No. 1 Ohio State Welcomes Western Michigan in Week 4 – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 21, 2015
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Western Michigan at #1 Ohio State
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, 3:30 p.m. ET
Ohio Stadium (104,955), Columbus, OH
TV: ABC/ESPN2 (reverse mirror)
Adam Amin (play-by-play)
Kelly Stouffer (analyst)
Olivia Harlan (sideline)
Radio:WBNS FM (97.1 The Fan) The Urban Meyer pregame show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Paul Keels will call the action with former Buckeye Jim Lachey and Marty Bannister on the sidelines. The game can also be heard nationally on Sirius channel 115 and XM channel 205.
FIRST AND 10
- Ohio State enters the game having won 16 in a row overall, the longest active streak in the nation.
- Ohio State has won 68 of its last 69 regular-season home games against unranked, non-conference opponents.
- Running back Ezekiel Elliott has a current streak of eight consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing. He is third in the Big Ten with 110.3 yards per game.
- Safety Vonn Bell leads the Big Ten with six passes defended. He has five pass break-ups and one interception.
- Ohio State’s defense is giving up 225.0 total and 119.0 passing yards per game, both of which are good for No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 5 in the FBS.
- Ohio State is one of only four teams from a Power 5 conference to not allow a rush of 20 yards or more. The Buckeyes also have given up just one rushing TD this season.
- Ohio State is tied for fourth in the FBS with 12 quarterback sacks in 2015.
- In the win over NIU, Ohio State scored a defensive TD — Darron Lee’s 41-yard INT return — and held its opponent under 100 yards passing for the second week in a row.
- Urban Meyer has the highest winning percentage (.848) among active coaches.
- Meyer is 23-1 at home at Ohio State and 53-5 in his career in games played in August and September.
SETTING THE STAGE
No. 1 Ohio State (3-0) will host a Mid-American Conference foe for the second consecutive week when they welcome Western Michigan (1-2) to Ohio Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and televised on ABC with an ESPN2 reverse mirror in out-of-market areas. The Buckeyes are coming off a 20-13 win over Northern Illinois last week while Western Michigan defeated Murray State, 52-20.
CHAMPIONS OF THE WEEK
Led by co-players of the game Darron Lee and Vonn Bell, Ohio State’s defense racked up 10 champions honors after holding Northern Illinois to 404 yards below its offensive average in the 20-13 win Saturday. Joining the two third-year defenders with team honors this week were four three-time champion honorees this season – Tyvis Powell, Tyquan Lewis, Raekwon McMillan and Gareon Conley – plus Joey Bosa, Adolphus Washington, Joshua Perry and Eli Apple. Special teams champions were Erick Smith and player of the week Chris Worley. The scout team performer of the week was freshman quarterback Joe Burrow.
IT’S COACH TO CURE MD WEEK!
The Ohio State and Western Michigan coaching staffs will be wearing Coach to Cure MD patches this week to raise awareness and funding for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. Fans are encouraged to donate online at www.CoachtoCureMD.org or donate $5 by texting CURE to 90999.
THE SILVER BULLET DEFENSE
Ohio State’s defense has been nothing short of dominant this season, living up to its “Silver Bullets” billing. The Buckeyes are giving up just 225.0 total yards per game and 12.3 points, including just 13 total points in the past two games. Three of the four touchdowns scored by opponents this season have been a result of short fields. NIU’s only TD drive started at the Ohio State 22-yard line and two of Virginia Tech’s scoring drives started at the Ohio State 38- and 41-yard lines.
Here is a breakdown of what Ohio State’s defense has done so far this season and where they rank:
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- The 38-0 win over Hawai’i marked the fifth shutout for the Buckeyes in the Meyer era.
- The Silver Bullets have recorded at least two shutouts in a season in each of the past two years. The Buckeyes shut out Kent State (66-0) and Wisconsin (59-0) in 2014 and Florida A&M (76-0) and Purdue (56-0) in 2013.
- For the second week in a row, Ohio State scored a defensive touchdown and held its opponent under 100 yards passing in the win over NIU.
- Held NIU to 404 yards below its season average.
- No. 5 in the FBS and No. 1 in the Big Ten in fewest yards allowed (225.0 ypg).
- No. 5 in the FBS and No. 1 in the Big Ten in total passing yards allowed (119.0 ypg).
- No. 5 in the FBS in opponent completion percentage (.451).
- No. 4 in the FBS and No. 1 in the Big Ten in opponent passer rating (81.6).
- T-4th in the FBS with 12 sacks.
- Are one of only 4 teams from a Power 5 conference to not allow a rush of 20 yards or more this season.
- No. 1 in the Big Ten in fewest first downs allowed (40).
- T-2nd in the Big Ten with 5 interceptions.
- Vonn Bell: No. 1 in the Big Ten in passes defended (6).
- Three Buckeyes (Darron Lee, Sam Hubbard and Tyquan Lewis) rank in the Top 10 in the Big Ten in sacks.
BELL TOPS B1G IN PASSES DEFENDED
Junior safety Vonn Bell is off to a great start in 2015, leading the Big Ten with six passes defended (5 PBUs and 1 INT). In the win over Hawai’i Sept. 12, Bell recorded three solo tackles, a career-high three PBUs, an INT and a 14-yard fumble return for a TD. Bell, who is on the Thorpe and Nagurski award preseason watch lists, made four tackles and broke up one pass in the season-opening win at Virginia Tech. In the win over NIU, Bell recorded a career-high 10 tackles with one pass break-up.
Urban Meyer Weekly Press Conference
