No signs of slowing down.
The Ohio State Buckeyes continue their dominance over the Big Ten with a 54-7 win over Indiana on Saturday night. This game had the potential to be ugly, with pouring rain and a hostile crowd on Primetime TV, but this couldn't have been farther from reality.
In Today's Three Key Stats, we look at the disruption caused by the defense, the stifling rush defense and the absurd consistency on display by the offense.
14 TFL
The Ohio State defense came out with something to prove on Saturday night. They finished the night with 14 tackles for a loss, which consisted of 5 sacks. After pivoting from a disappointing first drive, the defense shutout the Hoosiers for the rest of the game.
Ohio State finished with 53 total tackles, meaning 26.4% of the time the tackle was for a loss. 14 Buckeyes contributed to this total, as the pressure came from all parts of the defense.
The defense seemed to be swarming the ball and always in the backfield. The slippery field conditions surely helped, but this performance was nothing short of dominant.
1.3 Yards per Rush
In similar suit to the first stat, the defense held Indiana to 1.3 yards per rush. The Hoosiers wanted to establish the run desperately, rushing the ball 37 times and only gaining 48 yards.
With the quarterback struggles Indiana has had throughout the season, running the ball was their game plan in this rainy night game. Ohio State consistently kept Indiana off balance. This was the result of a dominant front 7 that Ohio State had envisioned at the beginning of the season.
80% Scoring Drives
The Buckeyes had 10 drives on Saturday, and they scored on 8 of them. This offense is ridiculously consistent. They stayed ahead of the chains, and dominated anyway they wanted.
The scariest part of the offense is the depth. No player had more than 100 yards receiving or rushing; the ball was spread around and everyone made the most of it.
This is clearly the best offense in the country, and they have shown nothing but improvement week in and week out. It always helps to have supreme confidence that your offense can score on almost every drive.
