At a football factory like Ohio State, records are meant to be broken and that's never been more true since Urban Meyer arrived in Columbus and started stockpiling talent.
His offenses have been prolific, shattering numerous school records and names like Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Barrett, to name a few, have scrawled their names all throughout the school's individual record books as key cogs in Meyer's machine.
This year, while there won't be the Barrett effect in which a record is falling seemingly weekly, there are a good bit of both individual and team records that could be in the crosshairs.
Let's take a look at a handful of marks that could be in jeopardy.
CONSECUTIVE SEASONS WITH AT LEAST ONE 1,000-YARD RUSHER
J.K. Dobbins helped set a new program standard is his 1,403 yards rushing last year gave Ohio State six-straight seasons with at least one 1,000-yard rusher.
As you'll note, that means each season of the Meyer era to-date featured at least one 1,000-yard rusher:
- 2012: Braxton Miller - 1,271 yards
- 2013: Carlos Hyde - 1,521 yards and Braxton Miller - 1,068 yards
- 2014: Ezekiel Elliott - 1,878 yards
- 2015: Ezekiel Elliott - 1,821 yards
- 2016: Mike Weber - 1,096 yards
- 2017: J.K. Dobbins - 1,403 yards
This year, both Dobbins and Weber enter the season with realistic shots to extend the streak. More on that in a bit.
TEAM SACKS
The school record for single-season sacks stands at 47 which was set by the 1998 squad and then equaled by the 2000 Buckeyes. The 2014 squad made a solid run at the mark but finished with 45 and last year's defense, led by Nick Bosa, Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard, also racked up 45 sacks.
Could the record be back on the clock this year?
Topping 47 would be an amazing feat but with Bosa flanked by Chase Young, other depth at defensive end and studs inside including Dre'Mont Jones and Robert Landers, it's at least something worth keeping an eye on in the early going to see if this year's group can keep pace and make things interesting.
Chase Young must turn in a monster year for the 2018 squad to have a chance at the single-season sack record.
TEAM POINTS PER GAME
Breaking in a brand new quarterback, I wouldn't argue too much if you said this one isn't realistic but considering the talent Dwayne Haskins brings to the table along with a deadly combo at running back and a plethora of seasoned pass catchers, I'm of the mindset this year's squad should be in position to average north of 40 points per game.
Hell, last year's offense was pretty predictable at times against better competition and struggled to move the ball threw the air at times and still managed to average 41.4 points per game, good for fourth-best in program history.
The 2013 squad holds the school-record with 45.5 points per outing, the 2014 team ranks second with 44.8 and the 1969 Super Sophs still rank third with 42.5 points per game.
CONSECUTIVE SEASONS WITH AT LEAST ONE 100-POINT SCORER
Another record that started with Year One of the Meyer era and is still rolling, the current run of six-straight seasons featuring at least one 100-point scorer, is even more impressive when you consider only four times in school history has Ohio State even recorded back-to-back years with at least one 100-point scorer.
The current run looks like this:
- 2012: Carlos Hyde - 102 points
- 2013: Carlos Hyde - 108 points, Drew Basil - 104 points
- 2014: Sean Nuernberger - 128 points, Ezekiel Elliott - 108 points
- 2015: Ezekiel Elliott - 138 points
- 2016: Tyler Durbin - 114 points
- 2017: Sean Nuernberger - 122 points
This year, Nuernberger is likely to eclipse 100 points. Who knows if he'll have company.
TWO 1,000-YARD RUSHERS IN THE SAME SEASON
Only twice in program history have two Buckeyes gone for at least 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. Carlos Hyde (1,521) and Braxton Miller (1,068) blew up on the ground all season and also way back in 1975 as Archie Griffin (1,450) and Pete Johnson (1,059) turned the trick. Of note, Griffin and Johnson accomplished the feat as dual running backs while Hyde did it with the complements of Miller's rushing exploits from the quarterback spot.
I view this as an extreme long shot but it is worth a mention that Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins could make a run at matching the feat set by Griffin/Johnson and Hyde/Miller.
Dobbins and Weber are both electric runners – and both have rushed for 1,000+ yards at least once in their Buckeye careers – but it seems hard to fathom them both doing so this year.
When Hyde and Miller did it, they obviously played different positions and played virtually every non-blowout snap. That won't be the case for Dobbins and Weber making it a tough putt though it should be noted Barrett's 165 rushing attempts last year won't likely be matched by Haskins/Martell meaning some there should be some extra carries to spread around.
Mike Weber ran for 626 yards on 101 carries in 2017. Will more carries in 2018 enable a run at 1,000 yards?
SINGLE-SEASON AVERAGE YARDS PER CARRY
J.K. Dobbins just missed setting a new single-season Buckeye record with 7.2 yards per carry, falling just short of Carlos Hyde's 2013 mark of 7.3 yards per tote.
In fact, Dobbins and Hyde are the only two Buckeyes ever to average at least 7.0 yards per carry and lead their team in rushing that same season.
Dobbins ranked No. 8 nationally last year with 16 carries of more than 20 yards and No. 22 nationally with 38 carries of at least 10 yards.
With another year in Mickey Marotti's strength and conditioning program, Dobbins should be faster and more powerful than he was as a true freshman which is bad news for opposing defenses, and maybe Hyde's record.
Okay, now it's time for the Sean Nuernberger show..
PLAYER WITH 100+ POINTS IN THREE DIFFERENT SEASONS
As far as I can tell, a handful of guys have scored over 100 points in a single-season twice in their Buckeye careers but I don't find anyone that has done so three times.
Hyde, Elliott, Mike Nugent, Keith Byars and Pete Johnson highlight the two-timers I was able to dig up, along with Sean Nuernberger.
Barring injury, Nuernberger seems like a lock to rack up another 100+ points after going for 128 in 2014 and 122 last year.
MOST CAREER EXTRA POINTS AND BEST EXTRA POINTS ACCURACY
Nuernberger is currently tied with Rich Spangler with 177 career extra points so he should own the career mark by himself after Ohio State's first possession against Oregon State.
Even crazier, Nuernberger as never missed an extra point as a Buckeye. Devin Barclay is the only other Ohio State placekicker with a perfect mark (74/74) with any notable volume of attempts.
SINGLE-SEASON SACKS BY A PLAYER
With all the run Nick Bosa is getting as a potential No. 1 pick in next year's NFL Draft, it seems reasonable to mention he'll need at least 14.5 sacks if he wants to leave Ohio State with the record for most sacks in a single-season.
Last year, as part of deep rotation of defensive ends, Bosa tallied 8.5 sacks meaning he'll have to make a major jump this year to threaten the current mark of 14.0 set by Vernon Gholston back in 2007.
Of note, his brother Joey's 13.5 sacks in 2014 rank second all-time in school annals.
