Urban Meyer is known as one of the most aggressive coaches in college football. But Ohio State's head coach and the Buckeyes did not rank at the top of one metric that helps measure such a mindset in their own conference.
In recent seasons, the Buckeyes have ranked near the middle of the Big Ten in fourth-down attempts, both a byproduct of having high-scoring offenses, various game situations where such plays arise and other things. As Michael Citro outlined two summers ago, Meyer tends to lean on his offense in those situations. But not as often as you might think.
Here are fourth down statistics from Big Ten teams in the 2016 season, ranked by the number of attempts:
| TEAM | G | ATTEMPTS | NATL RANK | CONVERSIONS | B1G, NATL RANK | PERCENTAGE | B1G, NATL RANK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PURDUE | 12 | 33 | T-8 | 15 | 2, T-21 | 45.4% | 10, T-90 | 3-9 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 13 | 32 | T-10 | 17 | 1, T-11 | 53.1% | 5, 58 | 7-6 |
| MARYLAND | 13 | 29 | T-15 | 11 | T-6, T-48 | 37.9% | 13, 111 | 6-7 |
| INDIANA | 13 | 27 | T-20 | 7 | T-10, T-89 | 25.9% | 14, 124 | 6-7 |
| OHIO STATE | 13 | 21 | T-56 | 13 | T-3, T-29 | 61.9% | 3, 18 | 11-2 |
| NEBRASKA | 13 | 21 | T-56 | 12 | 5, T-41 | 57.1% | 4, 36 | 9-4 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 12 | 21 | T-56 | 10 | T-8, T-59 | 47.6% | 9, T-80 | 3-9 |
| MICHIGAN | 13 | 20 | T-61 | 13 | T-3, T-29 | 65.0% | 1, T-9 | 10-3 |
| PENN STATE | 14 | 20 | T-61 | 10 | T-8, T-59 | 50% | T-6, T-63 | 11-3 |
| IOWA | 13 | 17 | T-78 | 11 | T-6, T-48 | 64.7% | 2, T-11 | 8-5 |
| ILLINOIS | 12 | 16 | T-88 | 7 | T-10, T-89 | 43.7% | T-11, T-97 | 3-9 |
| RUTGERS | 12 | 16 | T-88 | 7 | T-10, T-89 | 43.7% | T-11, T-97 | 2-10 |
| WISCONSIN | 14 | 12 | T-118 | 6 | 13, T-105 | 50% | T-6, T-63 | 11-3 |
| MINNESOTA | 13 | 10 | T-122 | 5 | 14, T-114 | 50% | T-6, T-63 | 9-4 |
To compare how things changed from one season to the next, here are the same categories from the 2015 season:
| TEAM | G | ATTEMPTS | NATL RANK | CONVERSIONS | B1G, NATL RANK | PERCENTAGE | B1G, NATL RANK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PURDUE | 12 | 44 | 1 | 24 | 1, T-3 | 54.6% | 5, 53 | 2-10 |
| INDIANA | 13 | 29 | T-12 | 13 | 2, T-26 | 44.8% | 9, T-90 | 6-7 |
| ILLINOIS | 12 | 25 | T-31 | 11 | T-4, T-48 | 44.0% | 10, 95 | 5-7 |
| PENN STATE | 13 | 23 | T-39 | 12 | 3, T-38 | 52.2% | 6, T-61 | 7-6 |
| MARYLAND | 12 | 21 | T-55 | 7 | 9, T-94 | 33.3% | 14, T-116 | 3-9 |
| RUTGERS | 12 | 20 | T-62 | 9 | T-6, T-70 | 45.0% | 8, T-88 | 4-8 |
| OHIO STATE | 13 | 19 | T-69 | 11 | T-4, T-48 | 57.9% | 4, T-40 | 12-1 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 14 | 19 | T-69 | 8 | 8, T-82 | 42.1% | 11, T-99 | 12-2 |
| MINNESOTA | 13 | 17 | T-84 | 6 | T-10, T-109 | 35.3% | 13, 113 | 6-7 |
| MICHIGAN | 13 | 16 | T-93 | 6 | T-10, T-109 | 37.5% | 12, T-109 | 10-3 |
| IOWA | 14 | 14 | T-108 | 9 | T-6, T-70 | 64.3% | 2, 20 | 12-2 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 13 | 11 | T-118 | 5 | T-13, T-117 | 45.5% | 7, T-86 | 10-3 |
| WISCONSIN | 13 | 8 | T-126 | 6 | T-10, T-109 | 75% | 1, 7 | 10-3 |
| NEBRASKA | 13 | 8 | T-126 | 5 | T-13, T-117 | 62.5% | 3, 23 | 6-7 |
What all these numbers tell us is that for the most part, teams and head coaches are who they are when they face a fourth-down decision throughout the course of a game. Purdue, desperate for any opportunity to keep possession in the hope of scoring some points, went for it on fourth down more than any other Big Ten team the last two seasons. That didn't translate into many wins for Darrell Hazell — five total — and he lost his job because of it.
