Ohio State Stat-O-Rama

If only the game was played on paper. Here is a head-to-head comparison of some key categories for Northwestern and Ohio State:

Offense (Big Ten Rank/NCAA Rank)
Ohio State Rushing: 168.7 ypg (6th/43rd)
Northwestern Rushing: 165.1 ypg (7th/46th)

Ohio State Passing: 149.7ypg (10th/106th)
Northwestern Passing: 212 ypg (6th/62nd)

Ohio State Total Offense: 318.3ypg (10th/97th)
Northwestern Total Offense: 377.1 ypg (6th/51st)

Ohio State Scoring Offense: 24.6 ypg (7th/69th)
Northwestern Scoring Offense: 26.2 ppg (6th/59th)

Defense:
Ohio State Rushing: 104.1 ypg (3rd/14th)
Northwestern Rushing:109.3 ypg (4th/26th)

Ohio State Passing: 163.0ypg (1st/9th)
Northwestern Passing: 234.4 ypg (9th/84th)

Ohio State Sacks: 1.7pg (9th/72nd)
Northwestern Sacks: 2.9 pg (2nd/14th)

Ohio State Sacks Allowed: 2.4 pg (10th/95th)
Northwestern Sacks Allowed: 1.1 pg (2nd/15th)

Ohio State Total Defense: 267.1ypg (2nd/8th)
Northwestern Total Defense: 341.8 (5th/46th)

Ohio State Scoring Defense: 13.3ppg (3rd/8th)
Northwestern Scoring Defense: 18.1 ppg (5th/22nd)

I never thought I'd see the day when our stats measured-up so favorably to the Buckeyes. Clearly, their defensive stats are superior and among the best in the conference and nation. However, the fact that we average nearly double the sacks they do and yield less than half the sacks they do is an eye-popping stat. The offensive stats underscore what we already know for this game. They're more productive on the ground than the pass, which is good, since we're much better, statistically at defending the run than the pass. The stats fail to consider the big strike play which is of course a major factor in this game.

The scoring offenses and scoring defenses lead you to believe that this one will be a low scoring tight affair. Notably missing is the quarter-by-quarter scoring stats. Ohio State's best scoring quarter, by far is the first, which is our worst, by far. On the flip side, our best defensive quarter - the 4th (given up 24 points all year) is the least productive for the Buckeyes. The stats fail to consider our miserable history against the Buckeyes. Thankfully!