Ohio State
Ohio State is 6-3, No. 20 in the CFP rankings, and No. 7 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 22.8 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: lost 41-28 vs Oregon in Week 10. The machine gives Ohio State a 49% chance to make the playoff.
Week 11: vs Northwestern, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Ohio State is No. 7
- Ohio State's rating is 22.8: the machine's estimate that Ohio State is 22.8 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 7 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 28.7, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 5.9.
- The biggest weekly moves: −2.1 after Week 9 (L 18-30 at USC) and −1.4 after Week 3 (W 59-3 vs Kent State).
- Its record is 6-3. The 3 losses were to No. 4 Texas, No. 13 Oregon, No. 19 USC, by 8.7 points on average. The 6 wins came by 30.3 points on average; the best was over No. 9 Indiana. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 49 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 6 Miami (24.9); just below is No. 8 Ole Miss (20.2).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Ryan Day is in his 9th season at Ohio State (since 2018). This season: 6-3. At Ohio State overall: 88-15, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 202-300 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2882 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 25-8 |
| Yards per attempt* | 9.6No. 9 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 14.3%No. 15 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 4.8%No. 55 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 332-1329 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.0No. 95 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 11.2%No. 117 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 15.3%No. 37 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 35.7No. 21 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 6.72No. 15 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 44.1%No. 36 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 62.5%No. 60 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 10No. 53 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 18.3No. 21 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 4.66No. 15 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 5.8No. 6 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 3.2No. 20 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 3.0%No. 130 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 11No. 69 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 39.7%No. 85 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Julian Sayin131-192, 2007 yds, 19 TD, 4 INT
- Luke Fahey66-101, 823 yds, 5 TD, 3 INT
- Tavien St. Clair5-7, 52 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
- Bo Jackson139 carries, 685 yds, 6 TD
- Ja'Kobi Jackson59 carries, 354 yds, 6 TD
- Isaiah West43 carries, 200 yds, 1 TD
Receiving
- Jeremiah Smith69 catches, 1200 yds, 14 TD
- Devin Mccuin29 catches, 369 yds, 2 TD
- Chris Henry Jr.11 catches, 283 yds, 2 TD
Tackles
- Earl Little II53
- Payton Pierce47
- Jaylen McClain41
Sacks
- Kenyatta Jackson3
- Riley Pettijohn2
- Epi Sitanilei1
Interceptions
- Jaylen McClain2
- Riley Pettijohn1
- Tarvos Alford1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Julian Sayin7 games192 attempts64%
- Luke FaheyMost passes in the last game5 games101 attempts34%
- Tavien St. Clair2 games7 attempts2%
Carrying
- Bo Jackson9 games139 carries51%
- Ja'Kobi Jackson6 games59 carries22%
- Isaiah West8 games43 carries16%
- Legend Bey7 games18 carries7%
Catching
- Jeremiah Smith9 games69 catches34%
- Devin Mccuin8 games29 catches14%
- Bo Jackson8 games20 catches10%
- Nate Roberts8 games14 catches7%
Tackling
- Earl Little II9 games53 tackles10%
- Payton Pierce9 games47 tackles9%
- Jaylen McClain9 games41 tackles8%
- Jermaine Mathews Jr.9 games33 tackles6%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 56–3 vs Ball State. The pass defense was the strength: Ball State got 3.2 yards an attempt, 3.6 under what it usually gains. Its most yards a carry of the season.
- Week 2 L 23–24 at Texas. The passing game was the strength: 8.7 yards an attempt, 3.6 more than Texas usually allows.
- Week 3 W 59–3 vs Kent State. The passing game was the strength: 13.6 yards an attempt, 5.7 more than Kent State usually allows. Its most yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 4 W 42–19 vs Illinois. The passing game was the strength: 10.2 yards an attempt, 2.8 more than Illinois usually allows. The most yards a carry it has allowed all season.
- Week 5 W 31–14 at Iowa. The passing game was the strength: 12.0 yards an attempt, 5.9 more than Iowa usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 6 W 45–16 vs Maryland. The pass defense was the strength: Maryland got 2.6 yards an attempt, 4.6 under what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 7 W 19–15 at Indiana. The run defense was the strength: Indiana got 2.5 yards a carry, 2.9 under what it usually gains. Its fewest yards a carry of the season.
- Week 9 L 18–30 at USC. The run game was the strength: 4.7 yards a carry, 1.1 more than USC usually allows. The machine had Ohio State by 9.5 (72%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.
- Week 10 L 28–41 vs Oregon. The run game struggled: 2.5 yards a carry, 1.5 less than Oregon usually allows. The machine had Ohio State by 12.2 (78%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.