THE RUNNING START

When: Saturday, September 23, 2017
Where: Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Stadium
TV: 12:00, BTN
Announcers: Kevin Kugler, Matt Millen and Lisa Byington

This is the first time Ohio State and UNLV will face each other on the gridiron. The Running Rebels are 1–1 and their loss is to FCS Howard. The Buckeyes are 9–1 against current members of the Mountain West Conference and are 9–0 in regular season games. 

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 a Mountain West Conference team was a 38-0 win over Hawaii in 2015.
• OSU shutout an opponent in Ohio Stadium was last year's 58-0 victory over Rutgers.
• The Buckeyes shutout a non-conference opponent was Hawaii in 2015.
• Ohio State lost to a current MWC team was to Air Force in the 1990 Liberty Bowl.
• UNLV played a Big Ten opponent, the Rebels lost 28-7 to Michigan.

ON THE HORIZON

• Ohio State is 6–0 when facing a team in the Mountain West Conference (Air Force was a member of the WAC in 1990).
• Since 1890, the Buckeyes are 75–42–10 in the third game of the season and 52–25–8 at home. 
• The Buckeyes have been ranked in the AP Top 10 for 42 straight weeks.
• Urban Meyer led Ohio State teams are 35–3 when playing in Ohio Stadium.
• J.T. Barrett is third in program history with 7,138 passing yards. He is 94 yards away from passing Bobby Hoying for second.
• Barrett is 28–5 as a starter.
• Speaking of starts, Jamarco Jones, Michael Jordan, Billy Price and Isaiah Prince have started in 16 straight games.

Paradise, Nevada

GET TO KNOW UNLV

• The Running Rebels are located in Paradise, Nevada.
• The program's first season of football was 1968. The first game was against the St. Mary's Gaels and the Rebels won 27-20.
• UNLV is 1–1 this season, the win is over Idaho.
• The Running Rebels are 19–46 (.292) since 2012.
• Last week, UNLV had a bye.
• The program is 2–14 (.125) against current members of the Big Ten. The two wins are against Wisconsin. 
• UNLV head coach, Tony Sanchez, was the high school head coach of Haskell Garrett and Tate Martell.

TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. Freshman Tuff Borland is in the books with 12 tackles against Army. Who was the last freshman to record more tackles in a game?
2. J.K. Dobbins became the sixth true freshman at Ohio State to start the season opening game. Can you name the other five? Hint: The years the other players started were 1978, 1995, 1996, 2002 and 2016.  
3. Last year, Mike Weber became the third freshman running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. Who are the other two backs to accomplish this feat?
4. How many consecutive punts did freshman Drue Chrisman drop at, or inside the 15 against Oklahoma and Army?
5. In three games, Dobbins has rushed for 425 yards. Can you name the last Buckeye to rush for more yards in a three-game span? 

Answers at the bottom of today's article.

2017 Player Comparison

OFFENSIVE LEADERS
J.T. BARRETT	757 YDS // 5 TD // 1 INT	PASSING	ARMANI ROGERS	413 YDS // 2 TD // 1 INT
J.K. DOBBINS	425 YDS // 7.7 YPC 3 TD	RUSHING	LEXINGTON THOMAS	341 yards // 5 TD
PARRIS CAMPBELL	217 YDS // 1 TD	RECEIVING	DEVONTE BOYD	208 yards // 2 TD
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
DAMON WEBB	24	TACKLES	BAILEY LAOLAGI	26
NICK BOSA	2.0	SACKS	JASON FAO	1.0
JORDAN FULLER // DENZEL WARD	1	INTERCEPTIONS	CHAUNCEY SCISSUM // GABE McCOY	1
SPECIAL TEAMS
K.J. HILL	2.3 YPR	PUNT RETURNER	JERICHO FLOWERS	9.3 YPR
PARRIS CAMPBELL	36.5 YPR	KICKOFF RETURN	DARREN WOODS JR.	13.2 YPR
DRUE CHRISMAN	44.2	NET PUNTING	EVAN PANTELS	41.7
7		EDGE	3

THE COACHES

This is the first time Urban Meyer and Tony Sanchez have squared off. Meyer is 95–16 when facing an opposing coach for the first time.

