Ohio State Football: Which Buckeye offense will we see in November?

The Ohio State football team got off to a fast start this season but has cooled off since. There has been much speculation as to why that has been the case.

I know anybody with a TV, radio or access to the internet has heard or read the noise surrounding Urban Meyer and the Ohio State football program lately. There has been speculation of friction between the head coach and Gene Smith and issues in the locker room and that Meyer possibly will retire after the season.

I don’t put too much stock in rumors and innuendo myself. Often something appears to be a fact early on but ends up being fiction in the end.

However, I will point out stats because numbers don’t have an agenda. I will look at certain ones from the first three games of the season when Ryan Day was the interim head coach and compare them to those of the last five when Urban was on the sidelines.

I know the schedule has been more difficult of late and the Buckeyes have had to deal with injuries but the difference in the offensive numbers is a cause for concern.

During the first three games of the season the Ohio State offense was balanced. The run / pass ratio was as follows:

Rushing:  45 per game (56.25 percent of plays from scrimmage), 260.7 yards per game (42.8 percent)

Passing:  35 attempts per game (43.75 percent), 348 yards (57.2 percent)

The Buckeyes scored 10 touchdowns on the ground (45. percent) and 12 through the air (55 percent). They averaged 608..7 yards and 56.3 points per game.

The victory over Tulane the fourth game of the season was the first time Ohio State had more passing attempts than carries. That trend has continued as the only game the Buckeyes had more rushes than passing attempts since the third game of the season was during the 49-26 win over the Indiana Hoosiers.

Here are the run / pass ratio the last five games:

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Rushing: 36 carries (47.8 percent of plays from scrimmage), 118.2 yards per game (22.5 percent of the offense).

Passing:  47.8 attempts per game (77.5 percent), 408.2 yards per game (77.5 percent).

During those games Ohio State had 4 rushing touchdowns (17.4 percent) and 19 touchdowns through the air (82.6 percent).

There has been a significant decrease in yards per game since week 3 (526.4) and points per game (35).

It will be interesting to see what changes were made to the Buckeye offense during the bye week.

Heading into the November Stretch drive, will it look more like the one that was balanced the first three games of the season or the pass-happy offense the last five? We are about to find out when Ohio State takes on Nebraska.