What I was trying to imply is that if the offense would have had more sustaining drives the defense wouldn't have been out on the field that long.
You may be right, but time of possession favored Ohio. At one point in the second half, ESPN put up a graphic showing Ohio had huge possession advantage, something like 16 minutes vs 6 minutes. I may have those numbers a little off. I can't remember exactly, but it was a massive difference in favor of the Bobcats. Unfortunately, I can't find possession stats by half. My guess is the second half was equally lopsided the other way. If so, it could help explain your theory.