How much any of the following actually means is up for debate.
There are stats and there are stats. Serious Statistics, born in a lab somewhere at the behest of a malevolent, SEC-loving artificial intelligence, are the result of billions of lines of code distilled into a goofy acronym. People assume it's important because it's obtuse, and then make million dollar decisions based on these Serious Statistics with roughly the same understanding of them that I have of what's in a hot dog.
This article does not delve into Serious Statistics. I am but a man, who likes looking at interesting numbers and going "huh, that's kind of cool". If you are also of the human variety, I recommend you check out some numbers that represent the various foibles that encompassed Ohio State football's 2022 season.
Some fun, some not so fun, they are a beautiful mosaic of the season that was (and might give us some insight into the season that will be). Quick note: I'm basically ignoring 2020 for the purposes of these observations, for obvious reasons.
THIRD AND SHORT WAS NOT KIND TO THE OHIO STATE RUN DEFENSE
Not a shocker, I'm sure, but Ohio State's run defense was not great on 3rd down. But what's legitimately weird is how much worse it was on 3rd and short: giving up 5.85 yards per carry when opponents needed three yards or less to get the first down, the Buckeyes were a yard and a half worse here than on 1st or 2nd downs. That Ohio State opponents were statistically guaranteed to get a first down if they ran it on 3rd and short is not great.
THE BUCKEYES RETURNED ZERO PUNTS IN THE LAST TWO GAMES OF THE SEASON
And they lost both! Probably not a coincidence!
OHIO STATE HAD THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PENALTIES CALLED ON THEM SINCE 2014
And for the least amount of yards since 2011. This level of discipline extended to turnovers as well; the Buckeyes only turned the ball over 10 times for the entirety of the season, which is the fewest amount of giveaways they've had since at least 2009. It's kind of remarkable how well C.J. Stroud and company took care of the ball, and they needed to, because the Ohio State defense forced the fewest amount of turnovers since at least 2009 as well. I expect both of those numbers to go up, with a new quarterback at the helm and a veteran defense returning.
C.J. STROUD: NOT A RUNNER (USUALLY)
Unless it was against Northwestern or Georgia, the former for weather-related reasons and the latter to try and mess with them defensively. In 2022, C.J. Stroud ran for 108 total yards. Against Northwestern, he ran for 79 yards. Against Georgia, 34. You will notice that number is higher than 108 (since this number factors in sacks), but you should also note that against no other teams did Stroud rush for even 10 yards on the ground.
That 44 yard run in the 4th quarter of the Northwestern game accounted for 40% of all of his rushing yards for the entire season.
MIGHT AS WELL GO FOR IT
Ohio State completed over 70% of its 4th-down conversion attempts in 2022 (going 12/17), which was their best percentage in a decade, despite said decade being filled with players and a system seemingly designed to do just that.
KILLING IT IN THE RED ZONE
Speaking of which, the 2022 Buckeyes scored on 95.24% of their trips to the red zone, getting points on 60 of 63 attempts. I'm being specific here because what's interesting (and weird) is that this is exactly the number of attempts and conversions that the 2013 squad achieved. That team scored more touchdowns (53 versus 47), but either way, 95.24% is an insane number that I am skeptical will be replicated in 2023.
The stats might be weird, but I think the ones that I've selected here paint a picture of a team (and a system) that demands control. Ohio State put itself in a position to win a national championship last season because it was good at being taking variables that we often view as coin tosses (turnovers, 4th down conversions, etc.) and making them into sure bets. And furthermore, taking things that we sometimes take for granted as being automatic which really aren't (red zone conversions), and speaking that into reality.
Creating that kind of consistency might be tough for the Buckeyes in 2023, but if they want to replicate the success of last season, they're going to need to find a way to make these weird stats work in their favor once again.
