Ohio State quarterback Cornelius Greene, known more as a runner than a passer, attempted just 43 passes during the 1973 season.
QB Rex Kern was a key part of the Buckeyes' 1968 national championship team and in 1969 led what until 2013 was the high-scoring team in OSU history.
Archie Griffin, part of some of the highest scoring teams in Ohio State history, celebrates his second Heisman Trophy.
Woody Hayes is carried off the field after a 1974 victory over Illinois. His teams in 1969, 1973 and 1974 rank among the highest scoring in OSU history.
Eddie George, shown here in a 1995 game against Iowa, set the Ohio State career rushing record that year.
Ohio State coach John Cooper, shown during the 1997 Rose Bowl, led some high-scoring Buckeye teams during the 1990s.
Ohio State quarterback Joe Germaine in 1998 had seven 300-yard passing games.
Ohio State receiver David Boston is shown during the 1998 season when he set school records for receptions and receiving yards.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and quarterback Terrelle Pryor are together after the 2010 Rose Bowl . Their next season, though since mostly vacated, was one of the most productive offensive seasons in OSU history.
Carlos Hyde, running away from Iowa defenders in the 2013 game, has been a key part of what has become the highest scoring offense in Ohio State history.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Braxton Miller (5) are two reasons why the 2012 and 2013 teams are among the highest scoring ever at OSU.
Photos Associated Press and Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
With that in mind, we dug into the OSU record book to identify the 10 highest scoring Buckeye teams of all-time and to highlight some of the stars that made those offenses click.
Below are the top 10, including the 2013 Buckeyes with a few games to go in the regular season.
You'll find some familiar names - people like Archie Griffin, Rex Kern and Eddie George - and you'll find some oddities.
Remember those run-oriented Ohio State teams under coach Woody Hayes, when the grind-it-out style was described as 3 yards and a cloud of dust? In 1973, quarterback Cornelius Greene attempted just 46 passes all season - 7 of them interceptions - and the leading receiver (Fred Pagac) had just 9 receptions all year. Yet, that team is the fifth-highest scoring ever at OSU.
Then there is the 1998 Buckeye team, ranked 10th for scoring. It featured the school's record-holders for passing yards (Joe Germaine with 3,330) and receiving yards (David Boston with 1,435).
This year's team, of course, is powered by quarterback Braxton Miller, running back Carlos Hyde, a collection of receivers, solid line play and a number of reserves.
Buckeye Numbers is a weekly feature from cleveland.com focusing on stats involving Ohio State football.
No. 1 - 2013 - 9-0 - coach Urban Meyer: Through nine games, Ohio State has already topped 50 points four times and gone as high as 76 in the shutout of Florida A&M. Only twice have the Buckeyes been held under 40 points, scoring 34 in the victory over Iowa and 31 in the win over Wisconsin. If the Buckeyes play 14 games (including a Big Ten title game), they must average 32.4 points the rest of the way to break the 1969 school record.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Braxton Miller, 108 of 149 for 1,316 yards.
No. 2 - 1969 - 8-1 - coach Woody Hayes: Coming off a national championship season a year earlier, this team shutout Texas Christian in the opener, 62-0, beat Wisconsin 62-7 and never scored fewer than 34 points before losing the season finale to Michigan, 24-12. One-thousand-yard passing seasons were hardly the norm at the time, but this team passed and ran. Rex Kern's total marked just the third 1,000-yard passing season for an OSU quarterback in 17 years.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Rex Kern, 68 of 135 for 1,002 yards.
•Rusher: Jim Otis became OSU's first 1,000-yard rusher, finishing with 1,027 yards on 225 carries.
•Receiver: Bruce Jankowski, 23 catches for 404 yards, and Jan White, 23 catches for 308 yards.
No. 3 - 2010 - 11-1, 0-1 after games later vacated - coach Jim Tressel: The official record book says most of this season did not happen, as 11 wins were later vacated because of NCAA violations. But those who watched this team saw it roll to a nearly perfect record behind a powerful offense that was led by Terrelle Pryor's passing (2,772 yards) and rushing (754 yards). He also caught 2 passes for 19 yards.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Terrelle Pryor, 210 of 323 for 2,772 yards.
•Rusher: Dan Herron, 1,155 yards on 216 carries.
•Receiver: Dane Sanzenbacher, 55 catches for 948 yards.
