Through six games, Ohio State ranks 12th nationally in total offense (516.5 yards per game), fourth in scoring offense (49.3 points per game) and fourth in rushing offense (300.5 yards per game).
Additionally, the Buckeyes currently rank eighth in the country in third-down conversions (50.6 percent) and they’re 11th nationally with an average of 26.3 first downs per game.
Those are the statistics. Those are the facts and they’re awfully impressive.
But when Ohio State players and coaches are asked if the team’s offense is anywhere close to what it can be, the response is a simple shrug of the shoulders.
“We’re really pushing ourselves right now regardless of our record and rankings and all that, that’s not what we’re looking at,” co-offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said Wednesday after practice. “It’s ‘How do we get better each and every day, every individual?’”
“Myself. Every player, every coach. We’re trying to push everybody to maximize because we haven’t reached our ceiling yet.”
If Ohio State hasn't reached its ceiling yet, well, look out.
One area the Buckeyes can almost certainly improve to help reach it is the passing game and, in particular, the deep passing attack.
Ohio State hasn’t necessarily been able to take the top off of the defense over the last two weeks and even though J.T. Barrett made a lot of impressive throws Saturday against Wisconsin, the inability to create a big play through the air almost cost the Buckeyes.
“We just haven’t been able to have those big hits,” head coach Urban Meyer said Thursday on his weekly radio show.
Ohio State hopes to get those things corrected Saturday in another game that may be close when it gets to crunch time. The Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley for a primetime matchup against Penn State and, even though they’re a 20-point favorite, the Nittany Lions have the potential to present a stiff test for this Ohio State offense.
This Penn State defense isn’t nearly as stingy as those in previous seasons, and the Nittany Lions are all kinds of banged up at the linebacker position, but the Buckeyes tend to play things on the conservative side in these hostile road environments.
“Executing higher and making sure our efficiency is at a higher rate,” offensive guard Billy Price said when asked what his biggest concern was through six weeks. “You’ve just got to execute better, got to continue to work on that and you work on our development on the offensive line and make sure we continue that chemistry.”
If the Buckeyes clean up some of those little things — deep passes, "big hits," continued improvement on the offensive line — they'll certainly like where the offense is headed down the stretch run of the regular season.
Penn State is the next challenge and everybody knows what is coming Nov. 26. Between now and then, Ohio State has some work to do offensively to get where it wants, but at the end of the day, there is one thing that matters most to the Buckeyes.
"Winning is the most important stat," Warinner said. "Then some of those other things make you feel good, I guess.”
If the wins continue to pile up, perhaps Ohio State will reach its ceiling at the necessary time.
