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The Ohio State Effect: Northern Illinois

Matt Gutridge's picture
September 20, 2015 at 9:14am
9 Comments
StuffedAnother week and another team gets its stats stuffed, kind of.

It's always interesting to see how a team's stats change after playing Ohio State.

Below you will be able to compare Northern Illinois' stats before playing, and after playing, Ohio State.
 

THE OFFENSIVE NUMBERS

After last week's substandard game many believed Ohio State's offense would right the ship against Northern Illinois. That did not happen. The Buckeyes' offense actually took a step backwards and at times looked dead in the water. Good teams are supposed to own 3rd down. Ohio State was 2/13 (.154) on that important down. Not good, not good at all. It's a good thing Ohio State has a defense that can bail them out.

Like Ohio State, Northern Illinois had a tough time on offense. The Huskies were held to under 100 yards rushing and only had 190 of total offense. Drew Hare is good, but Ohio State's defense is better. The one positive for NIU was that they scored every time they reached the red zone.
 

THE DEFENSIVE NUMBERS

Like last week Ohio State's defense performed much better than the offense. The Buckeyes shutdown Northern Illinois' offense in every statistical category. The most impressive was keeping NIU to 13 points. That was 34.5 points below their average. Not only did Ohio State keep the Huskies' offensive yards and scoring locked up they were able to get a pick-six as well. 

Northern Illinois' defense can hold their head high after playing Ohio State. The Huskies' D  held Ohio State to 298 total yards of offense. Another telling stat is that NIU held Ohio State to 162 yards of rushing offense, 34 yards below the Buckeyes' average. Keep Ohio State from running the ball and you will have a chance to win. Win the turnover margin (they did) and hold Ohio State to 13 offensive points and you should win. Unfortunately for Northern Illinois Ohio State's defense came up with the winning play.


SPECIAL TEAMS

Ohio State did not have a kickoff go out of bounds, finally. The kickoff coverage team put the clamp down on NIU's returners holding them to 17.5 yards a return. Cameron Johnston had the big boot as he averaged 52.2 yards per punt. Unfortunately three of his punts went into the endzone. The touchbacks put his net punt average at 42.2 yards per punt. Jack Willoughby was perfect on field goals and extra points. I have a feeling Ohio State's special teams performance had one person in the stands smiling. 

Northern Illinois' punter averaged a net punt of 42.3 yards against the Buckeyes. That was 5.6 yards per punt better than his 2015 average. He was the bright spot for NIU's special teams. Two kickoffs out of bounds and allowing Jalin Marshall to return a punt 26 yards did not help their cause.


THE MOST IMPORTANT STAT

 Ohio State 20, Northern Illinois 13
 

TeamOhio State is 2-0 against Northern Illinois and 6-0 on September 19th.
 
NIU'S STATS COMPARISON
NIU
   
NIU
2015 STATS CATEGORY Against Ohio State Stat Difference
47.5 Points For 13 - 34.5
28.0 Points Against 20 + 8.0
  OFFENSE    
219.5 Rushing Offense 110 - 109.5
274.5 Passing Offense 80 - 194.5
494.0 Total Offense 190 - 304.0
  DEFENSE    
128.0 Rushing Defense 162 - 34.0
305.0 Pass Defense 136 + 169.0
433.0 Total Defense 298 + 135.0
  OFF. MISC.    
.423 3rd Down Conv. .300 - .123
1.00 Red Zone 1.00 No Change
13.3 Punt Return ----- -----
22.3 Kickoff Return 17.5 - 4.8
  DEF. MISC.    
.421 3rd Down Conv. .154 + .267
.857 Red Zone 1.00 - .143
123.0 Pass Eff. Def. 95.1 + 27.9
36.7 Net Punting 42.3 + 5.6
  MISC.    
+1.0 Turnover Margin  +3 + 2.0
6.0 Penalties Per Game 4 + 2.0
Total: 8 THE EDGE Total: 9  

 

Ezekiel Elliott
NIU kept Ohio State's ground game in check. Last week the Buckeyes did not throw a passing touchdown. This week they did not score a rushing touchdown. The good news is that Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 108 yards keeping his 100-yard rushing streak alive.

 

NIU's STATS BEFORE AND AFTER OHIO STATE
NIU
         
 
NIU
2015 STATS BEFORE OHIO STATE NATIONAL RANKING CATEGORY 2015 STATS AFTER OHIO STATE NATIONAL RANKING DIFFERENCE
47.5 14th Points For 36.0 41st - 11.5
28.0 85th Points Against 25.3 75th + 2.7
    OFFENSE      
219.5 44th Rushing Offense 183.0 66th - 36.5
374.5 9th Passing Offense 276.3 39th - 98.2
594.0 7th Total Offense 459.3 43rd - 134.7
    DEFENSE      
128.0 52nd Rushing Defense 139.3 49th - 11.3
305.0 104th Pass Defense 248.7 89th + 56.3
433.0 96th Total Defense 388.0 75th + 45.0
    OFF. MISC.      
.423 51st 3rd Down Conv. .370 87th - .053
1.00 1st Red Zone 1.00 1st No Change
13.3 33rd Punt Return 13.3 35th No Change
22.3 56th Kickoff Return 21.5 68th - 0.8
    DEF. MISC.      
.421 95th 3rd Down Conv. .353 66th + .068
.857 73rd Red Zone .800 50th - .057
123.0 70th Pass Eff. Def. 113.7 45th + 9.3
36.7 75th Net Punting 37.5 61st + 0.9
    MISC.      
+ 1.0 26th Turnover Margin + 1.7 8th + 0.7
6.0 53rd Penalties Per Game 5.7 42nd + 0.3
  Total: 7 THE EDGE Total: 9    

 

If Northern Illinois is the best in the MAC Ohio State should be able to beat Western Michigan by 10 points. Right?

NIUThe Huskies earned Ohio State's respect. Fortunately they did not earn the victory.

Source- stats.ncaa.org

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

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