Records. They come in all shapes and sizes.
At my house, they come made of vinyl and range in flavor from Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes to Led Zeppelin to Neil Young to The Pharcyde to Phish.
Inside Ohio Stadium, they range from rushing to passing to kicking to points to wins and everything in between.
With Urban Meyer at the helm of Ohio State's program, both team and individual records have been dropping like Ryan Hamby over the last five years.
Today I'll cherry pick five more school records that could be eclipsed by Meyer's 2017 crew before next week's article focuses specifically on school records set to be blown up by individual players (paging J.T. Barrett).
CONSECUTIVE SEASONS WITH AT LEAST ONE 1,000 YARD RUSHER
I had to do a triple take on this one as I struggled to believe Meyer's program was on the verge of setting a new standard but it's true.
If Ohio State can churn out at least one 1,000 yard rusher this year, it will set a new school mark of six consecutive seasons, breaking what is currently a three-way tie between the 2012-present, 1980-84 and 1973-77 Buckeye squads.
I was surprised to see there wasn't a longer run than five years of at least one 1,000 yard rusher during the Woody Hayes era considering his reliance on running the ball but I forgot one major factor. The Buckeyes didn't play more than 10 games in any season until 1972 (and played 10 just four times in his first 21 seasons at the helm).
The five-year run during Woody's tenure was obviously boosted by Archie Griffin. The Eastmoor product got it started with three-straight seasons of 1,000+ yards, rushing for 1,577 in '73, 1,695 in '74 and 1,450 in '75 followed by Jeff Logan's 1,248 in '76 and 1,166 from Ron Springs in '77.
Earle Bruce produced his own five-year blitz kicked off by Calvin Murray (1,267 in '80) followed by two-year runs from Tim Spencer and Keith Byars.
Spencer went for 1,217 in '81 followed by a sturdy yet unheralded 1,538 in '82 before giving way to Byars. Big No. 41 went for 1,199 in '83 ahead of his should've-been-Heisman season with 1,764 in '84.
As for Urban's streak, Braxton Miller kicked it off with 1,271 in '12, Carlos Hyde kept it going with 1,521 in '13, Zeke went bonkers in '14 and '15 with 1,878 and 1,821 and Mike Weber didn't exactly explode but still kept it alive with 1,096 yards last year.
Now, it's likely up to Weber to ensure the new record of six straight years is established though I suppose some would say it's far from a done deal considering the hype J.K. Dobbins is getting lately and the notion Barrett will still probably run the ball a lot when the rubber meets the road especially in close games.
That said, I'll take Weber to comfortably break the 1,000 yard marker and help set a new standard in the Buckeye record books.
CONSECUTIVE SEASONS WITH AT LEAST ONE 100-POINT SCORER
Okay, that last one was long so we'll make this short and sweet.
Urban Meyer's program already owns the school record having boasted five straight years with a 100-point scorer and looks to extend that mark to six straight in 2017.
| YEAR | PLAYER | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | T. DURBIN | 114 |
| 2015 | E. ELLIOTT | 138 |
| 2014 | S. NUERNBERGER | 128 |
| 2013 | C. HYDE | 108 |
| 2012 | C. HYDE | 102 |
Hyde got the ball rolling with 102 points in '12 and another 108 in '13. After that, a name that will be important this year, kicker Sean Nuernberger, put up 128 points during the magical 2014 season. Two years ago, Elliott went off for 138 points and last year, kicker Tyler Durbin added 114 points.
This year, we'll see if the Buckeyes can make it six straight years. Nuernberger appeared to be the leading candidate to hit the century mark but I guess you never know after he basically disappeared the last two years as Meyer leaned on Jack Willoughby and Tyler Durbin and now Kerry Coombs has let it be known true freshman Blake Haubiel is challenging for the starting placekicker gig.
If not Nuernberger or Haubeil, it's a good bet this streak will most likely come to a halt.
Curtis Samuel reached 90 points last year with Barrett and Weber putting up 54. Samuel's obviously playing on Sundays now and I'm not sure I see Barrett and Weber having that much separation in their totals. Weber has the best shot if he comes out smoking forcing Meyer and Kevin Wilson to feed him to the tune of 18+ carries per game.
TOTAL OFFENSIVE PLAYS IN A SINGLE SEASON
The addition of Kevin Wilson combined with the notion Ohio State has the potential to play 15 games has this record on notice.
Currently, the 2014 squad (15 games) owns the school record with 1,099 plays, or 73.3 plays per game. In second place you'll find the 2013 Buckeyes who played 14 games and rattled off 1,003 plays, or 71.6 per game.
It might shock you but last year's maligned offense churned out 992 plays in 13 games for an average of 76.3 per game.
That 76.3 caught me by surprise and with Wilson talking frequently about his desire to run an up tempo offense and the noted fact OSU could make another run to the College Football Playoff, it's a distinct possibility a new school record for total plays is set come year's end.
Also, I didn't want to carve out an additional section due to the redundant talking points it would surface but Total Offensive Yards in a Season could also be in a bit of trouble.
The 2014 squad went for 7,674 yards to set the school record while last year's offense tallied 5,969 yards, good for fifth all-time. The Wilson Effect, team potential (15 games?) etc. could be enough to at least keep an eye out for this mark.
POINTS PER GAME
The expected uptick in tempo and any legit upgrade in the passing game combined with could be a stout defense puts this mark in jeopardy.
The remarkable reality that last year's offense – which looked lost at times – still managed to put up the fourth-most points per game (39.4) in school annals bodes well for what a more cohesive 2017 offense can do.
| RANK | POINTS PER GAME | YEAR |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45.5 | 2013 |
| 2 | 44.8 | 2014 |
| 3 | 42.5 | 1969 |
| 4 | 39.4 | 2016 |
| 5 | 38.7 | 2010 |
To set a new standard, the 2017 Buckeyes will need to best the 45.5 points per game put up by the 2013 squad which boasted two 1,000 yard rushers (Hyde, Miller), two 600+ yard receivers (Philly, D. Smith), got 38 touchdown tosses from Miller (24) and Smooth Jazz (14), and 45 total rushing scores with Hyde (15) and Miller (12) leading the way.
Could the 2017 group add a touchdown to last year's average and break the record?
It's at least plausible though seeing will be believing when it comes to whether or not Zach Smith's wideouts can become legit weapons, the right side of the line will be serviceable in big games and of course if J.T. has his mojo back.
Oh, and the B1G is tougher now than it was in 2013 making this an even tougher task.
(Also: I see you, 1969, nicely standing the test of time.)
MOST CAREER WINS BY A SENIOR CLASS
The school record for career wins by a senior class is currently owned by the 2012-15 crew which racked up 50 victories including a national title.
As far as I can tell, that 50 also serves as the second-most wins by a senior class in FBS history, trailing the 51 put up by Alabama's 2016 group.
This year's senior class has 37 wins over the last three seasons under Meyer and, as noted, could play up to 15 games this fall.
A bunch of different won/loss combinations might see this year's group at least tie the school mark so I won't get into all of those here.
Depending on the possible scenarios, we could be touting a senior class highlighted by four-year guys Jamarco Jones, Jalyn Holmes, Damon Webb, Erick Smith, Zach Turnure, and fifth-year guys J.T. Barrett, Billy Price, Tyquan Lewis, Chris Worley, Marcus Baugh, Tracy Sprinkle and Michael Hill as the greatest in school history.
This certainly isn't a lock but will fun to watch unfold.
