Last year's improbable run to the college football playoff national championship brought about many shocking surprises.
J.T. Barrett evolving into a Heisman candidate, Cardale Jones taking over for an injured Barrett and launching Ohio State's offense into more rarefied air and Ezekiel Elliott's postseason explosion all rank near the top of the list.
Collectively, almost as shocking, is the fact the 2014 Buckeyes tied or broke no less than 74 school records as part of the magical run.
This year, it could be more of the same with Ohio State the prohibitive favorite to repeat thanks to a slew of returning stars and a deep stable of young talent dying for a chance to show what they can do.
So which records are the most likely to fall? It's hard to say based on the fact last year's projected second and third string quarterbacks served as catalysts to such dominance but here's a list of some individual marks to keep an eye on as the season unfolds. Next week, we'll take a look at team records that could be in jeopardy.
RUSHING YARDS - SEASON
After Ezekiel Elliot erupted for 1,878 yards in 2014 on 273 carries, good for 6.9 yards per carry, he's one of the favorites to win this season's Heisman Trophy. If Elliott does win the Stiff-Arm, there's a good chance he'll also break Eddie George's single-season school record 1,927 rushing yards set back in Eddie's 1995 Heisman winning season.
The argument against Elliott winning the award is mostly rooted in concern over whether or not he'll get enough carries which could absolutely become an obstacle. Last year, Elliott carried the rock 273 times over a 15 game schedule compared to 328 attempts for George in 13 games.
Basically, Eddie carried it 25.2 times per game compared to only 18.2 for Zeke but Elliott gained one more yard per rush than Eddie (5.9). If Elliott were to carry it 55 more times this year to match the totes George logged in '95, it's likely Eddie's record of 1,927 rushing yards will go up in smoke.
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS - SEASON
This one is a long shot and I'm probably only listing it to give a little-discussed Buckeye great some love.
Back in 1975, Pete Johnson set the single-season mark with 25 rushing touchdowns while sharing the backfield with a guy named Archie. Zeke probably has little chance to break this mark but he did have 18 last year and if Urban feels like helping Elliott boost his Heisman resume, he'll feed Elliott when the Buckeyes get close to the goal line.
AVG RUSHING YARDS PER GAME - SEASON
During Eddie's 1995 season, he amassed a school-best 148.2 rushing yards per game. In a stat that might surprise you considering how he finished the season, Elliott only averaged 125.2 rush yards per game in 2014.
Of course, that lower-than-expected total was largely influenced by a lack of touches. Amazingly, Elliott had 13 carries or less in five of Ohio State's first 13 games which severely limited his ability to post a better rush yards per game number especially when you recall he averaged nearly seven yards per carry on the season.
200+ RUSHING YARD GAMES - CAREER
Eddie again is the gold standard with five career games with at least 200 yards rushing. Before last year, no other Buckeye had posted more than two career games of 200+ rushing yards then Zeke came along and posted three straight games of over 200 yards on the ground to close out the season.
This year, Elliott figures to log a few more carries per game and with his talent and a seasoned offensive line, three more games of 200+ rushing yards this year seems well within reach to set a new school mark.
CONSECUTIVE 100+ YARD RUSHING GAMES - SEASON
Nobody will ever break Archie's record of 31 straight 100+ yard rushing games (11, 11, 10 over three seasons) but the record for a single-season of consecutive games over 100 rushing yards belongs to Eddie with 12 in 1995.
Numerous factors could cause Elliott to fall short of 100 rushing yards in any one game but it seems very plausible that Elliott could beat George's record.
TOUCHDOWN PASSES - CAREER
I've said before I don't see Braxton becoming Ohio State's primary quarterback this season and I stand by that but I still think he'll break the school record for career touchdown passes.
Currently, that mark belongs to Bobby Hoying with 57 such connections and with Braxton at 52, I have a feeling that Urban will do everything in his power to give Miller a shot to break that record even if he's a triple threat guy lining up mostly at H or wide receiver with a few snaps per game at quarterback as part of packaged plays.
If he does end up the full time starter, then obviously this record will be scorched.
Going a step further, if Braxton is the full time starter, a few more passing marks will be in severe jeopardy:
- Career Passing Yards - Braxton can break Art Schlichter's total of 7,547 with 2,256 yards which would equate to 173 yards/game over a very modest 13 game schedule.
- Career Completions - Bobby Hoying's mark of 498 would be eclipsed if Miller (395 currently) tallied 104 pass completions which rounds out to eight per game assuming that same 13 game schedule.
300-YARD PASSING GAMES - CAREER
Joe Germaine currently holds the school record with eight career 300+ yard passing games.
Last year, J.T. Barrett threw for four such games in 12 outings before his ankle injury. Barrett will absolutely own this record before he's done at Ohio State. The only question is whether or not he will own it, then build on it, starting this year or next. If he wins the job this year, he'll have a great shot to at least tie the mark in 2015.
TOTAL OFFENSE - CAREER
Schlichter owns the school record with 8,850 yards of total offense but Miller is already 2nd with 8,346.
As long as Braxton is healthy, no matter what position(s) he plays, he'll easily accrue the 505 yards he needs to become the new total offense leader in school history.
TOUCHDOWNS RESPONSIBLE FOR - CAREER
Again, Schlichter holds the Buckeye record with 85 touchdowns responsible for and again, Miller is hot on his heels with 84.
As noted with total offense, Braxton will obviously eclipse Art's mark as long as he's healthy regardless of position. Of course, Miller probably won't hold the record for long once Barrett seizes the quarterback job this year, or next year at worst.
TACKLES FOR LOSS - SEASON
Breaking Mike Vrabel's record of 26.0 TFL set back in 1995 would be a major accomplishment but Joey Bosa could be poised to make history.
Last year, Bosa tallied 21.0 TFL and should be an even better play this fall. My personal belief is that Bosa will fall short because he probably won't enjoy the same level of talent along the rest of the defensive line (Finkes and Fickell in particular) that Vrabel enjoyed during his record-setting season making it a little easier for teams to scheme against Bosa.
SACKS - SEASON
Big Vernon Gholston holds the school record with 14.0 sacks during the 2007 campaign and Bosa was damn close to setting a new mark as he posted 13.5 sacks last season.
