Ohio State's storied football tradition is laced with incredible individual and team performances including eight national titles, 35 Big Ten championships and seven Heisman Trophy honors among a laundry list of accolades.
Since we've officially entered that vexatious stretch of months largely void of any (good) Buckeye football news and as writers we're forced to create our own shot in the form of content, I figured I'll take the next few Thursday slots and bastardize my postgame Five Things article with offshoots examining various aspect of Buckeye history.
Today, I start with Five Strings, looking at a few of the most impressive individual streaks of dominance turned in by Buckeye footballers.
ARCHIE: 31 STRAIGHT GAMES WITH 100+ RUSHING YARDS
The King of Ohio State Football, Archie Griffin did enough damage to opposing defenses that I could probably fill out this whole column focusing solely on his accomplishments.
In particular, he's headlining things thanks to his 31 straight games with at least 100 yards rushing.
From 1973 to 1975, Griffin rushed for at least 100 yards in 34 total games with 31 of those coming consecutively culminating with a 124-yard effort against Minnesota ahead of a showdown against Michigan in which the maize and blue finally ended Archie's ridiculous run.
The fact Woody relied so heavily on the run, essentially daring teams to stop it, makes Griffin's record all the more impressive as teams consistently knew what to expect but simply couldn't stop a kid who himself thought he might be too small to be a force at Ohio State.
JENKINS: LEADS OSU IN RECEIVING THREE STRAIGHT YEARS
This one might not seem so impressive on the surface but hear me out.
Michael Jenkins, at a program not typically known for airing it out, became just the second Buckeye in the last 50+ years to lead his team in receiving three straight seasons (Doug Donley, 1978-80).
Even more impressive, Jenkins became one of just four Buckeyes in OSU history to post at least 1,000 receiving yards joining David Boston (1,435 in 1998), Terry Glenn (1,411 in 1995) and Cris Carter (1,127 in 1986) with 1,076 yards during Ohio State's national title run in 2002.
In 2001, Jenkins hauled in 49 passes for 988 yards meaning he was just 12 yards shy of becoming the one and only receiver in school history to post two 1,000-yard receiving efforts.
For added perspective into Mike's dominance, Ohio State has had just three guys post 900-yard receiving seasons since 2002 as Santonio Holmes went for 977 in 2005, Brian Robiskie tallied 935 in 2007 and Dane Sanzenbacher posted 948 in 2010.
As such, Mike's ability to post three straight team-leading efforts while averaging 966 receiving yards per season makes my list.
NUGENT: 24 STRAIGHT MADE FIELD GOALS
Mike Nugent was a beast during a 13-game run spanning the 2001 Michigan game through the first 12 games of the magical 2002 season as he drilled a school-record 24 straight field goals.
That's one of roughly a billion school records held by the man they called Noooooge.
The streak started with a 33-yarder putting Ohio State in front 23-13 late in the 4th quarter in Ann Arbor as the Buckeyes kept Jim Tressel's promise made to fans at halftime of an OSU hoops game following his hiring.
From there, Nugent coasted through Ohio State's first 11 games of the 2002 slate connecting on 21 straight boots, drilling at least two field goals in six of the 11 contests.
In game 12 of the streak, versus Illinois, Nugent hit from 33 and 47 yards before missing a 37-yarder to halt his amazing streak.
Nugent would go on to connect on 25 of 28 tries during the full 2002 season including 9/11 from 40-49 yards and 1/1 from 50+ yards. Also of note, the Centerville product led the Buckeyes in scoring three straight years (2002-2004).
Kickers don't get much love especially these days but 24 in a row can't be dismissed especially when you consider how many of those were clutch kicks in tight games – which was virtually every game – during the high-wire act that was the 2002 title run.
ZEKE: THREE STRAIGHT GAMES OF 200+ RUSHING YARDS
My initial intent when researching for this article was to slant toward achievements spanning a decent amount of time but Ezekiel's three-game stretch of 200+ rushing yard games especially when you factor in the importance of those games, and the competition, made it impossible to leave him off this list.
Playing for a B1G Championship Game trophy an outside shot at a berth in the College Football Playoff on the heels of losing J.T. Barrett to a broken ankle against Michigan, Elliott torched Wisconsin with 220 yards and two touchdowns on just 20 carries in a 59-0 romp.
The curb-stomping of Wisconsin allowed the Buckeyes to sneak in the backdoor of the CFP much to the dismay of most of the college football world.
Entering the matchup against Alabama as more than a touchdown underdog, Elliott pulled a Greg Jennings (NSFW: language) and put the team on his back to the tune of 230 yards on 20 carries with two scores including the famous 85 Yarder Through the Heart of the South in a 42-35 Buckeye victory.
After shredding the Crimson Tide and on the cusp of the school's eighth national championship, Elliott dominated the Oregon Ducks with 246 yards on 36 carries with four touchdowns in a 42-20 win.
In total, Zeke went for 696 yards on 76 carries, good for 9.2 yards a pop with eight touchdowns. Damn, son.
GREENE: THREE STRAIGHT YEARS OF 10+ WINS
I had to triple-check this one because I just couldn't believe it but since Ohio State began tracking wins for starting quarterbacks, Cornelius Greene is the lone signal-caller to post three straight seasons with at least 10 wins.
Obviously it can't be overlooked Greene played with guys named Archie and Pete Johnson, among others, but the fact remains Greene's record as a starting QB stands alone in Buckeye annals.
Greene went 10-0-1 as a first-year starter in 1973 – while also becoming Ohio State's first ever African-American QB – and backed that up with a 10-2 mark in '74 and an 11-1 record in '75.
With Archie and Johnson doing the heaviest lifting, Greene still played his role and easily earned the respect of his teammates thanks to legit talent and leadership skills as Brian Baschnagel told Austin Ward:
"No doubts about him were ever shared with me," Baschnagel said. "First and foremost, I think he played only because he was good enough to play. As an athlete, he deserved to play. He was a great athlete and a terrific leader. He had great leadership, everybody got along with him, which I think was a plus for him. He was a great athlete and he kept the offense calm in the huddle when things weren't going well.
"I saw Corny as a fellow teammate, and I looked up to Corny as a leader."
Corny averaged five yards per carry over his three seasons as the starter tallying 2,080 yards with another 2,348 through the air with 46 total touchdowns.
