Football
By the Numbers
By Jeff AmeyThe Ohio State Buckeyes took on the Michigan State Spartans at home in the first game of five that will determine whether or not their current number one ranking belongs to a team that deserves it. Except for a six play stretch in the third quarter, the Buckeyes looked like a number one team, but those six plays and the 24-17 final score, put just enough doubt in some people's minds to have them still question how good this team really is.
This game was a good test for the Buckeyes for a variety of reasons. Mark Dantonio has the Spartans playing a much more physical brand of football than Michigan State teams did under old coach John L. Smith. Their defensive package for the Buckeyes was very aggressive, with the Spartans blitzing early and often to get to the quarterback and disrupt the run blocking. There were times in the game where the Buckeyes handled this pressure well, and other times, especially during that six play stretch in the third quarter, where the momentum was clearly on the Spartan side of the ball.
Let's take a look at the stats.
Run/Pass Breakdown
70 Plays--421 yards--6.0 ypp
23 pass (33%)--15/23 for 193 yards 2 TD 1 INT
47 runs (67%) for 228 yards 1 TD--4.8 ypc
13 Possessions
ave. of 5.4 plays--32.4 yards
ave. start--OSU 27
First Down--32 plays (46%) for 174 yards
7 pass (22%)--5/7 for 42 yards 1 TD
25 runs (78%) for 132 yards--5.3 ypc
ave. gain of 5.4 yards
Second Down--21 plays (30%) for 158 yards
8 pass (38%)--5/8 for 79 yards 1 TD
13 runs (62%) for 79 yards--6.1 ypc
ave. of 9.1 yards to go
ave. gain of 7.5 yards
Third Down--16 plays (23%) for 84 yards
8 pass (50%)--5/8 for 72 yards 1 INT
8 runs (50%) for 12 yards--1.5 ypc
ave. of 7.4 yards to go
ave. gain of 5.3 yards
conversions--7/16 (44%)
Fourth Down--1 play (1%) for 5 yards
1 run (100%) for 5 yards 1 TD--5.0 ypc
ave. of 1.0 yards to go
ave. gain of 5.0 yards
conversions--1/1 (100%)
Play action Passing
5/7 for 129 yards 2 TD
First Downs--19
7 by pass
11 by run
1 by penalty
FORMATION BREAKDOWN
Two back formations--39 plays (56%)
3 pass (8%)--2/3 for 58 yards
36 runs (92%) for 221 yards--6.1 ypc
Shotgun formations--19 plays (27%)
14 pass (74%)--10/14 for 63 yards 1 INT
5 runs (26%) for 6 yards--1.2 ypc
One back formations--11 plays (16%)
6 pass (55%)--3/6 for 72 yards 2 TD
5 runs (45%) for 1 yards 1 TD--0.2 ypc
Victory formation--1 play (1%)
1 run (100%) for -2 yards--(-2.0) ypc
RUN TYPE BREAKDOWN--47 attempts
stretch--18 (38%) for 72 yards--4.0 ypc
draw--9 (19%) for 47 yards--5.2 ypc
power--7 (15%) for 27 yards--3.9 ypc
base/iso--6 (13%) for 44 yards 1 TD--7.3 ypc
QB run/scramble--4 (9%) for -14 yards--(-3.5) ypc
sweep--2 (4%) for 49 yards--24.5 ypc
counter/trap--1 (2%) for 3 yards--3.0 ypc
Other Stats of Note
* 7 offensive penalties for the game (more not accepted)
* Ohio State started on the Michigan State side of the 50 two times--7 points (1 TD)
* 2/3 in the Red Zone--(2 TD)
* 2 sacks and 2 turnovers (1 fumble 1 INT)
* 22/70 plays took place on the Michigan State side of the 50--(31%)
* 21/70 plays went for no gain or loss--(30%)
* number or plays of 10 yards or more--14
* number of three and out possessions--2
* number of Michigan State plays of 10 yards or more--5
* number of Michigan State first downs--9
The game this week against Michigan State was the perfect team for the Buckeyes to play, at the perfect time in their schedule. The 24-17 final score and the way the second half ended up was a perfect lesson for this Buckeye team to learn before they take to the road next week against Penn State. Michigan State's defense was just good and aggressive enough to give the Buckeyes a good test on offense, and the Spartan offense was known for a physical running game, which was also a needed test for this Buckeye defense. Best of all, this testing all took place in the friendly confines of Ohio Stadium.
