THE RUNNING START

When: Saturday, October 17, 2015
Where: Columbus, OH // Ohio Stadium
TV: 8:00 // ABC 
Announcers: Chris Fowler // Kirk Herbstreit // Heather Cox 

Below you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, and team stats.
 

THE LAST TIME...

• Ohio State played Penn State the Buckeyes won 31-24 (2 OT) in Happy Valley.
• Michael Thomas did not catch a pass in a game was against Michigan State in the 2013 B1G Championship
• The Buckeyes lost to a B1G opponent is Columbus was November 19, 2011 against Penn State (14-20).
• OSU did not score at least 20 points was 2012 in a 17-16 win at No. 20 Michigan State. 
• Ezekiel Elliott did not rush for 100 yards was against Minnesota in 2014 (91 yards).

ON THE HORIZON

• Ezekiel Elliott is 25 yards away from 3,000 career rushing yards.
• Urban Meyer is one win away from his fourth 20-game win streak. He was the first to get three 20-game winning streaks and could become the first to get four 20-game winning streaks.
• In the history of the AP Poll Ohio State has been ranked No. 1 for 102 weeks. That puts the Buckeyes in first place. Oklahoma (101) is now second.
• Cameron Johnston is second all-time at Ohio State with 67 punts downed inside the 20 yard line. Johnston is 11 away from tying the Ohio State record.
• Braxton Miller is seven rushing touchdowns away from becoming the ninth player in D-I with 40 rushing and 40 passing touchdowns.
• Ohio State currently has a 26 game regular season B1G win streak.
• Ohio State is one shutout away from having two shutouts in a season for three consecutive years. 
   

GET TO KNOW PENN STATE

• Penn State is located in University Park, PA.
• PSU was established in 1855.
• The Nittany Lions are 5-1 this season.
• Penn State is 22-15 (.595) since 2012.
• Last week Penn State beat Indiana (29-7).

TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. Can you name the player who leads the B1G punting average? 
    
2. Ezekiel Elliott is 25 yards away from 3,000. How many Buckeyes have reached 3,000 career rushing yards?
    
3. Penn State's DE Carl Nassib leads the nation in sacks. How many sacks does he have?

Answers at the bottom of today's article.

PENN STATE'S INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

PASSING

QB Christian Hackenberg

STATS	PASSING	%	YARDS	TDS	INTS
LAST GAME	21/39	.539	262	2	0
2015	87/164	.530	1,086	7	2
CAREER	588/1,040	.565	7,018	39	27

RUSHING

RB SAQUON BARKLEY

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TDS
LAST GAME	DNP
2015	373	8.9	3
CAREER	373	8.9	3

 

RB AKEEL LYNCH

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TDS
LAST GAME	DNP
2015	262	5.3	2
CAREER	1,298	5.1	7

RECEIVING
 

WR CHRIS GODWIN

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	41	10.3	0
2015	390	14.4	1
CAREER	728	13.7	3

 

WR DAESEAN HAMILTON

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	49	24.5	1
2015	207	12.2	2
CAREER	1,106	11.2	4

OHIO STATE'S INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

PASSING
 

QB CARDALE JONES

STATS	PASSING	%	YARDS	TDS	INTS
LAST GAME	21/28	.750	291	2	0
2015	56/92	.624	1,157	7	5
CAREER	140/227	.617	2,020	14	7

 

QB J.T. BARRETT

STATS	PASSING	%	YARDS	TDS	INTS
LAST GAME	2/2	1.00	26	0	0
2015	23	40	.575	2	2
CAREER	226/354	.638	3,053	36	12

 

RUSHING

RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TDS
LAST GAME	106	5.0	2
2015	835	6.9	10
CAREER	2,975	7.0	30

 

QB J.T. BARRETT

STATS	YARDS	YPC	TDS
LAST GAME	62	5.2	3
2015	126	7.0	3
CAREER	1,064	5.6	14

 

RECEIVING

WR MICHAEL THOMAS

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	107	15.3	0
2015	399	14.8	4
CAREER	1,220	14.5	13

 

WR BRAXTON MILLER

STATS	YARDS	YPR	TDS
LAST GAME	79	15.8	1
2015	191	15.9	2
CAREER	191	15.9	2

---

THE RUNOFF

44-3 (.936) at Ohio State (4th year)

148-26 (.851) overall (14th year)

Meyer is 4-0 against Penn State.

