Ohio State Football: 3 stats that prove OSU is a true contender
By Ryan Stano
The Ohio State football team allows 18.6 points per game on defense
Even though the Ohio State football team struggled with their defense early in the season, things have changed in a big way. Ohio State averages 18.6 points given up per game. That’s still good enough for 18th in the country, even though that’s only 5th-best in the Big Ten.
But if you look at the last four games, the Buckeyes have only been allowing 11 points per game. As I’ve said before, the defense doesn’t have to be great for this team to be a contender. They just simply have to be average because of how good the offense is.
Matt Barnes seems to have fixed things on that side of the ball. He’s calling plays that better suit the skillset that Ohio State has on defense. That has kept opposing offenses from going too crazy against them. That could change going against better offenses though.
Penn State’s offense isn’t the best offense Ohio State will face. They play them on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions were only able to score 10 points in regulation against Illinois. That should give this Buckeye defense confidence that what they have been doing will be enough to get the job done.
These three stats prove that the Buckeyes are indeed true contenders to win a national title this year. The level of competition steps up the rest of the way, so we’ll get to see all of these units in action against some good teams.
Next. Ohio State's rushing attack should feast vs. PSU. dark
It’s going to be tough for any team to beat Ohio State while they’re playing this way.