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Hall of Famer [20614]
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Stats don't lie (though they don't tell the full story)...
Oct 9, 2022, 9:50 AM
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...but some food for thought for folks. One site I'd direct people to that's useful is the official NCAA stat site, set to football/FBS:
https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs
One feature of the site I really like is if you click on a team stat, it's organized into three pages, with teams ranked 1-50 on Page 1, teams 51-100 on Page 2, and teams 101-131 (there being only 131 teams in FBS) on Page 3. This makes a nice natural bell curve. If you're one of teams 1-25, that's an "A", grade, teams 26-50, that's a "B", and so forth. Obviously, if you're on Page 3, you're stinkin' out loud like a dead tuna on the beach and you get a straight "F" grade.
Coming into this week, Clemson ranked 35th in total D - a solid "B" - and 47th in total offense (basically, a "B-minus") in the nation. Those are...okay, marks, but below where we usually are. (Until last year we've been in the Top-25 - or "A" level - in both categories most of the time since about 2015.)
We gave up just 254 total yards yesterday, which means we average about 319.0 ypg given up this year...which creeps us up a lot closer to an "A" - probably around 29th or so nationally when the stats are updated. So defensively we're getting there.
We took a step back on offense last night, though, gaining just 364 yards last night against BC (we gained only a little more than 100 yards the first half), meaning we're averaging 425.3 yards per game thus far. The stats haven't updated yet but last week that would have put us 56th nationally...on Page 2 of the NCAA stats, or a "C" level offense, not even quite a "C-plus" level O.
The stats don't really lie, IMHO. That's about where we are right now as an offense. Our offense isn't dreadful, and it certainly flashes capability at times, but the problem is...clunk. Unforced errors. Drops by wide receivers. (Way too many drops.) Poor executions and reads, even on basic RPO plays. DJU missing blitzers and languishing unaware in the pocket and eating the ball. Misfires owing to poor footwork. Dumb false-start penalties. Plays blown up on the perimeter because of poor blocking by wide receivers. And I still do not see an overwhelming O-line though they've definitely tightened up (for the most part, there were a couple glaring exceptions last night) in pass-pro.
We've definitely improved since last year, mind. Last year we languished near the bottom and pretty much lived on Page 3 - meaning, a straight "F"-level offense - all year long. We were a bad offense last year.
Looking closer: we're the #2 team in nation, defensively, against the run. Only James Madison - again, I didn't even know they were in D1! - is better. People are not having joy running on us. But we're 107th of 131 overall - yeesh - against the pass. That's an "F", per the bell curve. There's no doubt that's improving, and was caused by injuries and youth. But we still allowed 220 through the air - not terrible, but it's not going to move the statline much - last night.
Teams performing at this level may win the ACC - which, let's face it, is not the SEC or even the Big 10 - but they do not win a national title either. Teams playing like that lose in the first round of the playoffs, if they even get there.
So...not really a mystery to anyone with eyes, but clearly we've got to clean up our offensive execution and consistency, get the "clunk" plays out of the offense, and our secondary has to continue to improve.
The stats say we're a much-improved team. But they also say we aren't where we want to be yet, either.
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All-In [36448]
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I Would Like Our Chances Today Against Anyone Except O310
Oct 9, 2022, 9:53 AM
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Bama will get exposed next week. UGA has something weird going on their underperforming is now a habit. Michigan is a joke and Pedo State will give them a tune up.
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Orange Blooded [3051]
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Re: I Would Like Our Chances Today Against Anyone Except O310
Oct 9, 2022, 9:55 AM
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Meechigan has not played anyone ranked. Their SOS is a joke.
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All-In [46958]
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Re: I Would Like Our Chances Today Against Anyone Except O310
Oct 9, 2022, 10:01 AM
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Ohio State hasn’t played a defense like ours, period! We can and will beat Ohio State to go to 5-1 against them.
We owe them a big spanking, they hate us so bad and Dabo will use that against them.
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Rock Defender [54]
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Re: Stats don't lie (though they don't tell the full story)...
Oct 9, 2022, 10:19 AM
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If stats dont lie, watch out for Syracuse.
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All-In [34244]
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Re: Stats don't lie (though they don't tell the full story)...
Oct 9, 2022, 10:30 AM
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Nice post. BTW, this is JMU's first season in the FBS.
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