Ohio State has been purposely pacing itself on offense all season, huddling more and trying to limit the number of snaps in each game of what the Buckeyes hoped and anticipated would be a long run.
“I know it sounds crazy, the huddle, it’s almost like going back in time,” coach Ryan Day said. “But it’s sort of a new thing, really, because of the no-huddle offenses that have been around, and certainly we have been a part of that. ... We don’t always do that, but it has allowed us an opportunity to be more cohesive on offense.”
While these Buckeyes (13-2) certainly slowed down, they are getting ready for their school-record 16th game. That will be for the national championship against Notre Dame (14-1) on Monday night in Atlanta.
None of the other teams in the expanded 12-team playoff average fewer plays than Ohio State's 61.8 per game that rank 120th out of 134 Division I teams. That includes 57 in each of its last two playoff games, wins over undefeated Big Ten champion 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 slightly down from their 63.9 plays a game in 2023. But it's still more than 10 plays a game below the 72.1 average over a 10-season span that began with their last national championship in 2014, when the College Football Playoff debuted as a four-team playoff.
“That'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 games we were running 100 snaps a game. ... We had a long-term plan.”
Oregon averaged more than 81 plays a game in 2012, Kelly's final season there. Even Ohio State averaged more than 80 plays a game in 2018, which was Urban Meyer's final season before Day took over as head coach.
Indiana, a first-round loser with two fewer games, is the only one of the 12 playoff teams with fewer total snaps 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 run more than 17 times in a game, with Henderson's season high being 11. Graduate transfer quarterback Will Howard has thrown for 3,779 yards and 33 touchdowns, and he has three receivers with at least 50 catches.
“In terms of the way that we designed this year, part of it was the fact that we felt like by cutting down the number of snaps it would certainly help with the length of our season and the health of our team,” Day said. “But also getting in a huddle and having Will Howard look 10 guys in the eye and break a huddle together, kind of grew as a team as the season went on."
The Fighting Irish ran a season-high 73 plays (31 passes and 42 rushes) in their 27-24 win over Penn State in the CFP semifinal Orange Bowl.
Notre Dame is averaging 63.7 plays a game, 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 at 73.7 plays per game. The only other playoff teams over 70 a game were Texas and Clemson, which the Longhorns beat at home in the opening round.
Michigan was national champion last season when averaging 61.6 plays a game, the lowest for a champ in the 10 seasons of the four-team playoff. The Wolverines finished 120th, the spot Ohio State is in now. The most were Clemson's 81.3 plays per game while winning the 2016 title, well above the second highest of 73.3 when Ohio State won the initial CFP title.
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 had left for Ducks for the NFL.
Ezekiel Elliott had 36 carries for 246 yards and four touchdowns, while dual-threat 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 semifinal Cotton Bowl last Friday night. Their 57 plays against Texas included 24 rushes for 101 yards.
Judkins had nine carries, Howard seven and Henderson six.
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