The main lesson that can be taken from this game is: No matter how solidly in hand a game seems to be, it only takes a couple of plays to turn a game completely around. This one wasn't turned completely around, but in the span of six plays in the third quarter, it went from a comfortable 24-0 lead to a very uncomfortable 24-14 lead with momentum clearly on the Spartan's side. It started with pressure on a third and ten forcing a bad throw to be intercepted and returned for a touchdown, continued with a fumbled kickoff return (though recovered by the Buckeyes), and was compounded by a Todd Boeckman fumble returned for another touchdown. Another disaster was only narrowly averted on the first play after the kickoff return when Chris Wells fumbled, but managed to come up with the recovery amidst a sea of Spartans.
There seems to be a slight tendency to define the game this weekend by those six plays rather than the other 59 minutes of the game, especially in the major media. For the most part, the Buckeyes dominated a decent, but certainly not great, Michigan State team. The Spartans came into this game with the top ranked offense in the Big Ten as well as a highly ranked rushing attack. The Buckeyes held the Spartans to only 185 total yards and 59 rushing yards for the game. Give the Spartans some credit for finding a way to get back into the game, even though it came from their defense.
Quarterbacks
Only one quarterback played on Saturday, so any talks of the quarterbacks is going to center around Todd Boeckman. The Spartans threw a lot of different blitzes at him, from several different angles. Early on, Boeckman seemed to handle the blitz very well, standing in the pocket to make a couple of throws in the face of the pressure and taking the hit. Boeckman started the game hitting his first ten passes of the game for 112 yards and a touchdown on his way to a 12 of 16 first half.
The second half was a different story. The pressure seemed to get to him a little bit in the second half, forcing Todd into two turnovers, both returned for touchdowns. Boeckman only attempted seven passes in the second half (nine called...two sacks), completing three of them, including a very nice 50 yard touchdown pass to open up the 24-0 lead.
How much of the turnovers were his fault?
On the interception, it was not a bad read that resulted in the interception, but it was a bad pass. The bad pass came as a result of pressure, however, and it's not a mistake that I think Todd would've made if the pressure hadn't been there. Some blame has to go to Todd for the bad throw, and it's easy to blame the offensive line, though the Spartans brought more than the line could block on that play, but it mostly has to be credited to the Michigan State defense. They affected Todd on the play, and reaped the benefits.
The fumble also can't really be pinned on Todd. It was a called screen pass, which is going to allow some pressure on the quarterback by its very nature, but the pressure got to Boeckman entirely too fast. It's easy to say that Todd should've recognized blitz and got rid of the ball sooner, but I don't think it would've mattered too much either way. He was hit almost as soon as he got to his third drop step. The play never really had a chance. You'd like to see him hold onto the ball when he's hit, but on a shot where the QB isn't expecting it, holding onto the ball is something learned through experience, and Todd hasn't had much experience getting hit this season.
Overall, I think it's another game where Todd can take a lot from and learn. He faced more pressure in this game than in any of the previous seven, and didn't have a terrible day despite the two turnovers. His quick start enabled the Buckeyes to get out to a 17-0 lead and get themselves out of some terrible field position on their first two drives of the game (started at the OSU 3 and 1 respectively). His long balls weren't terribly underthrown as they have been the last couple of games either.
Grade--B Were it not for the two turnovers, this might've ended up an A- this week. Boeckman handled the pressure surprisingly well most of the game.
Running Backs
All three halfbacks played in this game, but the story this week was Chris Wells. He finished the game with 221 yards on 31 carries, the first 200 yard game of his career, and added a touchdown to his season total. There have been questions about Chris' toughness this season, but I think with this game, those questions can finally be laid to rest. When the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, Chris answered the bell repeatedly to make sure this game had a happy ending for Buckeye fans.
The only knock on Chris all day would have to be his fumble at the most inopportune time possible, on the first play after two drives ended in turnovers returned for touchdowns. Luckily, the Michigan State defense seemed to be more worried about running with the ball than recovering it, allowing Beanie to get the ball back, but that could've been a back-breaker. After the fumble, however, Jim Tressel showed his faith in Chris, allowing him to carry the ball on 13 of the next 20 offensive plays, effectively closing the game out with seven carries for 36 yards on the Buckeye's final drive.
