The Ohio State football team have been dominant this season, beating four teams by 40-plus points. They have done in multiple ways, but one stat is very telling when it comes to efficiency and keeping drives alive.
It was Ohio State and SMU that after six weeks were the only teams already bowl-eligible. The Buckeyes, who have been cruising to victories, have the NCAA’s most-efficient offense.
You can clearly see Ohio State’s efficiency in their NCAA leading third-down conversion percentage.
The Buckeyes complete 55.9% of their third-down attempts, marginally better than LSU who converts on a stellar 55.1% and is then followed by Texas.
LSU has one more failed third-down attempt than the Buckeyes. Nonetheless, Ohio State still boasts the nation’s best third-down percentage, a staple of their overall efficiency.
One major factor that allows late-down opportunities to be converted is that this Buckeyes’ team doesn’t commit many penalties. They are tied for 23rd in the nation with 5.3 per game. That means the offense doesn’t get off schedule very much.
The 2019 Ohio State team has been impressive, keeping drives alive with dynamic playmaking and expert playcalling so far.
With Justin Fields and J.K. Dobbins leading the way to go with an elite receiving corp and a top-tier offensive line, there’s no reason to think the team can’t keep this up when the opponents become more challenging.
And more challenging is just around the corner.
