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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 1882423, member: 289"] There was some discussion of why we gained so many yards and scored so few points in the USF game. There was also a brief discussion of the relative importance of field position – how far we have to go. I realize that’s not the only issue- penalties, turnovers, special teams disasters and some questionable play calling were also factors. And field positon isn’t just about punting: it’s where you punt from and also turnovers and kick-off returns. But I decided to look at the drive charts to see how far each team had to go when they got the ball. It might be a good stat to add that up and then figure total yardage as a percentage of that. Vs. COLGATE SU’s possessions began on their 21, 13, Colgate’s 49, SU’s 13, 36, 21, 37, 27, 48, 38, 18, 21. That’s 12 possessions. If they all began at the goal line, we’d have to go 1200 yards to score on every possession. Adding up the above yard lines, I get 276, so we had to go 856 yards. We gained 554 yards, so that’s 63.2% Colgate’s possessions began on their 25, 26, 25, 16, 23, 22, 26, 23, 18, 28, 20 and 49. That’s also 12 possessions totaling 301, meaning they had to go 899 yards. Their 143 yards of offense was 17.0% of that- so we were way more productive than the Red Raiders. It could also be said that the Bulls had 43 yards of “hidden” offense due to field positon. Vs. LOUISVILLE SU’s possessions began on their 35, 26, 25, 39, 16, 25, 38, 47, 21, 32, 38, 21, 21, 24, 20, 20, 23, 21, 23 and 7. That’s 20 possessions. If they all began at the goal line, we’d have to go 2000 yards to score on every possession. Adding up the above yard lines, I get 522, so we had to go 1478 yards. We gained 414 yards, so that’s 28.0%, which is pretty bad. Louisville’s possessions began on their 28, 25, 28, 14, 32, 20, 18, 11, 21, 15, 22, 38, 18, 33, 25, 49, SU 40, Su 48, Louisville’s 30 and 14.. That’s also 20 possessions. Totaling 553, meaning they only had to go 1477 yards. Their 845 yards of offense was 58.4% way above our rate but not quite as good as we did against Colgate, amazingly. The Cardinals had 31 yards of “hidden” offense due to field positon. Vs. SOUTH FLORIDA SU’s possessions began on their 21, 8, 24, 19, 21, 10, 41, 25, 13, 11, 24, 30, 16 and 13. That’s 14 possessions. If they all began at the goal line, we’d have to go 1400 yards to score on every possession. Adding up the above yard lines, I get 276, so we had to go 1,124 yards. We gained 549 yards, so that’s 48.8% USF’s possessions began on their 35, 25, 25, SU’s 47, USF’s 43, 41, 12, 29, 28, 38, 25, 25, 11 and 22. That’s also 14 possessions totaling 412, meaning they only had to go 988 yards. Their 454 yards of offense was 46.0% of that- so we were still more productive than the Bulls, even when field positon is considered. But it could also be said that the Bulls had 136 yards of “hidden” offense due to field positon. Still, you’d have to say they that, like Louisville, won it on big plays. A lot of their yards came in plays that wound up in the end zone. [/QUOTE]

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