Earlier this month, Eleven Warriors took a closer look at Ryan Day's first eight games as Ohio State's head coach and it turns out he's pretty good.
As Day marches his way up the consecutive wins column, his offense is also taking aim at Ohio State's scoring records and his defense is doing its part to make this one of the most dominant Buckeye teams in history.
Seven games into the season, the 2019 squad boasts the highest scoring total in program history as well as the best scoring differential, putting it on pace to set both records at the end of the season.
Here's how this Buckeye team stacks up as one of Ohio State's top-five scoring teams in history through seven games.
No. 5 – 2016 (Urban Meyer)
| POINTS SCORED | 317 |
|---|---|
| POINTS ALLOWED | 101 |
| AVERAGE SCORE | 45-14 |
| POINT DIFFERENTIAL | +216 |
| RECORD | 6–1 |
Urban Meyer's fifth team comes in at number five on the countdown. J.T. Barrett was back for his third season as the Buckeyes' starting quarterback and accounted for seven touchdowns as Ohio State rolled Bowling Green 77-10 in the season opener.
The Buckeyes looked unstoppable early, as they scored 45 or more points in four of the first six games while holding opponents to 10 or fewer points in three of them. Ohio State hit a snag against unranked Penn State in the seventh game, however.
The 24-21 loss kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship Game, but the team was able to backdoor its way into the College Football Playoff. Let's not talk about what happened against Clemson on that New Year's Eve.
No. 4 – 2018 (Urban Meyer/Ryan Day)
| POINTS SCORED | 324 |
|---|---|
| POINTS ALLOWED | 134 |
| AVERAGE SCORE | 46-19 |
| POINT DIFFERENTIAL | +190 |
| RECORD | 7–0 |
With the departure of J.T. Barrett, young quarterbacks Dwayne Haskins and Joe Burrow were in a preseason battle for the starting quarterback position. Haskins won the job in the spring and began his career by hanging 77 on Oregon State. However, due to a suspension, Meyer wasn't on the sideline for the first three games of what was to be his final season. Ryan Day was in charge and the Buckeyes racked up 169 points against Oregon State, Rutgers and TCU.
When Meyer came back, the offensive onslaught continued, but not quite at the same clip. After blowing out Tulane, 49-6, Ohio State escaped from Happy Valley with a 27-26 victory over No. 9 Penn State. The Buckeyes then outscored Minnesota and Indiana by a combined score of 79-40. The seventh game was one to forget, as Ohio State fell 49-20 to Purdue.
If you're keeping track, the 2018 Buckeyes outscored their first three opponents 169-62 (56-21) with Day as the coach. When Meyer returned to the helm for the then next four games, Ohio State outscored it foes 155-72 (39-18).
No. 3 – 1969 (Woody Hayes)
| POINTS SCORED | 329 |
|---|---|
| POINTS ALLOWED | 55 |
| AVERAGE SCORE | 47-8 |
| POINT DIFFERENTIAL | +274 |
| RECORD | 7–0 |
The only team on this list not from this decade (or this century) is the second year of the "Super Sophs." The team was expected to repeat as national champs and a 62-0 season opening victory over TCU did not dampen those expectations. The team scored 34 or more points in each of the first seven games and the defense was able to pitch two shutouts.
After the impressive 7–0 start, Rex Kern and the '69 team had two regular season games remaining. The Buckeyes handled No. 10 Purdue 42-14, but lost to a former assistant coach in his first season coaching a team to the north. It was a different era, and arguably the best team in the country did not play in a bowl game.
No. 2 – 2017 (Urban Meyer)
| POINTS SCORED | 331 |
|---|---|
| POINTS ALLOWED | 108 |
| AVERAGE SCORE | 47-15 |
| POINT DIFFERENTIAL | +223 |
| RECORD | 6–1 |
It's not a surprise that Ohio State scored a boatload of points during Barrett's final season.
Unfortunately, the team did not score more than the 31 Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma laid on them in the second game of the season. Despite scoring only 16 points against the Sooners, the Buckeyes were able to put up 315 against its six other opponents, beating UNLV, Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska by an average score of 57-12.
After an ass-whooping by Iowa, Ohio State won its last five games. Highlights were the 31-20 victory in Ann Arbor and the 24-7 Cotton Bowl win over No. 8 USC.
No. 1 – 2019 (Ryan Day)
| POINTS SCORED | 348 |
|---|---|
| POINTS ALLOWED | 56 |
| AVERAGE SCORE | 50-8 |
| POINT DIFFERENTIAL | +292 |
| RECORD | 7–0 |
Ryan Day led the Buckeyes to dominating wins as an interim head coach in 2018 and he's picked up right where he left off through seven games as a full-time head coach.
When this year's team defeated Florida Atlantic to start the season many fans and pundits were not surprised that the Scarlet and Gray scored 45 points. What is surprising is that FAU is tied with Michigan State for the closest game this season.
Following the season opener win, the Buckeyes are averaging just over 50 points per game over the last six victories. This year's team has been "held" below 40 points just one time, in the 34-10 win over the Spartans.
What is even more encouraging for this year's team is the resurgence of the Silver Bullets. After allowing the Owls to score 21 points in the season opener, the defense has only given up 35 points over the last six contests. Outside of the 21 points in the season opener, no team has managed more than 10 against the Buckeyes.
With that combination of offense and defense, this Ohio State team has both the most points scored and the best point differential of any Buckeye team through the first seven games fo the season.
