I went back an analyzed the Ohio Offenses of the last decade, and what I found will surprise people, because it reveals that much of the commentary here is quite simply wrong. This is what I found:
1. Ohio's rushing attack became more effective when they moved to the pistol, and dropped the fullback.
a. From 2005-2010, Ohio's running backs averaged 4.57 yards/carry. From 2011-2014 Ohio has averaged 4.79 yards/carry from the running backs.
b. From 2005-2010 Ohio's QBs averaged 3.05 yards/carry. Since 2011 the quarterbacks have averaged 3.36 a carry.
c. The one negative to the rushing attack from the pistol is a decrease in rushing yards by wide receivers. WR averaged 7.74 yards/carry in the old offense, and only 6.02 yards/carry from the pistol. They also get a lot less carries.
2. When Ohio moved to the pistol, they decreased the frequency of passes. From 2005-2011 Ohio ran the ball 58.1% of the time. From the pistol Ohio has run the ball 64.8% of the time.
3. Ohio's offensive output increased by all measures when they moved to the pistol
a. Rushing yards jumped from 145.1 yards/game in 2005-2010 to 175.4 yards/game in 2011-2014
b. Passing yards/game jumped from 175.4 yards/game to 236.2 yards/game
c. Points scored jumped from 24.1 points/game to 27.7 points a game

Now, I do note that the yards/rush by running backs was highest in two seasons, those being 2005 (5.36 yds/carry) and 2012 (5.4). The interesting thing about 2005 was that was the year that Ohio used traditional blocking with line calls, whereas from 2006 on Ohio has used zone blocking. 2012 was simply a good team with an outstanding line, at least it was, until injuries took it's toll.

Perhaps the pundits are right, though, that the traditional fullback set was effective, but it just became less effective with zone blocking, and that, if you are going to use zone blocking, then you need to use a set like the pistol where the RB has more time to read the blocking.

If I look specifically at this season, the first nine games of the season Ohio averaged a horrible 4.08 yards/carry from running backs, while the final three games Ohio averaged a very good 5.01 yards/carry. This bodes very well for next year, very, very well. The line matured as the season progressed, and AJ was finally healthy for the last three games. The result was a very, very effective running attack.

Every one of those players will be back next year. Ohio will pick up next year where it left off this year. Other teams will be forced to cram defenders into the box, because they can't afford to let Ohio average 5 yards a rush. That, in turn will open up the passing. Run to set up the pass is still the most effective offense I know.

Of course there are always ways to improve the offense. As I look at the year by year data, the number that stands out to me is that Ohio is not getting much in the way of rushing from the WR position. They used to get a lot in years past. Ohio has some nifty WR (guys like Walker or they could put White there), and there is no doubt they can get yards if Ohio can find ways get them the ball. Ohio should try to figure out ways to do more of that, other than the simple jet sweep or the quick screen passes.

Here's some examples:
1. Reverses - Ohio doesn't use many of these anymore because they don't run a lot of sweep action plays. Therefore I don't know how effective they would be.
2. Inside reverses - A personal favorite of mine, it is basically a power run inside the tackles, but with a handoff to the slot man instead of the RB. You could run the RB into a hole like a fullback, and have the WR follow him, or you could run the RB wide, faking a pitch to him, and then give to the WR inside, going the opposite direction, who then turns it up inside.
3. WR option plays - Fake the give to the RB inside, then run the option, where the pitch man is the slot receiver from the other side. He might have to start in motion in order to get there fast enough, I don't know.

Inside reverse to the slot seems to work best if the slot receiver's number is 20. Not sure why.

Well, 2005-2007 had McRae as RB, and he had some talent, too. I think it also matters who is on the offensive line. In any case, here are the numbers on a year by year basis for avg yards/carry by running backs, and stats for any individual back with over 50 carries:
2005 5.13 (McRae 5.5)
--->switched to zone blocking here
2006 4.44 (McRae 4.9)
2007 4.79 (McRae 4.9)
2008 4.60 (Garrett 4.5, Harden 5.2)
2009 4.10 (Garrett 4.2, Davidson 3.9, Harden 3.9)
2010 4.32 (Davidson 3.9, Harden 4.8)
--->switched to pistol here
2011 4.89 (Harden 5.3, Blankenship 5.0, Boykin 4.1)
2012 5.40 (Blankenship 5.1, Boykin 6.0)
2013 4.33 (Blankenship 4.5, Boykin 3.9)
2014 4.34 (OUellette 4.9, Patterson 4.0)
2014, last three games 5.01 (OUellett 5.3)

