Ohio State Football: 3 Startling Statistics Through 6 Weeks

There were high expectations for the Ohio State football team coming into the 2014 season, but after star quarterback Braxton Miller was lost for the year after suffering a shoulder injury in fall camp, the Buckeyes' college football playoff hopes took a serious hit.

Those hopes took a potentially fatal blow in Week 2, when the Virginia Tech Hokies upset Ohio State 35-21 in Columbus. 

But a trio of consecutive blowouts have the Buckeyes back on track heading into their second and final bye week of the season.

Here are three notable statistics after Ohio State's first five games.

J.T. Barrett's Video Game Numbers

When Miller went down for the season, it was redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett who emerged over Cardale Jones for the Buckeyes' starting quarterback spot. 

Through five games, Barrett has been sensational—completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 1,354 yards and 17 touchdowns against five interceptions. He also has 276 rushing yards—which ranks second on the team behind Ezekiel Elliott—with another two scores on the ground.

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

But Barrett's strength is in the passing game. Not only is he leading the Big Ten in passing touchdowns, but he also currently ranks No. 4 in the country in overall passing efficiency. That's a remarkable accomplishment for the first-year signal-caller, especially after his abysmal performance against Virginia Tech. The Buckeyes were blasted by the Hokies, and Barrett completed just 31 percent of his passes and threw three picks in the game.

He has bounced back nicely, though, and he has the Buckeyes playing at a high level.

Michael Thomas' Team-Leading Receiving Numbers

Without Carlos Hyde and four multi-year senior starters along the offensive line, Urban Meyer wanted the Buckeyes to shift their offensive philosophy to take advantage of an abundance of talent on the perimeter. 

With players such as Dontre Wilson, Devin Smith and longtime contributor Evan Spencer, Barrett has plenty of options when he drops back to pass.

His best option so for has been Michael Thomas.

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

The redshirt sophomore out of Los Angeles, California has been the breakout star for the Buckeyes. Thomas currently leads the team in receptions (17) and receiving yards (322) and is tied for the team lead with Devin Smith in touchdown receptions (five). 

His sudden emergence was a welcome development for Meyer, who watched as Thomas' career got off to a slow start.

"He was a mistake guy," Meyer said of Thomas, according to Bill Rabinowitz of The Columbus Dispatch. "Every third play he’d screw up. That’s why last year he wasn’t ready to play. That was really hard for him last year.”

Those struggles appear to be behind Thomas, and Ohio State is much better because of it. 

Ohio State's Lack of Sacks

After Meyer told Doug Lesmerises of the Northeast Ohio Media Group that Ohio State's defensive line had the potential to be as good as his one at Florida in 2006—which dismantled the Buckeyes in the '07 title game—the hype surrounding the unit peaked.

Stocked with three potential first-round NFL draft picks, Ohio State's defensive line was supposed to help a rebuilt secondary by getting after the quarterback. Before the season kicked off, the group was touted as one of the best—if not the best—defensive lines in the country.

But through five games, the Buckeyes are averaging just 2.4 sacks per game, which is tied for 47th in the country.

Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images

The Buckeyes are certainly missing Noah Spence—a star defensive end who was suspended indefinitely after testing positive for his second drug test in September. 

Joey Bosa has been a consistent presence in the backfield of Ohio State's opponents, piling up 3.5 sacks on the season, according to Ohio State's official website. But no other defensive lineman has recorded more than one sack through five games, as the team has just 12 total on the year.

There's still time for the unit to turn things around, but it's definitely off to a slower start than most had anticipated.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NCAA.com. 

David Regimbal covers Ohio State football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.