Is There a Better Passing Attack in College Football than Ohio State?
The Ohio State Buckeyes are approaching the half-way point of their regular season and are off to a 3-0 start this fall. While there have been a few instances in which the defense has allowed more points than fans were used to in years past, nobody has been able to slow down this high-octane offense - especially through the air.
Consider what Justin Fields has accomplished through three games: coupled with his two rushing TDs, Fields has accounted for more touchdowns (13) than he has incompletions (11). He’s 72-of-83 on the year with 908 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Here’s a great note via Wyatt Crosher on Buckeye Sports Bulletin: Fields’ 86.7 percent completion percentage is the best three-game start to a season (min. 50 attempts) by anyone in college football since at least 2000. Ohio State has the most efficient passing attack in the country of any team that's played at least three games.
Fields' two favorite receivers are Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. They have combined for 42 receptions for 632 yards and six touchdowns ... that's 58.3 percent of the Buckeyes’ total completions, 69.6 percent of their receiving yards and 54.5 percent of their touchdown receptions. On Saturday, Wilson recorded his third consecutive game of 100+ receiving yards. It's the first time in 21 years that a Buckeye has accomplished that feat.
Fields has also thrown three scoring passes to tight end Jeremy Ruckert and eight other receivers have caught passes this season.
It's fair to wonder if perhaps having two receivers accumulate so many targets is a good thing for an offense. Could Fields be too reliant on Olave and Wilson? This has certainly been great start this season for those two guys, but I don't think it means the Buckeyes aren't confident in their depth.
In fact, quite the opposite is true.
There is a ton of talent in Brian Hartline's wide receivers room, but there isn't a ton of experience. That's what happens when six receivers are either drafted or graduate, but all six of them are NFL-quality targets. Considering the lack of development time available in spring practice, during camp and without non-conference games, I'm not surprised that the Buckeyes have leaned so heavily on Olave and Wilson thus far. It's very likely that Olave and Wilson are two of the top 10 wide receivers in the entire country.
In the meantime, they are putting up some pretty gaudy numbers and the offense looks unstoppable.
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