How often its said that we don't appreciate something until it's gone. Sometimes it's hard to really understand how good you have it "in the moment."
Last year, Buckeye fans knew that Justin Fields ' ascent to the NFL would mean a significantly different looking offense in 2021 (amongst all the other changes the team was experiencing).
Trey Sermon's historic run toward the end of the season will never be forgotten either. Sermon broke the Buckeyes' all-time single-game rushing record to lift the team to the conference title. Then Fields posted perhaps the single best individual performance in team history when he shredded Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.
There wasn't necessarily legitimate concern with how things might look this year offensively, especially after Chris Olave and Thayer Munford unexpectedly announced they'd be coming back for another season. But whenever you bring a new quarterback into the fold and you aren't entirely sure what the identity of a new offense will look like, there was at least some angst among fans.
If you can believe it ... the current product (offensively) is achieving at levels never before seen in Big Ten history.
Through five games, the Buckeyes are averaging 555.6 yards per game. That's the best mark of any of the 130 FBS teams in the country. Ohio State also leads the nation with an average of 8.57 yards per play.
Back in 2018, Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins guided the Scarlet and Gray to an all-time Big Ten record 535.6 yards per game. He broke the league record with 50 touchdown passes that season as well.
Grading The Buckeyes' Offense Against Rutgers
It's remarkable to think that this year's offense is currently on pace to achieve at a higher level than last year's. But after scoring six touchdowns and a field goal during the seven drives that the first team offense competed against Rutgers, and after C.J. Stroud proved that his week off was apparently exactly what the doctor ordered, Ohio State's offense took another step forward.
The best news of all? The Buckeyes need to win-out and get some help if they're going to make the College Football Playoff this year, so that offense needs to continue to excel at an extremely high level if the team is going to convince the committee that they belong in a four team playoff.
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