One of the more reliable statistical indicators (particularly for NFL betting) is points per play margin (or points per play differential). As one proponent commented, "it's basically a measure of scoring efficiency from all three phases of the game rolled into one stat." It's helpful for a team like Ohio State, with a quick-strike offense, to see just how efficiently they're moving the ball, but as opposed to just displaying the offensive points per play, this stat also factors in their much-maligned defense and how much they're bending or breaking on a snap-by-snap basis. To this point in the season, OSU is sixth overall in margin. This is encouraging for a number of reasons:

• The offense is as good as advertised. Even with some shake QB play in the early going, this team hits home runs in hyperspeed.
• The defense is not playing terribly on a per-snap basis; in fact, they're the 39th-best team in the country in that regard. This defense is doing a better job at what it's (ostensibly) designed to do--keep plays in front of defenders--than we're giving it credit for. Their problem is that they aren't getting off the field on third down, so when the opposing team scores, it's because they're just giving up so many plays, which dilutes down their pints allowed on a snap-by-snap basis. It's encouraging, though, because if they can start getting off the field, they're poised to make a big leap forward.
• Overall, this team is playing at a high level. The Akron stats may be skewing things again, but with the Oregon loss and the Tulsa sleepwalk factored into these statistics, I honestly don't think they can be that far off. Through four games in 2020, OSU was 17th in these rankings (similarly, through the first four games last year, the defensive points-per-play-allowed ranking was 52nd). 

We'll see how things shape up as we get into conference play (I'm especially interested to see how TTUN's current second-place ranking in this stat bears out) but their are lots of encouraging signs for this team.