For the other two backs, it was not a very good game for either one of them. Brandon Saine only got one series in the game, along with spot duty as a second halfback in the backfield in some formations, and was dropped for a five yard loss on his second carry. He still seems a little hesitant with the ball in his hands,but there were too few touches to really get any read on how far he's come along since his injury.
Maurice Wells continues to be an enigma to Ohio State fans. He seems to be firmly entrenched as the number two halfback, and Buckeye fans have a hard time understanding why, and would like to see Brandon Saine get more carries. Buckeye fans also seem to be concerned with the number of carries that Maurice seems to get into center of the line when that doesn't seem to be his forte.
Things aren't always what they seem to be, however, and that goes for this situation as well. First and foremost, one of the bigger differences I've seen between Saine and Maurice is in pass blocking. The difference isn't huge, but it does seem that Maurice is better at it. Second, nearly all of Maurice's rushing attempts in this game were on plays that he has been most successful in the past running. He ran only one power play (which he has been unsuccessful running), one stretch play (only slightly better), one sweep and four draw plays (his bread and butter plays). There was no reasonable expectation for him to be unsuccessful on the day. My one gripe with Maurice continues to be that he goes down too easily to first contact.
The fullbacks added a lot to the running game this week, as the Buckeyes ran the ball out of two back formations 36 times this week for well over 200 yards. Despite the blitzing from the Michigan State defense, there weren't very many times where the fullback missed his block. Chris Wells spent a lot of the game running straight to the fullback block and working off it, often plowing right behind it to gain a few more yards when nothing else was there.
Grade--A- Chris Wells is proving to be a warrior and the fullbacks are coming into their own. The running game seemed to be there anytime the Bucks called on it this week.
Receivers
It was another quietly efficient day for the Buckeye Receivers this week. The Buckeyes didn't throw the ball around too much on Saturday, and there weren't any bad dropped balls. Brian Hartline got his hands on a long ball that was slightly overthrown, and you'd like to see him come down with that, but it would've been a spectacular catch had he done so. It seems the Buckeyes have gone away from intermediate passing over the past few weeks, so the Receivers did little more than go deep and catch screen passes this game.
The Buckeyes used Play action pretty successfully this week, and scored two more touchdowns off of it against the Spartans. With how well the Buckeyes have been able to run the ball, Play action has been there more often than not this season and the total for touchdowns off of Play action for the season now sits at nine of the 18 total touchdown passes.
The tight ends have been an integral part of the running game this season, but this week TE Jake Ballard got into the act on the receiving end, catching three passes in the first half, including a circus catch for a 14 yard touchdown on the Buckeye's first drive. As well as the Buckeyes have been running the ball, the tight ends will probably be there whenever Boeckman wants them off of Play action
Grade--A- The group is a little too quiet to earn an A, but they don't drop balls and the WR's are doing a good job of blocking downfield.
Offensive Line
Except for just a handful of plays, this was another exceptional week for the Buckeye offensive line. Michigan State was blitzing from every angle, but especially the Center-Guard gaps (often simultaneously), all game long. For the most part, those blitzes were picked up and Boeckman had time to throw, including completing a few deep balls against the single coverage that blitzing like that usually has behind it. The Spartan defense was able to affect Boeckman in the third quarter, however, so it wasn't a perfect day for the offensive line.
The run blocking, on the other hand, was a thing of beauty for most of the game. The Spartan defensive blitzes were able to stuff their share of runs, but all it takes is one mistake or finely blocked play to spring Beanie for a long run, which he did on three separate occasions (though one of those was through a lot of individual effort). As the game wore on, the Buckeye backs were able to rip off short chunks of yardage on a consistent basis. The way the Buckeyes closed the game out, running out the last three and a half minutes by gaining three first downs on seven straight Chris Wells carries, was very encouraging.
All in all, I still feel this is Jim Tressel's best line since taking over at Ohio State, and will be the biggest reason Ohio State's offense is successful this season.
Grade--B+ The two turnovers came from defensive pressure, which lowers the grade a bit.
Total Offense
When you look at the drive charts and see how easily the Buckeyes moved the ball at times on Saturday, you sit back and wonder how the Buckeyes only managed to come away with 24 points in this game. The Buckeyes had six possessions in the first half, and were in scoring position on four of those drives (one ended in a blocked field goal). The second half had the turnovers, but still the Buckeyes managed to move the ball fairly easily when they had it, except for the one drive which started with Chris Wells' fumble.
