Daily briefing: On Ohio State’s brutally efficient offense, Charley Trippi and Duke’s winning record
Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:
Ohio State offense rolling along
To give you an idea of how efficient C.J. Stroud and Ohio State’s offense have been: In the past four games, Stroud and the Buckeyes have had only six third-and-longs (7 or more yards). Moreover, they have converted four of them, one with a touchdown. That’s against three Big Ten opponents and Toledo (5-2), one of the best teams in the MAC. Toss out Stroud’s three interceptions, all of which came on a first or second down, and in those four games, Ohio State has generated more drives without getting to third down (11) than they have had third-and-longs (6). “It’s tough to knock them off the tracks,” said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, whose typically gritty defense faces Ohio State on Saturday. “It’s tough to get them behind in the count. Good defenses try to do that to offenses, make them have to go the long field or third-and-longs, those kinds of things. It’s not easy to do with this football team because they are really adept at what they do.”
Remembering the great Charley Trippi
This is how good Charley Trippi was: He took a two-day, 800-mile bus ride from his Pennsylvania home to the University of Georgia in 1941 and discovered 64 other freshmen trying to make the team. By the end of the fall, 18 freshmen remained, and Trippi had established himself as the star. In the 1943 Rose Bowl, when Bulldogs Heisman winner Frank Sinkwich was hobbled by sprained ankles and could barely run, Trippi took over. He rushed for 115 yards and threw for another 83 in Georgia’s 9-0 victory over UCLA. After the war, Trippi anchored the unbeaten 1946 Bulldogs team that won the Sugar Bowl. He finished second to Army’s Glenn Davis for the Heisman. And finally this: Jim Thorpe, the greatest football player of the first half of the 20th century, called Trippi the greatest football player he had seen. Trippi’s death Wednesday at age 100 ended his standing as the oldest living member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
A deeper look at Duke’s turnaround
The Buckeyes’ offense also has yet to lose a fumble. Both of Ohio State’s lost fumbles occurred on punt returns. Three teams have yet to lose any kind of fumble: Duke, Oregon and USC. They lost 25 fumbles combined last season, with the Blue Devils being responsible for about half (12) of them. I’m guessing that it’s no coincidence that all three teams have new coaches. There are plenty of metrics that illustrate the turnaround that Mike Elko is executing with the Blue Devils (4-3 overall, 1-2 in the ACC), but being plus-eight in turnover margin is key. Duke hasn’t finished a season on the plus side of giveaways since 2014. The three losses have been by a total of 14 points, the last in overtime to North Carolina.