In his first season at Rutgers, Chris Ash went for it on fourth down fewer times than his predecessor Kyle Flood. The Scarlet Knights struggled to a woeful 2-10 season in 2016 and featured one of the most inept scoring offenses in the country. Rutgers scored only 15.7 points per game, second-fewest in college football. Does this mean Ash will change his philosophy in his second year as a head coach? We'll see.
Other first-year Big Ten coaches Lovie Smith at Illinois and DJ Durkin at Maryland showed a much different philosophy from their predecessors on fourth downs. Smith went for it nine fewer times, while Durkin pulled the trigger eight more.
Additionally, new Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson's Indiana teams attempted at least 20 fourth down conversions in each of his six seasons in Bloomington. Meyer's Buckeyes eclipsed 20 attempts in every season since 2012 except two, his first year and 2015 when they tried 19 times.
Meyer led arguably the most talented team in the nation two years ago, with 12 draft picks on it a season after winning the inaugural College Football Playoff. The struggles with his offense the last two seasons have been well-documented here, primarily with the passing game. Yet the Buckeyes only went for it twice more in 2016 than in 2015 and remained extremely efficient in doing so, especially on a national scope.
Wisconsin is known for its steady ground and pound attack and went 10-3 and 11-3 in Paul Chryst's first two seasons at the helm. A powerful running game didn't yield too many fourth down attempts, however, just 20 total. That is as much or fewer attempts than seven Big Ten teams for just the 2016 season.
Seventy teams converted 10 or more times on fourth down in 2016. Nearly one-tenth of them (9/70) resided in the Big Ten, including Ohio State. In fact, the Buckeyes have double-digit fourth-down conversions in every season under Meyer except for his first, when they converted seven times on nine tries in 2012. Still remarkably efficient, the lower attempt number could be chalked up to Meyer still installing his system, recruiting players that fit it and really only trusting one player with the ball that season — quarterback Braxton Miller.
Meyer has shown that he isn't afraid to go for it on fourth down when he feels his team needs a jolt, should keep possession in the hope of eventually scoring a touchdown, or doesn't wholly trust his placekicker. Ohio State converted all three of its fourth-down attempts in the national championship game against Oregon two years ago, as well as its lone attempts against Indiana and Michigan that season. You might remember the latter:
Meyer's kicking game has been inconsistent at best in recent years at Ohio State. In his first two years in Columbus, the Buckeyes attempted only 21 field goals, making 17. Sean Nuernberger went 13-of-20 in the national championship season, combined with Duke transfer Jack Willoughby to make 10-of-15 in 2015 and then yielded to walk-on Tyler Durbin last season. Durbin was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award as college football's best kicker after he made his first 10 attempts. He finished the season 17-of-22.
In conclusion, every coach has different philosophies about going for it on fourth down. It also requires a general bit of feel from the guy calling the shots on offense, how he feels his offensive line is playing, how he feels his defense is stopping the offense on the other side and the game's time and score.
To illustrate that, we close with Meyer's quote following the 2014 Michigan game, when he was asked about the run you see in the video above from Ezekiel Elliott.
“It worked so I'll take credit for that. That was mine,” he said. “We gave them a little set that we haven't been in before with the two backs in the backfield and a little motion over the top to try to hold the backers, because their backers are so downhill, and I simply asked our offensive line coach very charismatically, can we get it?
“And without hesitation, he looked me right in the eye and said we can.
“And a lot of conversation went into the play call about who we're going to run behind and you run right behind [Pat] Elflein and Taylor [Decker], and they're good players. And had all the confidence in the world.”