It helps to know that, up until the turnovers, the Buckeyes had 355 yards of total offense and had scored on four of their eight possessions to that point. After the turnovers, the coaching staff clearly reduced their risks in the play calling department, and counted on the running game to close the game out. To their credit, Beanie and the offensive line were able to do just that.
There are some people that see the Buckeye offense as the weak link on this team, but I don't think that's true. The offense is clearly not better than the defense (as was the case last season), but they aren't slouches either. Ohio State has been able to move the ball fairly consistently all year, with very few three and out drives for the season (only 12 of 106 drives have been three plays and punt this season). If anything, special teams (surprisingly enough) seem to be the most vulnerable area on this season's team.
Starting against Michigan State this week, the Buckeye offense will be taking on better defenses than they did in the first half of the season. We'll see if the offense can continue to hold up their end of the bargain. Penn State boasts one of the top defenses in the nation (albeit against a worse schedule than OSU at this point), this Saturday's game should be another good test for them.
Grade--B The offense was cruising until those two turnovers. The way the running game was able to close the game out was impressive.
Total DefenseThe major media can continue hyping LSU's defense if they want to, but if I had to choose between the Tiger defense and the Buckeye defense right now, the Silver Bullets would be my choice. The only real test the Buckeye defense hadn't passed this season had been to go against a physical running team, and it's safe to say the defense passed it with flying colors. The Spartan running game never really got on track, and the Spartans constantly found themselves in third and long situations.
I don't think there is a better linebacking crew in the nation. James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, and Larry Grant have done a marvelous job in both run support and pass defense all season. It seemed Laurinaitis was climbing off of every tackle when the Spartans ran the ball. The defensive backs gave up a couple of longer passes, but broke up their share and have been sure tacklers in space all season long. It's rare when the first man misses from these two groups, but when they do, the rest of the Buckeye swarm is right there to pick up the pieces. They really play great team defense.
The big question going into this game would be how the defensive line, especially the interior, would fare against a physical running team. Early in the season, the defensive tackles looked as if they were going to be the only weakness on the defense, but this game showed that they might've caught up to everyone else. Dexter Larimore finished the game with a sack and Doug Worthington came up with Ohio State's only turnover on the day with an interception (though there should've been a fumble for Michigan State not called). The interior line held up well and kept the Spartan offensive line off of the linebackers so Laurinaitis and company could do their thing.
This was yet another near shutout for the defense, as Michigan State's offense only managed 3 points. The defense has now given up only 47 points for the season (the offense has given up 16), with Michigan State's 17 points being the highest point total for the opposing team this season. Washington's 14 points was the most earned by an opposing offense so far this year. The media can spin it how they want, but the Buckeyes are giving up only a little more than a single touchdown per game (7.9 points) and a little more than 200 yards per game (208.5). Opposing offenses average only 3.3 yards per play, and have scored only five offensive touchdowns this year. All of those statistics lead the nation.
Grade--A+ A team beating the Buckeyes this season is going to have to earn it. The Buckeyes won an earlier game with a 0-5 turnover disadvantage and now another with two defensive scores against them. Most other teams would be 0-2 in those games.
The Buckeyes enter what seems like their tenth game "to see how good this team really is" this week in the third and last of their night road games against a Penn State team that has traditionally given the Buckeyes a pretty tough time in their home stadium. Whether or not this game lets the rest of the nation in on what we already know, that this is a very good team even if it isn't the BEST team, remains to be seen. It seems the major media is waiting to say "I told you so" in the even of a Buckeye loss, so it seems a win this week over what looks to be an over-matched Penn State team will be just as quickly discarded as the previous eight.
With the Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines both sitting at 4-0 in conference, and no one else in conference having less than two conference losses, it looks as if the game against the Wolverines will, once again, be the deciding game in the Big Ten race. As it sits right now, the Buckeyes control their own destiny in the National Championship race, and would still control their destiny in the Big Ten race even with a loss in any of the games leading up to the game against Michigan.
Keep your Rolaids handy over the next few weeks. I don't think we're out of the woods yet, but an 11-0 record heading into Ann Arbor is looking more and more like a distinct possibility.
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