No. 4. - 1996 - 11-1 - coach John Cooper: The two-quarterback system is often frowned upon, but in this season the result was a Big Ten title and Ohio State's first Rose Bowl win since 1974. Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine (80 of 147 for 1,193 yards) split time at quarterback. The Buckeyes started the season by scoring 70 and 72 points against Rice and Pitt. But their lowest output, in a 13-9 loss to Michigan, stood in the way of perfection.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Stanley Jackson, 87 of 165 for 1,298 yards.
•Rusher: Pepe Pearson, 1,484 yards on 299 carries.
•Receiver: Dimitrious Stanley, 43 catches for 829 yards.
No. 5 - 1973 - 10-0-1 - coach Woody Hayes: This team had a run first, run second, run third mentality. The starting quarterback attempted only 46 passes. The leading receiver caught only 9 passes. But, the Buckeyes were held under 24 points just once all season, the famous 10-10 tie with Michigan. They then put up 42 points in a Rose Bowl win over USC. That total stands as the most most points for a Big Ten team in the Rose Bowl since 1948 - a span of 65 years.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Cornelius Greene, 20 of 46 for 343 yards.
•Rusher: Archie Griffin, 1,577 yards on 247 carries, a school record he broke with 1,695 yards as a junior the next season.
No. 6 - 2012 - 12-0 - coach Urban Meyer: A bit under the radar because the Buckeyes were banned from post-season play, this team nonetheless became the first Ohio State team to score 50-plus points in four separate games. The Buckeyes didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher from the running back position, though Carlos Hyde ended up with 970 yards and 16 TDs. Sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller provided most of the rest of the offense.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Braxton Miller, 148 of 254 for 2,039 yards.
•Rusher: Braxton Miller, 1,271 yards on 227 carries.
No. 7 - 1916 - 7-0, coach John Wilce: This is almost unfair by today's standards. The 1916 Buckeyes scored about half their points in one game, a 128-0 victory over Oberlin. The total combined score for the season was 258-29, which included another shutout of an opponent from the Cleveland area. OSU won at Case, 28-0. Other victories were against Ohio Wesleyan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Northwestern.
No. 8 - 1995 - 11-2 - coach John Cooper: This team had explosive talents at tailback (Eddie George), wide receiver (Terry Glenn) and tight end (Rickey Dudley) to go with a record-setting quarterback (Bobby Hoying). In fact, George, Glenn and Hoying all set school records for yards. The Buckeyes scored 56, 49, 41 and 42 points leading up to a 31-23 loss to Michigan, ending hopes for a perfect season.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Bobby Hoying, 211 of 341 for a school-record 3,269 yards (second now to Joe Germaine's 3,330 yards in 1998).
•Rusher: Eddie George, a school-record (still) 1,927 yards on 328 carries.
•Receiver: Terry Glenn, 64 catches for a school-record 1,411 yards (second now to David Boston's 1,435 yards in 1998).
No. 9 - 1974 - 10-2 - coach Woody Hayes: Behind the one-two punch of Archie Griffin and Cornelius Greene, who was allowed to throw twice as often in this his junior season, OSU rolled to to an 8-0 start by defeating its opponents by an average score of 45-9. A controversial 3-point loss at Michigan State and a 1-point loss to USC in the Rose Bowl were the lone setbacks. Sophomore Pete Johnson scored six TDs but it wasn't until a year later that the big fullback racked up what is still a school-record 26 TDs.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Cornelius Greene, 58 of 97 for 939 yards.
•Rusher: Archie Griffin, a career-high 1,695 yards on 256 carries.
•Receiver: Brian Baschnagel, 19 catches for 244 yards.
No. 10 - 1998 - 11-1 - coach John Cooper: Ranked No. 1 from the preseason poll through the first nine games (until a 28-24 upset to Michigan State), this Buckeye team relied on the passing game like none before it, or since. Consider this: through 1997, there were eight 300-yard passing games in OSU history. In 1998, Germaine added seven more 300-yard games. Plus, OSU had 2,001 yards rushing from a pair of running backs, as Joe Montgomery accumulated 766 yards to back up Michael Wiley's team-leading total.
Stat leaders:
•Passer: Joe Germaine, 230 of 384 for 3,330 yards, all three still school records.
•Rusher: Michael Wiley, 1,235 yards on 198 carries.
•Receiver: David Boston, 85 catches, for 1,435 yards, both still school records.
