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Ohio State has been intentional on offense all season, huddling up and trying to limit snaps in what the Buckeyes hoped and expected would be a long stretch.
“I know it sounds crazy, the camaraderie, it’s almost like going back in time,” coach Ryan Day said. “But it’s something new, really, because of the no-huddle offense that’s been around, and we’ve certainly been a part of that. … We don’t always do that, but it gave us an opportunity to be more cohesive offensively.”
While these Buckeyes (13-2) have certainly slowed down, they are gearing up for their record 16th game. It will be for the national championship against Notre Dame (14-1) in Atlanta.
No other team in the expanded 12-team playoff is averaging fewer plays than Ohio State’s 61.8 plays per game, which ranks 120th out of 134 Division I teams. That includes 57 in each of its last two playoff games, wins over the undefeated champion Big Ten Oregon in the Rose Bowl and SEC runner-up Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
The Buckeyes’ lowest average in at least 25 seasons is only marginally lower than their 63.9 games played in 2023. But that’s still more than 10 games below their average of 72.1 over the 10-season stretch that began with their last national championship in 2014, when the College Football Playoff debuted as a four-team playoff.
“It’s kind of by design,” said first-year Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who between coaching Oregon and UCLA spent four seasons as an NFL head coach when those were 16-game regular seasons. “We didn’t have plays, we did 100 shots per game. … We had a long-term plan.”
Oregon averaged more than 81 games played in 2012, Kelly’s final season. Even Ohio State averaged more than 80 games in 2018, which was Urban Meyer’s final season before Day took over as head coach.
Indiana, a two-game first-round loser, is the only one of the 12 playoff teams with fewer total hits than the Buckeyes’ 927 this season.
TreVeyon Henderson has 967 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns for Ohio State and Quinshon Judkins has 960 yards and 12 TDs – neither has rushed more than 17 times in a game, with Henderson’s season high being 11. Graduate transfer quarterback Willa37 threw. yards and 33 touchdowns, and has three receivers with at least 50 catches.
“As far as how we designed this year, part of it was the fact that we felt that by reducing the number of snaps it would certainly help the length of our season and the health of our team,” Day said. “But also coming together and getting Will Howard to look 10 guys in the eye and hang out, it kind of grew as a team as the season went on.”
Notre Dame numbers
The Fighting Irish had a season-high 73 plays (31 passing and 42 rushing) in their 27-24 win over Penn State in the CFP Orange Bowl semifinals.
Notre Dame is averaging 63.7 games, up from 62.2 last season. That ranks 104th nationally, with Ohio State the only playoff team below them.
Ohio State’s playoff run began with a win over Tennessee, which finished the season with 73.7 tackles per game. The only other playoff teams over 70 per game were Texas and Clemson, which the Longhorns beat at home in the first round.
The ups and downs of the championship
Michigan was the national champion last season with an average of 61.6 games played, the lowest total for a champion in 10 four-team playoff seasons. The Wolverines finished at No. 120, where Ohio State now sits. The most was Clemson’s 81.3 plays per game while winning the 2016 title, well above the second-highest mark of 73.3 when Ohio State won the inaugural CFP title.
The Buckeyes made a run for the title 10 years ago
In the first championship game of the CFP era 10 years ago, Ohio State ran for 296 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-20 victory over Oregon. That was two years after Kelly left for the Ducks in the NFL.
Ezekiel Elliott had 36 carries for 246 yards and four touchdowns, while quarterback Cardale Jones threw for 242 yards and ran 21 times for 38 yards and a score in the same stadium where the Buckeyes won the CFP Botton semifinals. Their 57 carries against Texas included 24 rushes for 101 yards.
Judkins had nine carries, Howard seven and Henderson six.
