Ohio State football: Does OSU have national championship formula?

College football has certainly changed over the years. It has changed from decade to decade and within decades, at times. We seem to have gone through one of those in-decade changes within the last couple of years. The type of change we’ve gone through recently is the formula for winning a national championship.

Does the Ohio State football team possess the necessary ingredients of that not-so-mysterious formula? A lot of people, myself included, have been very upset about the defense at times through ten games. They’ve had performances where they’ve given up a lot of yards and points.

In their latest outing against Purdue, it was 481 yards and 31 points. Fans and media alike are convinced there is no way OSU can win a national title with a defense giving up those kinds of numbers. I disagree and here is why: the last two teams to win the national championship have done it with an overwhelming offense and a defense that was just good enough.

The Buckeyes have this same formula. I know you’re skeptical. I know when looking at that soft, don’t-give-up-the-big-play pass coverage Ohio State employed against Purdue after getting that big lead makes it hard to believe, but when you look at LSU in 2019 and Alabama last year, you see what I mean.

The Ohio State football team’s defense gave up 35 points to Oregon and has twice given up 31. In LSU’s national title season, they had games where they gave up 37, 41, and 38 twice. Their two best performances came when they held Georgia Southern to just three points and Utah State to six.

Last year, Alabama’s defense had games of 48, 46, and 24 three times. When you begin looking at averages per game, you see how strikingly similar the Buckeyes are to the last two College Football Playoff champions. LSU gave up an average of 21.9 points, Alabama just over 19, and OSU just over 20.

Their total yards per game averages are also very similar. One area of concern about the Buckeyes we’ve all had is third-down conversions. Right now, opponents are converting on third down 41 percent of the time. That is identical to Alabama last year.

If you’re surprised by how the Buckeyes stack up on defense against the last couple of national titleholders, you’re probably not surprised to find they compare quite favorably on offense. All three average in the high 40’s for points per game and around 550 yards of total offense.

All three had or have a superior group of receivers, an outstanding offensive line, and a quarterback who can make all types of throws. Yes, I know there have been growing pains with C.J. Stroud, but even with those growing pains, this has been a highly productive offense.

The national championship formula is there, but that doesn’t mean it is going to be easy for the Ohio State football team. There is still a tough road ahead and a lot of work to be done before they can think of a spot in the College Football Playoff.