THE RUNNING START
When: Saturday, September 26, 2015
Where: Columbus, OH, Ohio Stadium
TV: 3:30 ABC / ESPN2
This will be the first game between Ohio State and Western Michigan in football.
Below you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, and team stats.
THE LAST TIME...
- Ohio State played Western Michigan was...never.
- The Buckeyes played a member of the MAC was last week against NIU (20-13).
- OSU did not score at least 20 points was 2012 in a 17-16 win at No. 20 Michigan State.
- Ezekiel Elliott did not rush for 100 yards was against Minnesota in 2014 (91 yards).
- Ohio State lost to a school from the MAC was 1894 (Akron).
ON THE HORIZON
- Michael Thomas is 21 yards away from 1,000 career receiving yards.
- Ohio State is one shutout away from having two shutouts in a season for three consecutive years.
- Saturday's game will be used to raise awareness for Muscular Dystrophy.
- Cameron Johnston is second all-time at Ohio State with 61 punts downed inside the 20 yard line. Johnston is 17 away from tying the Ohio State record.
- Braxton Miller is seven rushing touchdowns away from becoming the ninth player in D-I with 40 rushing and 40 passing touchdowns.
- In the history of the AP Poll Ohio State has been ranked No. 1 for 99 weeks. That is second best all-time. Oklahoma is first with 101 weeks at No. 1.
Downtown Kalamazoo looks like a nice place to play a kazoo.
GET TO KNOW WESTERN MICHIGAN
- Western Michigan is located in Kalamazoo, MI.
- WMU was founded in 1903.
- The Broncos are 1-2 this season.
- Western is 14-26 (.350) since 2012.
- WMU defeated Murray State (52-20) last week for their first and only win of the 2015 season.
TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:
- Can you name the two teams Ohio State shutout in 2014?
- The Buckeyes did not rush for a touchdown against Northern Illinois and ended a 26 game streak. What team in 2013 kept Ohio State from scoring a rushing touchdown?
- How many First Team All-Americans has Urban Meyer coached at Ohio State?
Answers at the bottom of today's article.
WESTERN MICHIGAN'S INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
PASSING
QB Zach Terrell (Jr)
Last Game: 25/30, 355 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs
2015 Stats: 82/116 (.707), 947 yards, 8 TDs, 5 INTs
Career: 465/735 (.633), 5,992 yards, 42 TDs, 23 INTs
RUSHING
RB Jarvion Franklin (So)
Last Game: 161 yards, 6.0 ypc, 1 TD
2015 Stats: 242 yards, 4.7 ypc, 1 TD
Career: 1,793 yards, 5.0 ypc, 25 TDs
RECEIVING
WR Daniel Braverman (Jr)
Last Game: 167 yards, 14 rec., 11.9 ypr, 2 TDs
2015 Stats: 398 yards, 40 rec., 10.0 ypr, 3 TDs
Career: 1,530 yards, 144 rec., 10.6 ypr, 9 TDs
WR Corey Davis (Jr)
Last Game: 139 yards, 23.2 ypr, 2 TDs
2015 Stats: 309 yards, 18 rec., 17.2 ypr, 3 TDs
Career: 2,658 yards, 163 rec., 16.3 ypr, 24 TDs
OHIO STATE'S INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
PASSING
QB Cardale Jones (Jr)
Last Game: 4/9 (.444), 36 yards, 0 TD, 2 INTs
2015 Stats: 25/45 (.556), 333 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs
Career Stats: 82/139 (.590), 1,196 yards, 9 TDs, 5 INTs
QB J.T. Barrett (So)
Last Game: 11/19 (.579), 97 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
2015 Stats: 20/35 (.571), 193 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Career Stats: 223/349 (.639), 3,027 yards, 36 TDs, 11 INTs
RUSHING
RB Ezekiel Elliott (Jr)
Last Game: 108 yards, 4.7 ypc, 0 TDs
2015 Stats: 331 yards, 5.4 ypc, 4 TDs
Career Stats: 2,471 yards, 6.8 ypc, 24 TDs
H-Back Braxton Miller (Sr)
Last game: 7 yards, 1.8 ypc, 0 TD
2015 Stats: 126 yards, 7.0 ypc, 1 TD
Career: 3,180 yards, 5.5 ypc, 33 TDs
RECEIVING
H-Back Braxton Miller (Sr)
Last Game: 0 yards, 0 ypr, 0 TD
2015 Stats: 94 yards, 23.5 ypr, 1 TD
Career Stats: 94 yards, 23.5 ypr, 1 TD
WR Michael Thomas (Jr)
Last Game: 60 yards, 20.0 ypr, 1 TD
2015 Stats: 158 yards, 15.8 ypr, 2 TDs
Career: 979 yards, 14.6 ypr, 11 TDs
THE RUNOFF
Urban Meyer is 1-1 against Western Michigan.
41-3 (.932) at Ohio State (4th year)
145-26 (.848) overall (14th year)
Meyer is 1-1 against Northern Illinois
Meyer is 53-5 (.914) in August and September games
P.J. Fleck was the MAC coach of the year in 2014 with an 8-5 record.
