The coaches say the Buckeye football team is getting better. How much is the team improving week to week? And how does this year's team compares compare to the young, inexperienced team of last year? It would be very interesting to check out. So below some fundamental statistics were gathered on the four games that followed right after the Virginia Tech game in each year. We start with the first weeks which have very weak competitors like Kent State and Hawaii, and end in conference play with the weaker Big-10 teams like Rutgers and Indiana.
| 2014 | Week # 1 | 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KENT | 66-0 | Score | 38-0 | HAWAII |
| STATE | 8 of 12 | Third Down | 8 of 17 | |
| 67% | Conversion | 47% | ||
| 344 | Passing Yards | 181 | ||
| 284 | Rushing Yards | 182 | ||
| 628 | Total Yards | 363 |
| 2014 | WEEK #2 | 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CINCINNATI | 50-28 | Score | 20-13 | NORTHERN |
| 9 of 14 | Third Down | 2 of 13 | ILLINOIS | |
| 64% | Conversion | 15% | ||
| 330 | Passing Yards | 298 | ||
| 380 | Rushing Yards | 162 | ||
| 710 | Total Yards | 460 |
| 2014 | WEEK #3 | 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| at MARYLAND | 52-24 | Score | 38-12 | WESTERN |
| 8 of 14 | Third Down | 8 of 13 | MICHIGAN | |
| 57% | Conversion | 62% | ||
| 264 | Passing Yards | 288 | ||
| 269 | Rushing Yards | 223 | ||
| 533 | Total Yards | 511 |
| 2014 | WEEK #4 | 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RUTGERS | 56-17 | Score | 34-27 | at INDIANA |
| 5 of 9 | Third Down | 2 of 14 | ||
| 56% | Conversion | 14% | ||
| 261 | Passing Yards | 245 | ||
| 324 | Rushing Yards | 272 | ||
| 585 | Total Yards | 517 |
This year's Ohio State team has shown steady improvement in total yardage from 363 against Hawaii to 517 against Indiana, with significant improvement coming in both passing and rushing yardage.
The consistency of play in 2015 is not trending anywhere as shown by the third-down conversion rates. They went from 47% down to 14%, then up to 62%, and then back down to 14%.
In comparing this year's team to last year's, several figures jump out. First, scoring was much higher in 2014, with Ohio State getting over 50 points in all 4 games.
Second, total yardage was also much higher in 2014, even though the production was lower in the 2 Big-10 conference games.
Third, and most telling is the consistency of maintaining drives as shown by very high third-down conversion rates that were between 56% and 67%.
Bottom Line: This year's defending national champions are in deed improving game to game. However, they have a long way to go in matching last year's young Buckeye team.
