Getting offensive....Woody Hayes style (sans punching any players)...

It's Michigan-Ohio State week & we're still holding out hope for the Tressel vs. Rodriguez Texas Cage match.  The world would be a better place.  But we got thinking about our own spread option offense & were reminded of the great quote by former Ohio State coach WoodyHayes on passing the football: "only three things can happen when you pass & two of them ain't good".  You can be sure that old bastard is smiling & has the channel locked in on the Jackets every Saturday during the Fall....

"Who needs a coat?  It's only snow.  I kick it Paul Johnson style"

A few thoughts, stats & musings on the offensive side of the ball...

• We're averaging 36 points per game, good for 11th best in the FBS.  That's up from 24.4 per game last year.  So much for the blueprint for stopping us.  We're still improving & learning the offense faster than defenses are evolving.
• It's mid-way through our second year of spread option football & I'm already tired of reading about the "blueprint" for stopping our offense.  Imagine how CPJ feels after 26 years?  There's no blueprint & you have to play "assignment" football against whatever offense you are playing.  Blown assignments = touchdowns.  I'm going to generously assist all our opposing coaches & tell them how to defeat our mighty offense: have better players.  Win one-on-one match-ups.  Have great players that simply shed blocks & make tackles.  Get penetration along the line & disrupt the mesh between QB & B-back.  Have your players conveniently evade our efforts to block them on the perimeter & then make tackles.  That's how you beat us.  Here endeth the lesson & for Emory Bellard's sake shut up about "blueprints" & "assignment football".
• We're second in the nation in rushing at 314 yards-per-game and average 5.44 yards-per-carry.  Anthony Allen leads the nation in yards -per-attempt at 10.58.
• we're #1 in time of possession at 34:25 per game.  Our ability to control the clock & limit our opponent's possessions, particularly in the second half, has been key to our success this year.
• We're converting on 3rd down 52.56% of the time, good for 3rd in the country
• We're 115th in passing in the country ar 135.5 yards-per-game.  This is huge for us!  Our ranking is to be expected due to the fact that we rarely throw the ball.  What's important is that we lead the nation in yards-per-attempt at 11.6 (a huge number!).  We also lead the nation in pass plays of over 50 yards with 8.  What's it all mean?  It means while we might not throw it a lot, when we do, we are very effective at gaining large chunks of yards.  After all, CPJ always says if he wants 5 yards he'll run the ball...

So we're significantly better this year on the offensive side of the ball this season.  We all expected this as we acclimated to our new system.  But what has made us better?  We're curious as to your answers?  Post your ideas & later we'll share our thoughts on why we've improved so much this year....