Ohio pulled off a massive win in its home opener over a Big 12 opponent, West Virginia. The win came in front of a record crowd in Peden Stadium, giving the team a needed non-conference win with No. 1 Ohio State next on the schedule.
With the Buckeyes coming up next, here are five important numbers from the win over the Mountaineers.
26,740
The most important number of the day was nothing related to any stat or on-field play; it was simply the record-setting attendance number that was set for Peden Stadium.
With an official capacity of 24,000, Peden Stadium was well over capacity on Saturday with both Ohio and West Virginia fans filling the seats. The fans in attendance were treated to a great game, and Ohio fans left especially happy after the 17-10 upset.
The previous record was set in 2012 during the home opener against New Mexico State. There were over 25,000 fans in attendance after Ohio had pulled off the upset on the road against Penn State.
2. 2-13
The Ohio defense bounced back in a big way from its down performance against Rutgers with West Virginia on Saturday. The defense was in control all game, not letting up big plays and consistent drives for the Mountaineers.
Part of not letting West Virginia string together long drives was the Ohio defense showing up in a big way on third down. The West Virginia offense only converted 2-13 third down attempts on the day.
Players like Adonis Williams Jr. and DJ Walker were able to make key plays on third-and-short to get the defense off the field to allow quarterback Parker Navarro and the offense to operate.
3. 72
In week one, Rutgers was able to run the ball with ease, moving the ball down the field and controlling the game on the ground. In week two, John Hauser and his defense changed that in a big way, holding West Virginia to just 72 rushing yards.
West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez’s offenses are built on running the ball with multiple positions, but Ohio was able to shut down star running back Jahiem White before he was injured, as well as quarterbacks Nicco Marchiol and Jaylen Henderson. They all combined for just 13 total rushing yards at the quarterback position.
4. 41.3
Another thing that stood out from the week one loss against Rutgers for Ohio was the poor performance from the special teams unit.
Return-man Eamonn Dennis let a kickoff bounce before he recovered it at the four-yard line, pinning the offense deep in their own territory while the punt unit had a bad snap that led to a blocked punt for a Rutgers touchdown and new punter Magnus Haines averaged just 30.5 yards per punt.
This week, the issues were fixed, and Haines had a great game punting the ball, averaging 41.3 yards per punt on his four punts on the day, never giving West Virginia solid field position for their offense to operate from.
5. 40:15
The possession battle is an underrated number that can reflect how certain teams like to win. For Ohio, the whopping 40 minutes and 15 seconds it spent with the ball perfectly reflect the type of game Ohio played Saturday.
From the start, the Bobcats slowed the game down, relying on running the ball for short gains while Navarro and the passing attack were able to pick up bigger chunks of yardage.
Ohio was able to control the clock all the way down to its final possession, which ended with just 17 seconds for West Virginia to attempt to tie the game.
The Mountaineers only spent 19 minutes and 45 seconds with the ball, leaving their defense on the field while the offense wasn’t able to find a rhythm, rushing or throwing the ball.
