Prior to last season, Urban Meyer had never coached a 1000-yard running back.
Now, he's about to have coached two straight.
Carlos Hyde became the first Meyer-coached back to break the 1000-yard barrier a year ago when he emerged into one of the best in the country at the position, galloping for 1,521 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. Hyde averaged a ridiculous 7.3 yards per carry and turned himself into a second-round pick in last year's NFL Draft.
Given the near-impossible task of replacing Hyde in this year's Ohio State backfield was Ezekiel Elliott. And the sophomore from St. Louis has done a more-than-admirable job filling in.
Through the season's first 10 games, Elliott has racked up 954 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns, leaving him just 46 yards shy of that 1000-yard mark.
"It means a lot," Elliott said. "It's something you dream of when you're a kid just being a football player at a Division I college. Being able to rush for 1,000 yards that's just a great accomplishment."
In the grand scheme of things, Elliott's pursuit of 1,000 yards might not seem like such a tall task. After all, his 954 yards on the ground ranks just sixth in the Big Ten.
But in Ohio State's well-balanced offense with countless playmakers, putting up gaudy rushing numbers like those that Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon (1,909 yards), Indiana's Tevin Coleman (1,678 yards), Minnesota's David Cobb (1,350 yards) and Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah (1,319 yards) have put up at this point in the year is a near-impossible task.
"They can really rush the ball, I think their running back is extremely undervalued," said Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson, who has the task of trying to slow down Elliott on Saturday. "This league's got some tremendous running backs, but their young back Ezekiel is a pretty special kid."
Competition in his own backfield has also pushed Elliott as true freshman running back Curtis Samuel has entered the program and shown flashes when he's been in the game.
But the way Elliott has been playing — specifically in Ohio State's two previous games against Michigan State and Minnesota — it's been hard to take him off the field.
"Zeke has got the hot hand right now and playing really, really well," Meyer said. "He's playing high, high level football for us, and we've had some really tough games."
The fact Elliott is having so much success this year in his first season as the full-time starter is somewhat surprising, too, in the sense the Buckeyes had to replace four starters on their offensive line.
But Elliott is more than aware that the guys up front have played a huge role in him being on the cusp of a 1,000-yard season.
"It'd mean a lot. I'd be only the second running back to do it for Urban Meyer and I've gotta thank my O-line," he said. "They've paved the way."