 

12-7 (.632) at Penn State (2nd year)

36-22 (.621) overall (5th year)

This is James Franklin's second head coaching job. 
 

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

• Ohio State has the most all-time appearances in the AP Poll with 845.
• The Buckeyes are first in the B1G in rushing yards per game (230.0).
• Ohio State has won a nation's best 15 consecutive road games.
• Among current players Joey Bosa's 22.0 career sacks ranks second in the nation.
• Michael Thomas has caught a pass in 22-straight games. 
• Ohio State has a record of 55-4 when ranked No. 1 and playing an unranked opponent. 
• Ezekiel Elliott has 11-straight games of at least 100-yards rushing. 
• Elliott is averaging  yards per carry over the last 11 games.
• Ohio State has won a nation’s best 19 consecutive games.
• Tyvis Powell's blocked field goal against WMU was Ohio State's first since 2012.
• Raekwon McMillan had a career-high 16 tackles against WMU.

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS BUSTED

The Buckeyes' defense has not allowed a rush of 20+ yards this season. Diamont scored on a 79-yard touchdown run.

 

2015 STATISTICAL COMPARISON

2015 STATS	RANK	CATEGORY	2015 STATS	RANK
36.8	27th	Points For	25.2	92nd
17.3	21st	Points Against	14.3	11th
		OFFENSE
230.0	17th	Rushing Offense	157.3	86th
230.0	65th	Passing Offense	187.0	99th
460.0	26th	Total Offense	344.3	103rd
		DEFENSE
152.7	55th	Rushing Defense	117.0	26th
147.5	9th	Pass Defense	158.7	13th
300.2	19th	Total Defense	275.7	10th
		OFF. MISC.
.364	88th	3rd Down Conv.	.310	120th
.818	82nd	Red Zone	.909	25th
13.1	33rd	Punt Return	9.0	53rd
24.1	31st	Kickoff Return	26.3	17th
		DEF. MISC.
.337	41st	3rd Down Conv.	.333	38th
.857	85th	Red Zone	.909	106th
90.0	6th	Pass Eff. Def.	1007.9	28th
42.4	6th	Net Punting	36.4	83rd
		MISC.
- 0.3	86th	Turnover Margin	+ 1.3	8th
7.7	101st	Penalties Per Game	5.3	34th
	Total: 10	THE EDGE	Total: 8

TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS:

Can you name the player who leads the B1G punting average? 

Answer: Cameron Johnston leads the conference with a 47.2 yard average.

Ezekiel Elliott is 25 yards away from 3,000. How many Buckeyes have reached 3,000 career rushing yards?

Answer: 8

Ohio State's 3,000+ Yard Rushers

PLAYER	YARDS	GAMES	AVG./GAME
ARCHIE GRIFFIN	5,589	46	121.5
EDDIE GEORGE	3,768	48	78.5
TIM SPENCER	3,553	47	75.6
BEANIE WELLS	3,382	36	93.9
KEITH BYARS	3,200	37	86.5
CARLOS HYDE	3,198	41	78.0
PEPE PEARSON	3,076	49	62.8
BRAXTON MILLER	3,216	42	76.6
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT	2,975	28	106.3

 

Penn State's DE Carl Nassib leads the nation in sacks. How many sacks does he have?

Answer: 10.0

Sources
ohiostatebuckeyes.com
stats.ncaa.org
sportsreference.com