Five Things: Comfortably Numb3rs

So the bye weekend didn't get off to a strong start thanks to the J.T. Barrett story but frankly it could have been far worse. 

The fact the incident left zero killed or injured is the headliner but I won't discount the additional good news that Barrett has been officially suspended for just one game though his penalty could climb depending on if Urban wants to add another game for emphasis. If that happens he'll still be back for Michigan State and beyond. 

Putting yesterday's news to the side, this year's team continues to live in the shadow of the 2014 squad with the comparisons coming fast and furious. With a week to catch our collective breath I took a glance at some key metrics from both teams through eight games to create a little more clarity and potentially separate fact from fiction. 

SLOB STATE

Expected to be the cornerstone unit in Ohio State's bid to repeat, the offensive line returned four starters from last year's dominant outfit with the only newcomer being fifth-year senior Chase Farris at right tackle.

To the subjective eye it feels as if the group has struggled at times in pass protection and Farris has been exposed a time or two against the better defensive ends he's gone up against. 

There were also some issues early on with Jacoby Boren's shotgun snap accuracy and what felt like a spate of penalties committed by the slobs overall. 

That said, the numbers through eight games largely favor the 2015 line. Specifically, yards per carry are up over a half-yard and the number of sacks allowed have decreased dramatically. Yes, multiple variables impact those numbers but it starts up front and thus far the 2015 edition of the slobs is actually faring better versus last year than some fans might realize. 

Of course the litmus test for this season is still far from complete as the meat of the schedule has not yet arrived. 

PASSING FANCY

Despite falling into the starting job 10 days before the season opener after Braxton Miller went down, J.T. Barrett overcame a rough outing versus Virginia Tech to record two 300-yard passing games and 23 touchdowns against seven interceptions in his first eight starts of 2014. 

Behind those numbers Ohio State's passing attack accounted for nearly 49% of the total offense through the first eight games. The man known as "The Distributor" didn't feature a cannon arm within Tom Herman's offense but the Buckeyes still managed 13.9 yards per reception.

This year, with Cardale Jones starting the first seven games and Barrett the eighth – with J.T. also performing red zone specialist duties in weeks six and seven – Ohio State's passing numbers are down in comparison to last year. 

For his part, Jones looked uncomfortable working within the framework of being the starter with a talented backup seeing spot duty during the first three contests. His passing yards totals were gaudy against Western Michigan and Indiana in weeks four and five but he still threw a couple picks and wasn't particularly adept at scoring red zone touchdowns or converting third downs. 

Those issues factored into Urban Meyer inventing a red zone specialist role for Barrett in weeks six and seven against Maryland and Penn State and Barrett thrived. With Jones largely stinking it up against Penn State, Barrett reclaimed his starting job a week later and dominated Rutgers completing 14 of 18 passes for 223 yards and three scores. 

Now, Meyer must once again reshuffle the deck as Barrett serves his suspension.

Can Jones take advantage of his latest opportunity? That much remains to be seen but the reality is that this year's passing attack has yet to live up to the success of the 2015 group. The quarterback carousel gets most of the attention but the loss of Devin Smith and Evan Spencer combined with injuries especially to Noah Brown also loom large. 

BETTER BULLETS?

The 2014 Buckeye defense will be remembered for its penchant for making big plays in big games. On the season, the group generated 33 turnovers with 25 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries. 

In the first eight games however the defense wasn't quite as ferocious as it would become down the stretch shutting out Wisconsin and straight owning third down in the playoffs stopping Alabama and Oregon on 21 of 25 opportunities. 

Last year's group did hold opponents to 3.4 yards per carry and 9.9 yards per catch over the first eight outings but gave up 2.4 touchdowns per game. 

Conversely, the 2015 outfit is giving up 1.9 touchdowns per game while faring better on both 3rd down and in overall pass defense. 

The achilles heel of this year's team has been a rush defense that's a little soft in the middle. Giving up nearly 152 rush yards per game on 3.7 per carry, the Bullets want to tighten up a bit before the schedule gets real. 

That said, this year's group has given up only nine more total yards than the 2014 squad. Hopefully that is a sign of things being right on schedule. 

THE REAL ZONE SIX

With Barrett at the controls during the first eight contests of 2014, Ohio State made a ridiculous 5.6 trips per game into the red zone recording touchdowns on nearly 69% of those. 

On the trips resulting in touchdowns, Barrett was able to strike a nice balance with the offense producing 17 on the ground and 14 through the air. 

The eight failures to score inside the 20 included five turnovers on downs, a missed field goal and two interceptions. 

Though the 82.2% scoring rate wasn't otherworldly the 2014 Buckeyes managed to score 25.5 points per game via visits to the red zone. 

This year, Ohio State got off to a very slow start recording a disappointing six touchdowns in 16 red zone opportunities over the first five games good for a dismal 38% touchdown rate. 

Since the insertion of Barrett into the lineup as the red zone quarterback for two games before taking over as the full time starter last weekend the Buckeyes have 16 scores in 18 trips. More importantly, they've tallied 15 touchdowns over that span good for an 83% rate with just one field goal along with one fumble and one turnover on downs. 

SMART FOOTBALL

Ohio State's offense wasn't particularly impressive managing turnovers last year with 26 overall and 12 in the first eight games. In fact, the offense had just one turnover-free outing over that span. 

Lucky for them, offensive miscues were typically more than offset by the already discussed opportunistic defense creating 33 turnovers of their own. 

On the flag front last year's squad averaged 5.9 penalties through their first eight games to go along with those 1.5 turnovers. 

The 2015 season got off to a poor start on both fronts with the Buckeyes committing an average of eight penalties over their first five games compounded by 13 turnovers over the same span (2.6 per) putting Ohio State outside the top 100 in both stats. 

To their credit the team has tightened up over the last three weeks with 11 total penalties including zero against Rutgers with only one turnover. 

Continuing both trends should go a long way toward a repeat trip to the college football playoff.