With Kevin Wilson as OC, Ohio State Poised to Get Back on Top
The Ohio State Buckeyes will almost certainly have a dynamic offense next season.
For the third-time in four seasons, Ohio State opens the season on the road. The Buckeyes travel to Indiana on August 31 for a rare Thursday night game. Kickoff is 8:00 p.m. on ESPN.
The game will be a bittersweet homecoming for offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson who abruptly resigned as the Hoosiers’ head coach last December after allegations of player mistreatment surfaced.
Wilson eventually was absolved of any wrongdoing, but it was too late. Indiana’s loss was Ohio State’s gain.
That decision is the reason why the Buckeyes will make it back to the playoff, and likely capture their second title in four years.
Some may say one man alone cannot have that type of impact. To that I say, what about Tom Herman?
His departure after the 2014 season led to a two-year downward spiral for Ohio State’s offense. As this chart shows, both the passing efficiency dropped and points-per-game dropped significantly over the last two seasons.
| Stat | 2014 | NCAA Rank | 2015 | NCAA Rank | 2016 | NCAA Rank |
| Scoring Offense | 44.8 PPP | 5 | 35.7 PPP | 28 | 39.4 | 16 |
| Passing Efficiency | 167.2 | 2 | 139.98 | 39 | 137.02 | 44 |
| Scoring Defense | 22.0 PPP | 26 | 15.1 | 2 | 15.5 | 3 |
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Over the same period, the Buckeyes’ defense became a dominant unit again, earning back their Silver Bullets nickname that had been shelved in Meyer’s first two seasons.
It is possible that Ohio State would be going for its fourth-straight championship if the offense was remotely as efficient in 2015 and 2016 as it was the previous two seasons.
It wasn’t the case and that is why Urban Meyer made the changes to his offensive staff.
Wilson has not had this level of talent to work with since he was Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator from 2002-2010.
During that span, the Sooners played for three national championships. They also had two Heisman Trophy quarterbacks in Jason White and Sam Bradford.
This chart shows the how dynamic the Sooners’ offense was under Wilson.
| Oklahoma | 2003 | NCAA Rank | 2004 | NCAA Rank | 2007 | NCAA Rank | 2008 | NCAA Rank |
| Passing Efficiency | 159.1 | 4 | 159.06 | 6 | 170.63 | 1 | 176.24 | 1 |
| Scoring Offense | 42.93 PPP | 3 | 34.77 PPP | 14 | 42.29 | 5 | 51.14 | 1 |
With J.T. Barrett, Mike Weber, an experienced offensive line and a band of receivers thirsty to shed the underachievers label, this offense is ready to shine. At the very least, be much improved.
Next: Preseason Prediction: Alabama 1, Ohio State No. 2
Coupled with another tremendous defense, the 2017 team will get back to where it belongs, on top.