Ad Disclosure
Ohio State is entering the most critical time of the season — four Big Ten games culminating in their annual clash against archrival Michigan.
College football games just mean more in November.
Few coaches know that better than OSU’s Urban Meyer.
Since Meyer took over the Buckeyes program in 2012, the team’s November numbers have been astonishing even for a program as successful as the Scarlet and Gray.
Meyer’s OSU teams are a combined 22-2 in November games since 2012, losing only to Michigan State in 2015 and Iowa last season.
The numbers are pretty staggering in those 24 games:
Offense
20.4: Average margin of victory per game
39.8: Average points scored
192.8: Average passing yards
265.6: Average rushing yards
458.4: Average total yards
Defense
19.4 Average points allowed per game
192.7: Average passing yards allowed
122.8: Average rushing yards allowed
315.5: Average total yards allowed
Single-game highlights/lowlights
62: Most points scored (twice)
59: Highest margin of victory (twice — OSU beat Nebraska and Maryland by identical 62-3 scores in consecutive games in 2016)
56: Largest margin in shutout victory (vs. Purdue, 2013)
55: Most points allowed (vs. Iowa, 2017)
352: Most passing yards (vs. Nebraska, 2016)
441: Most rushing yards (vs. Illinois, 2013)
640: Most total yards (vs. Purdue, 2013)
14: Fewest points (vs. Michigan State, 2015)
46: Fewest passing yards (vs. Michigan State, 2015)
86: Fewest rushing yards (vs. Michigan State, 2015, OSU’s only time under 100 yards)
132: Fewest total yards (obviously, vs. Michigan State, 2015)
451: Most passing yards allowed (vs. Michigan, 2013)
281: Most rushing yards allowed (vs. Indiana, 2014)
603: Most total yards allowed (vs. Michigan, 2013)
16: Fewest passing yards allowed (vs. Illinois, 2017)
20: Fewest rushing yards allowed (vs. Illinois, 2015)
105: Fewest total yards allowed (vs. Illinois, 2017)
Best individual performances
246: Most rushing yards (Carlos Hyde vs. Illinois, 2013)
137: Most receiving yards (Curtis Samuel vs. Nebraska, 2016)
302: Most passing yards (J.T. Barrett vs. Indiana, 2014)
5.0: Tackles for loss (Ryan Shazier vs. Indiana, 2013)
4.0: Sacks (John Simon vs. Wisconsin, 2012)
86: Longest touchdown run (J.T. Barrett vs. Minnesota, 2014)
79: Longest touchdown pass (J.T. Barrett to Michael Thomas vs. Michigan State, 2014)
Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a writer and editor for saturdaytradition.com and saturdaydownsouth.com.