Urban Meyer

• 63–7 (.900) at Ohio State (6th year)
• 167–30 (.848) overall (16th year)

Tony Sanchez

• 8–18 (.308) at Army (3rd year)
• 8–18 (.308) overall as a college coach (3rd year)

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

 

• J.T. Barrett is 409 yards away from becoming Ohio State's all-time leader in passing yards. 
• Ohio State's defense has only allowed 121 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown this season.
• This season, UNLV is averaging 557 yards of total offense per game.
• Parris Campbell's 36.5 yards per kickoff return ranks 6th in the nation.
• The last team, not currently in a Power Five conference, to defeat Ohio State in Ohio Stadium was SMU in 1950. Rusty Russell's Mustangs defeated Wes Fesler's Buckeyes 32-27 in Fesler's last season as OSU's head coach. One Woody Hayes took over in 1951.
• Sean Nuernberger has made 117 straight extra points.
• After Ohio State plays UNLV on Saturday, there will only be 41 FBS teams the Buckeyes have not played.
• When playing the fourth game of the season at home, during the day, the Buckeyes are 50–25–8. 1990 was the last time Ohio State lost in this scenario. No. 13 Illinois and head coach John Mackovic knocked off  No. 20 OSU 31-20.  
• The last time an Ohio State player rushed for over 300 yards was in 1995. Eddie George rushed for 314 against Illinois on that epic November night. 
• The Buckeyes' last game on September 23rd was a 28-6 victory over No. 24 Penn State in 2006. 
• Ohio State is 4–1–1 on the 23rd of September. The loss was a 42-3 shellacking at No. 12 USC in 1989. 

2017 Statistical Comparison

OFFENSE
34.3	47th	POINTS FOR	42.0	22nd
243.0	19th	RUSHING OFFENSE	350.5	4th
267.7	43rd	PASSING OFFENSE	206.5	80th
510.7	17th	TOTAL OFFENSE	557.0	8th
.452	40th	3rd DOWNS	.391	78th
.938	22nd	RED ZONE	.909	37th
DEFENSE
19.7	41st	POINTS ALLOWED	29.5	89th
126.7	51st	RUSH DEFENSE	216.0	113th
275.0	101st	PASS DEFENSE	200.5	50th
140.63	93rd	PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE	122.1	63rd
401.7	77th	TOTAL DEFENSE	416.5	90th
.370	63rd	3rd DOWNS	.429	92nd
.800	50th	RED ZONE	.778	46th
SPECIAL TEAMS
2.3	102nd	PUNT RETURN	9.3	45th
36.5	5th	KICKOFF RETURN	12.6	123rd
42.5	22nd	NET PUNTING	35.0	100th
MISCELLANEOUS
+ 1.7	7th	TURNOVER MARGIN	- 1.0	102nd
6.3	70th	PENALTIES	9.0	109th
11		EDGE	7

TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS

Freshman Tuff Borland is in the books with 12 tackles against Army. Who was the last freshman to record more tackles in a game?

Answer: In 2011, Ryan Shazier had 15 tackles against Penn State.
 
J.K. Dobbins became the sixth true freshman at Ohio State to start the season opening game. Can you name the other five? Hint: The years the other players started were 1978, 1995, 1996, 2002 and 2016. 

Answers: Art Schlichter, Orlando Pace, Andy Katzenmoyer, Maurice Clarett and Michael Jordan.
 
Last year, Mike Weber became the third freshman running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. Who are the other two backs to accomplish this feat?

Answer: Robert Smith and Maurice Clarett.

How many consecutive punts did freshman Drue Chrisman drop at, or inside the 15 against Oklahoma and Army?

Answer: Seven.

In three games, Dobbins has rushed for 425 yards. Can you name the last Buckeye to rush for more yards in a three-game span? 

Answer: In 2015, Ezekiel Elliott gained 437 yards against Rutgers, Minnesota and Illinois. 

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