10-18 (.357) at WMU (3rd year)
10-18 (.357) overall (3rd year)
This is P.J. Fleck's first head coaching job.
Cliff Claven's Little Known Facts Corner
Cliff Claven's Little Known Facts Corner
- The Buckeyes' defense has not allowed a rush of 20 or more yards this season.
- Northern Illinois kept Ohio State from scoring three touchdowns. The last team to accomplish that feat was That Team in 2012.
- Vonn Bell leads the B1G with six passes defended.
- This is the 19th straight year Ohio State has played a team from the MAC.
- Ohio State has a record of 52-4 when ranked No. 1 and playing an unranked opponent.
- Ezekiel Elliott has eight-straight games of at least 100-yards rushing.
- Ohio State has won a nation’s best 16 consecutive games and a nation’s best 14 straight road wins.
- Urban Meyer is four wins away from his fourth 20-game win streak. He was the first to get three 20-game winning streaks and could become the first to get four 20-game winning streaks.
- Ohio State has won 68 out the last 69 home games against unranked teams.
 |
 |
|||
| 2015 STATS | RANK | CATEGORY | 2015 STATS | RANK |
| 33.3 | 51st | Points For | 31.0 | 63rd |
| 12.3 | 11th | Points Against | 33.3 | 103rd |
| OFFENSE | ||||
| 234.3 | 26th | Rushing Offense | 93.3 | 122nd |
| 176.7 | 104th | Passing Offense | 327.7 | 18th |
| 411.0 | 75th | Total Offense | 421.0 | 66th |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| 106.0 | 28th | Rushing Defense | 224.0 | 108th |
| 119.0 | 5th | Pass Defense | 189.0 | 46th |
| 225.0 | 5th | Total Defense | 413.0 | 93rd |
| OFF. MISC. | ||||
| .333 | 102nd | 3rd Down Conv. | .500 | 10th |
| .800 | 88th | Red Zone | .786 | 96th |
| 14.0 | 31st | Punt Return | 13.0 | 37th |
| 25.0 | 37th | Kickoff Return | 28.9 | 14th |
| DEF. MISC. | ||||
| .314 | 42nd | 3rd Down Conv. | .525 | 120th |
| 1.00 | 111th | Red Zone | .923 | 105th |
| 81.6 | 4th | Pass Eff. Def. | 127.0 | 73rd |
| 41.4 | 22nd | Net Punting | 35.4 | 96th |
| MISC. | ||||
| 0.0 | 61st | Turnover Margin | -2.0 | 120th |
| 6.3 | 61st | Penalties Per Game | 6.7 | 70th |
| Total: 11 | THE EDGE | Total: 8 |
Three games is not a large sample.
To put things in perspective you will find the 2014 stats below:
|
|
|
|||
| 2014 STATS | RANK | CATEGORY | 2014 STATS | RANK |
| 44.8 | 5th | Points For | 33.8 | 47th |
| 22.0 | 26th | Points Against | 24.9 | 42nd |
| OFFENSE | ||||
| 264.5 | 8th | Rushing Offense | 170.8 | 55th |
| 247.1 | 51st | Passing Offense | 267.3 | 34th |
| 511.6 | 9th | Total Offense | 438.2 | 39th |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| 141.3 | 34th | Rushing Defense | 153.5 | 47th |
| 201.1 | 28th | Pass Defense | 217.6 | 48th |
| 342.4 | 19th | Total Defense | 371.2 | 45th |
| OFF. MISC. | ||||
| .520 | 3rd | 3rd Down Conv. | .480 | 12th |
| .851 | 48th | Red Zone | .882 | 27th |
| 11.3 | 18th | Punt Return | 1.7 | 125th |
| 22.7 | 29th | Kickoff Return | 24.3 | 11th |
| DEF. MISC. | ||||
| .344 | 16th | 3rd Down Conv. | .402 | 70th |
| .844 | 77th | Red Zone | .739 | 12th |
| 108.2 | 13th | Pass Eff. Def. | 119.7 | 36th |
| 41.8 | 5th | Net Punting | 39.1 | 31st |
| MISC. | ||||
| +0.47 | 32nd | Turnover Margin | +0.23 | 48th |
| 5.6 | 50th | Penalties Per Game | 5.3 | 40th |
| Total: 12 | THE EDGE | Total: 6 |
Today's Trivia Answers:
Can you name the two teams Ohio State shutout in 2014?
Answer: Kent State (66-0) and Wisconsin (59-0).
The Buckeyes did not rush for a touchdown against Northern Illinois and ended a 26 game streak. What team in 2013 kept Ohio State from scoring a rushing touchdown?
Answer: Wisconsin. Ohio State won 31-24 in Columbus. Braxton Miller had 4 touchdown passes.
How many First Team All-Americans has Urban Meyer coached at Ohio State?
Answer: Six. Johnathan Hankins (2012), Bradley Roby (2012), Ryan Shazier (2013), Jack Mewhort (2013), Joey Bosa (2014) and Michael Bennett (2014).
Sources
wmubroncos.com
ohiostatebuckeyes.com
stats.ncaa.org
sportsreference.com
