP playoffs with a completion percentage of 74.8-percent over the course of the playoffs. The Buckeyes had an efficiency rating of 182.44, a staggering number when you consider that No. 2 Texas came in 30 full points lower. No team in the final regular season numbers had a number over 180.00, so it shows just how dialed in Howard was with his receivers. And human nature will still fixate on a missed chance to Carnell Tate in this game or Jeremiah Smith in that game. The Buckeyes were No. 6 in Pass Efficiency Offense this season, 24 points lower over the course of 12 games (and those numbers also include snaps by backup quarterbacks).

Scoring Offense – The Buckeyes put up points in big batches over the CFP and led the way with an average of 36.3 PPG. For comparison, that was 5.3 PPG more than No. 2, Arizona State, a team that played just one game in the tournament. Notre Dame was No. 5 overall in the playoffs, off by a margin of 11.3 PPG. Ohio State outpaced its regular season number, scoring 35.5 PPG through 12 regular season games. And just for comparison, that 35.5 number was good for No. 16 overall in Division I-FBS football. Being able to do this without the benefit of a non-conference schedule or a couple of lay-up weeks against weaker conference foes is nothing short of impressive.

Sacks Allowed – We don’t normally look at these types of numbers in pieces like the Tale of the Tape, mostly because we are conditioned to look at straight offensive numbers or defensive numbers. But the fact that Ohio State allowed an average of just 1.0 sacks per game is mind boggling. The Buckeyes did not allow a single sack in the first two games and then yielded two sacks against both Texas and Notre Dame. It is a lower number than the regular season, but not by much, as Ohio State gave up 1.08 sacks per game during the first 12 games of the regular season. But once again, Ohio State did not have games against Purdue and Northwestern in the postseason to bolster the numbers. Just another testament to how well the offensive line played when it mattered most.

defense

Total Defense – We talked about offense, so we must talk about total defense. The Buckeyes allowed just 295.3 YPG over the course of the four games. That was good for No. 2 in the playoffs, only trailing Georgia, a team that couldn’t get out of its own way on offense and a team that played just one game despite having an artificial groundswell of support. The Buckeyes led the nation in the regular season in total defense, allowing just 241.1 YPG, so this is one of the first categories that we have highlighted where Ohio State wasn’t able to better its numbers. I don’t think anyone is really going to put much thought into this one moving forward, and I am just fine with that.

Rushing Defense – The Buckeyes gave up 60.0 YPG on the ground, another remarkable feat. The Buckeyes faced the No. 9 rushing offense of Tennessee, the No. 10 rushing offense of Notre Dame, and while both Texas and Oregon were in the 50s nationally in rushing offense, playing the four teams in short succession was very impressive. Yes, there will be people who will point out that Tennessee not having a healthy Dylan Sampson hurt, just like Jordan James getting dinged up didn’t help the cause either. But you can only place who is in front of you, and Ohio State shut down all comers, including rushing quarterbacks at both Tennessee and Notre Dame. Ohio State was a top 10 rushing defense in the regular season, allowing just 96.8 YPG for comparison.

Pass Efficiency Defense – We once again are going to use these numbers instead of just yardage numbers because of the uneven nature of how many games were played, or how many bites at the apple teams were exposed to. I was surprised to see Ohio State rank No. 4 in this category with a score of 128.36. Sure, both SMU and UGA led the way with just one game played, but Ohio State’s coming in behind Penn State and its three games played surprised me, especially with Ohio State making its way this far as a great pass defense. The Buckeyes did allow 20 fewer yards per game than Penn State did on defense but did get hit for six touchdowns allowed over four games versus Penn State allowing just three over three games. The number over the four games was well above Ohio State’s 107.25 number over the regular season, but once again, Ohio State did face two top 20 passing offenses.

Scoring Defense – The Buckeyes allowed just 18.8 PPG in the four-game run of the playoffs. I would consider 14 of the total points that Ohio State allowed over the four games (late scores to Tennessee and Oregon) to be garbage scores (would not classify any late scoring in the other games to be garbage as margins were much closer). The Buckeyes allowed just 10.9 points per game over the regular season for comparison. The College Football Playoff always has been about putting points up through its history, with winners generally scoring in the 40s in the championship game, and while the datapoints are not known at this time for the new 12-team playoff (just one year in the books) I would expect the trends to hold true.

Team Sacks – If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone lament about Ohio State’s defense ‘not quite getting home’ on the pass rush, and a dime for every single time I was the one saying that I would be rich like a king. Ohio State would go on to record 18 sacks over the course of the playoffs. Only three teams recorded double-digit sacks and Ohio State’s eight sacks against Texas equaled or bettered the number of nine teams in the playoffs. Ohio State’s 4.5 sacks per game number was better than any regular season number, with Ole Miss leading the nation at 4.33 sacks per game. Ohio State increased its own number by a wide margin, up from 2.92 sacks per game.

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