Now let's look at the offensive lines by year:
2005 - Coppage, Johnson, Knabb, Miller, Wesley, a great group, but about halfway through Johnson, Knabb, and Miller were hurt, if I recall.
2006 - Coppage,Johnson/Eynon,Knabb,Miller,Shelby - Johnson hurt after 3 games
2007 - Leuck, Eynon, Stuck/White, Miller, Shelby - Stuck lost to off-the-field issues
2008 - Leuck, Eynon, Stuck/White, Philibin, Rodgers/Bunner
2009 - Rodgers, Laudermilch/Carlotta/Strum,White, Flowers/Pinder/Herman, Bunner/Flading - Extensive injuries at LG, RG, and RT, ended up a very young line of Strum/Herman/Flading, setting stage for next few years
2010 - Strum/McGrath, Carlotta/Lechner, Allen, Herman, Flading - More injuries, and still young
2011 - Strum/Prior, Carlotta/Lechner, Allen/Bales, Herman, Flading/McGrath - entire line returned
2012 - Prior, Carlotta/Lechner, Allen/Bales, Herman/Johnson, McGrath/Dietz - season ending injuries for Carlotta, Johnson, McGrath, but a veteran group
2013 - Prior/McQueen, Lechner/Everhart/Lucas, Powell, Johnson/Gibbons/Wood, McGrath/Watson - virtually the entire line was hurt, and it was a new lineup each week, and lots of young faces
2014 - McQueen/Lowery, Lucas/Langenkamp, Powell, Pruehs, Watson/McCray - A very young group, actually younger than 2009, setting the stage for the next few years

Combined you see some interesting things:
1. The 2009 offensive line was clearly worse than 2008 as all the backs dropped in production. (Fortunately 2009 had a great defense.) The reason was all the injuries, however the result was a very young line that set the stage for the next few years.
2. The very young group at the end of 2009, Strum, Carlotta, Herman, and Flading went 4.1, 4.32, 4.89 over the next three years. Part of the jump in 2011 was due to that, not the switch to the Pistol. Carlotta and Herman were still there for 2012, when production hit 5.40.
3. Like 2009, there was a big drop in running back production in 2013 when the injuries were once again severe on the offensive line. Note that if we compare them directly, 2013 (even with the internal problems that team had) had higher production than 2009, so the Pistol can't be hurting, and is probably helping. 4. The very young offensive line of 2014 will be together for years. I would expect that like the years following 2009, we will see rising production from the running backs in 2015, 2016, and 2017 (when Lowery, Pruehs, McCray, and Wood will be Seniors). The significant improvement between the first games and the last three games bodes well for the coming years.

I have always thought you did not need to have two backs. A tight and Blocker can be just as effective as a fullback. I think that's what We went to later in the year. Last comment on the pistol. If If it was so good more than five schools would be using it.

L. C. I don't know where Wikipedia got their information but I posted a listing put in USA today about a month ago and it showed only five schools using the pistol Troy being one Ohio being one duke another and I forget the other two.

Just watching the end of the Ohio State game and I noticed they rushed over 300 yards and held Wisconsin to less than 100. So I repeat run the ball first it sets everything up

Bcat I simply said the run sets up everything else. Ohio State got over 250 passing and Northern Illinois did too. Both set up big pass plays with the run.

I don't think that anyone disputes the importance of running the football.

The dispute is over how to do (such as pistol vs two back set, etc).

But it's not just running the ball. It's being able to do it at key moments--third downs, key late game moments, to chew clock when well ahead, to drive for points when far behind early, etc.


To go somewhat tangential, first and second down are mildly amusing but third down (both sides of ball) is absolutely vital. This staff lousy on third down.

Bcat, I thought you thought I wanted a wishbone:)

Yes, Monroe, it does make a difference. As you point out, there is a huge difference in 3d down efficiency between a two back set and the pistol. One of the biggest benefits of the pistol over the two back sets is the dramatically higher 3rd down conversion rate. When running a two back set, from 2005-2010 Ohio averaged a 3rd down conversion rate of 34.2%, near the bottom of the MAC. Once they switched to the pistol, the rate jumped immediately and dramatically, and they have averaged 42.4% the last four years, very close to the top in the MAC. (NIU leads at 46.4% followed by Toledo at 44.4%, neither really that much higher than Ohio. The average for the MAC during the last 4 years has been 37.9%.)

This year wasn't Ohio's best year for 3rd down conversion, coming in at 39.7%, and only 6th best best in the MAC. Still, it was better than any year that they ran a two back set, so you can't complain too much. When a bad year with the new system is better than the best year with the old system, the difference is pretty apparent.

Casper, maybe only 5 teams run it full time, while the other 45 teams run it sometimes? I do agree with you, running the ball effectively is still the key to winning at football. If you can run the ball, and stop the run, you will usually win. That's why the youth of this team hurt early in the year; they simply weren't very effective running the ball until the last few games.

On the bright side, they did run the ball effectively the last three games, and those were not the worst teams Ohio faced this year. NIU was one of the best teams, and Buffalo was a veteran team that finished just behind Ohio in the standings. (Of course Miami sucks, but that's a given.) That makes me very optimistic that they will pick up next year where they left off this year, and it will be a much better year.

That's not true. We were quite often NOT in the pistol this year.