As the 9th edition of the 4-team College Football Playoff approaches, it’s a good chance to look at the evolution of college football during that era. It probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but Ohio State has been really, really good during that era. Ridiculously good. Insanely good. That-number-can’t-be-right good. Here are 10 stats from 2014 to 2022 regarding the Buckeyes that we admit we had to look at twice.

6

Consecutive seasons with 41+ points per game. How ridiculous is that? Well, only 3 CFB teams averaged 41 points per game this season. Neither of the other 2 (Tennessee, USC) did it in 2021. Three other teams did it in 2021, and none of them did it in 2020.

37

That’s how many times Ohio State has scored 50+ points in a game in the CFP era. Or take 5, which is how many times OSU has scored 70+ points in a game. For perspective’s sake, Ohio State has lost 12 games over the 9 seasons … so it’s 3 times more likely that OSU will score 50 than lose. And half as likely that they’ll score 70 as that they’ll lose.

25

Or, on the other hand, it’s not all about offense. On 25 occasions in the CFP era, Ohio State has held an opponent to single-digit scoring. That includes 6 shutouts. There have also been 17 times when Ohio State has held opposing offenses to under 200 yards. So again, in a given game, OSU is twice as likely to hold an opponent to single-digit scoring as to lose.

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7.29

Over the last 3 seasons, Ohio State has averaged at least 7.29 yards per play. For accuracy’s sake, it was 7.29 yards per play in 2020, 7.96 (!?!) in 2021, and 7.30 in 2022. Exactly 1 other team reached 7.29 yards per play in 2022, 1 did so in 2021, and during the bizarro season of 2020, 6 teams did. No other team appears on even 2 of those 3 lists, though.

4

OSU has had 4 1,000-yard receivers in the past 2 seasons– and it’s 4 different players. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson in 2021, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka in 2022. The rest of the Big Ten has had 5 1,000-yard receivers during that period, with only 1 school (Purdue) having a 1,000-yard receiver each season, much less a pair of them, and forget about 4 different players.

7

That’s how many games Ohio State has been an underdog in during the CFP era. Bear in mind that 4 of the 7 were bowl games, and another was a B1G title game (in 2014). That means that Ohio State has been a regular season underdog just twice in the CFP era. Those times? At Michigan State in 2014 (OSU won 49-37) and at home against Michigan in 2018 (OSU won 62-39). So yes, the last time Ohio State was a regular season underdog was 4 years ago.

340

The Buckeyes have 340 total sacks in the CFP era. Interestingly, only during that run has OSU had a single player with a double-digit sack season (Joey Bosa in 2014, Chase Young in 2019). Meanwhile, on the other side, OSU has allowed just 201 sacks during the CFP era.

18

That’s NFL first-round draft picks during the CFP era. It’s a narrower group that you’d think, because the first CFP year didn’t become a draft class until 2015, so this includes just 8 NFL Drafts. But averaging 2.3 first-round picks per year … well, for comparison’s sake, Michigan had 8 first-round picks and Penn State had 4. Add in the 2 for Michigan State, the 3 for Wisconsin and the 1 for Minnesota (not to mention the 0 for Nebraska and Illinois), and you equal OSU’s total.

74-6

That’s the OSU conference record during the CFP era. Yes, a pair of losses to Michigan are disappointing. But otherwise, Ohio State’s losses are … well, kind of random. In 2015, there was No. 9 Michigan State at home. Each of the next 3 seasons had random road losses — at Penn State in 2016, at Iowa in 2017 and at Purdue in 2018. Then, of course, Michigan the last 2 years. That’s 2 home conference losses in 9 years, and other than UM, nobody has beaten Ohio State twice during the CFP era.

1

Obviously, that’s the biggest one. 1 CFP title. Will OSU make it 2 or even 3 before the CFP expands? If not, many of the other numbers on this page will be dismissed as something akin to window dressing. Which is a shame, because they’re a testimony to consistent dominance, albeit dominance that since 2014 has stopped shy of the intended target.