Ohio State Buckeyes: 6 things to know about the Alabama series and matchup

Here are six things to know about the Crimson Tide as they prepare to play Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday night:

1. Alabama leads the series 3-1.

Ohio State’s only win against the Crimson Tide came in the last meeting, a 42-35 upset in the 2014 CFP Semifinals at the Sugar Bowl.

Ezekiel Elliott ran for 230 yards and two touchdowns, including an 85-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter that ultimately proved to be the difference. Ohio State overcame a 21-6 deficit with Cardale Jones throwing throwing one touchdown pass and Evan Spencer another along the way.

The Buckeyes lost the first meeting 35-6 in the 1978 Sugar Bowl (following the ’77 season). Alabama quarterback Jeff Rutledge completed 8 of 11 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns to secure Most Valuable Player honors.

Nine years later, the Crimson Tide won a rematch 16-10 in the Kickoff Classic in the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

The Buckeyes ended the 1994 season with a 24-17 loss to the Tide in the Citrus Bowl. St. Henry’s Bobby Hoying threw for 180 yards, an interception and two touchdowns in that game. Joey Galloway caught eight passes for 146 yards and two scores in his last game as a Buckeye while Eddie George ran for 89 yards.

2. Nick Saban has an interesting history with Ohio State.

A West Virginia native who played at Kent State in the early 1970s, Saban is 2-2 against Ohio State as a head coach. That includes a 2-1 mark while he was at Michigan State from 1995-99. There he oversaw the only loss a powerful Ohio State team suffered in 1998.

Saban served as defensive backs coach for Earle Bruce at Ohio State in 1980 and ’81 but was fired along with the defensive coordinator and line coach. The 22 passing touchdowns the Buckeyes allowed in ’81 were a school record then, and the 273.2 passing yards allowed per game that season are still the most in Ohio State history. The ’80 season also included Illinois passing for 621 yards in a game, still the most for an OSU opponent.

Saban later served as defensive coordinator for the Browns from 1995-99.

3. Alabama leads the nation in completion percentage, passing efficiency, third down offense, first downs gained and defensive touchdowns

The Crimson Tide rank in the top 10 in total offense, passing offense, scoring offense, red zone offense, punt returns, tackles for loss and turnovers gained.

They are 32nd in total defense, 13th in scoring defense (19.0 points per game), 32nd in passing defense, 13th in rushing defense, 19th in pass efficiency defense and 15th in red zone defense.

Quarterback Mac Jones leads the nation in completion percentage (77.0), pass efficiency and yards per attempt (11.3) and is second in passing yards and touchdown passes.

Receiver Devonta Smith leads the nation with 20 touchdown catches and running back Najee Harris leads the nation in points (162) and total touchdowns (27).

4. Advanced stats also like the Crimson Tide (and the Buckeyes).

Saban’s team ranks No. 1 in the nation in F+, a statistic from FootballOutsiders.com that combines rankings of efficiency by drive ( a system called FEI) and by play (SP+).

The teams are ranked 1 and 2 offensively but ninth and 15th on defense.

Ohio State is No. 2 in F+ and SP+ and ranks third in FEI. Alabama is No. 1 in all three.

According to another Football Outsiders stat — adjusted line yards — Alabama is No. 13 in the country on offense and No. 56 on defense. Adjusted line yards attempt to measure the success a team has at the line of scrimmage by giving an offensive line credit (or defensive line blame) for rushing yardage between 0-3 yards and 50 percent credit for yards 4-8 in a given run play.

Ohio State is No. 4 in offensive adjusted line yards and No. 3 on defense.

5. Recruiting analysts probably see these teams similarly.

According to the 247Sports Talent Composite, Alabama has the No. 2 roster in the country while Ohio State is No. 3.

The Crimson Tide’s 85 scholarship players include 12 who were five-star prospects in high school and another 58 who were fourstars.

Ohio State has 14 five-stars and 52 four-stars.

While Ohio State has no players from Alabama, Donovan Hardin, a freshman who attended Dublin Scioto, is the only Ohioan on the Alabama roster.

With the 2021 recruiting class mostly finished, Alabama leads the country and Ohio State is No. 2 in the 247Sports Composite rankings. The Crimson Tide have seven five-star prospects while Ohio State has five. The rest of the nation has 22.

6. Alabama is playing for the national championship for the eighth time in the last 23 years.

The Crimson Tide were 3-0 in BCS Championship games (which began with the 1998 season) and are 2-2 in CFP title games.

Ohio State played in the BCS title game three times with one win (2002) and is 1-0 in the CFP final (2014).

Since 2008, these are the two winningest teams in the FBS. Alabama has won 162 games while Ohio State has won 145.