Ohio State may have had its most complete game of the season Saturday night at Rutgers, but the team continues to display certain obvious trends. Namely, the team starts slowly and finishes strongly.
There are few more obvious examples of this than in the running game. By looking at Ezekiel Elliott’s numbers at halftime and at game’s end, the disparity is fairly obvious. Only against Virginia Tech and Penn State did Zeke have more yards before halftime than after. Whether it’s halftime adjustments or the opposing defense breaking tendencies and giving new looks or new schemes not shown on film—or simply a world-class running back and the big offensive line wearing down the enemy—Zeke and the rushing attack have thrived in the third and fourth quarters.