Trouble in the 614

There’s a troubling stat for Ohio State Buckeye fans. More troubling than the health of tailback Beanie Wells, more troubling than all the missed tackles by the OSU defense last week, and more troubling than the way QB Todd Boeckman locks in on receivers and telegraphs his throws. The troubling stat relates to the lack of productivity by the OSU offense when in scoring position.

We looked at the teams in the AP top ten and compared the mix of touchdowns and field goal attempts (FG success is slightly irrelevant for this exercise) as a mix of the total number of times “in scoring position”. The results are startling and down right scary for Ohio State fans. Through two games, Ohio State has had 14 scoring opportunities- 6 have been touchdowns and 8 have been field goal attempts. If you break that fraction down into a ratio that equates to 3 touchdowns for every 4 field goal attempts.

Compare that to Oklahoma who has a ratio of 15 touchdowns to 1 field goal attempt, or Georgia with 7.5 touchdowns to 1 field goal or USC with 7 TD’s to one field goal.

Looking at the entire top ten, Ohio State has by far the least impressive “productivity ratio”. There are only two teams within range of their futility- Auburn at 1 TD to 1 field goal, and LSU at 2.5 TD’s to 1 field goal.

Call it conservative offensive scheming, failure to execute, bad luck, or any number of excuses but the bottom line for Buckeye nation is that ratio must improve this weekend against Ohio State. One sure way to dial up a loss against USC is to trade touchdowns for field goals.

You’re welcome.