SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 33,873
- Like
- 65,322
This season I will once again be charting Syracuse’s games in terms of “winning plays”. I look at the results of each play and decide which team got the minimum they wanted out of the play. Rather than making instinctive judgments, I use a formula:
- On first down, the offensive team wants to get at least a third of the way to a new first down: they will have two more plays before they might have to surrender the ball and if they gain that same amount of yards on each of those two plays, they’ll get the first down. If they don’t make it a third of the way to a new first down, the defense won the play.
- On second down, the offense wants to get at least halfway to a new first down by the same logic.
- On third and fourth down, they want to get the first down.
- Penalties, if added onto a play by the referees, are added on to the results above. If the offense gains 5 yards on first down but there was holding and they lost yardage instead, the defense won the play. If a running back made a 20 yard run on first and ten and the holding was 15 yards downfield, turning it into a 5 yard gain, that’s still a win for the offense. If the defense is penalized and it’s tacked on, again the net result is what is evaluated. The penalties I’ve listed negated the play entirely and are a “loss” for the penalized team and thus a win for their opponent. .
- If a penalty was not tacked onto a play, it’s a lost play for the team being penalized. I'll count them separate from the other plays from scrimmage because I don't know if the intended play before the penalty would have been a run or a pass - so i wouldn't know where to put it in the chart below.
- A turnover is, obviously, a win for the team that wound up with the ball.
- On a kick-off a touchback brings the ball out to the 25 yard line. Teams still seem to be trying to kick the ball into the end zone and avoid a runback if they can, so any kick-off that results in the receiving team starting between their goal line and their 25 is a win for the kicking team. Beyond that, the receiving team wins.
- On a punt, a touchback takes the ball out of the 20. So any punt that results in the other team taking over from their goal line to their 20 is a win for the punting team. If the next change in field position is at least 40 yards, the punting tam has also won the play.
- A successful place kick is, obviously, a win for the kicking team.
- Any play that results in a touchdown is, obviously, a win for that team that scores it.
- A “victory play” where a team accepts a loss just to let the clock run out, is a win for the offensive team.
I will indicate in parenthesis how many yards there were to go to get a new first down, (if other than 10), unless it was for no gain or negative yardage. If it was a touchdown, (“TD)” a scramble/sack (“S”) a victory play (“V”) or involved a penalty (P). I’ll treat a scramble or a sack as a passing play as the Cuse.com play by play now tells you when it’s either of those two. 1R means first down running plays. 1P means first down passing plays, etc.
When Syracuse had the ball:
KO: SU 44, Fumble, BC 30, BC 25, BC 9, BC 35, BC 31
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 4
P: 36 to BC 20, 31 to BC 18, 28 to BC 30, 34 to BC 35
Total: Syracuse 2 Boston College 2
FG: No Good from 44
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 1
XP: Good, Good, Good, Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 6 Boston College 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 11 Boston College 7
1r: 4, -1, 5, 19, -1, 3, 4, 3, 3, -1v, 6, 0, 1, 0, 6, 8, 6, 6, 3, 2(5), 1, -3, 2, -1v
Total: Syracuse 12 Boston College 12
1p: 10, 75TD, 34, I, 10, 16, 22, 7, I, 5, I, I, -3s, 22TD, I
Total: Syracuse 9 Boston College 6
First Down Total: Syracuse 21 Boston College 18
2r: 1(6), 3, 2TD, -3, 5(5), 3(4), 3, 10(4), 3(20,, 1, 1(40, 21(7), 1(3), 4(9), -5, -2, -2v
Total: Syracuse 7 Boston College 10
2p: I, I, 5(7), I, I, I, 9, Interception, 7, 8(9), I, 12, 17(14)
Total: Syracuse 6 Boston College 7
Second Down Total: Syracuse 13 Boston College 17
3r: 2(11), 4TD, 32(5), 6(2), 5(21), 18TD, 10(1), 3(1), 3(9), 2(3), 1(12), 2, -1v
Total: Syracuse 7 Boston College 6
3p: 4(5), 11, I, 35(7), -18s, 17(13), 2TD, I
Total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 4
Third Down Total: Syracuse 11 Boston College 10
4r: -2
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 0
4p: 34(1)
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 26 Boston College 29
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 20 Boston College 17
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 46 Boston College 46
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, +5, -10, -5, -5, -15, +10, +5, =5, +15, -15, -5 Syracuse 5 Boston College 8
Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 62 Boston College 61
When Boston College had the ball:
KO: SU 25, SU 23, SU 25, SU 25
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 4
P: 36 to SU 33, 39 to SU 36, 46 to SU 15, 34 to SU 35, 26 to SU 34
Total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 1
FG: No Good from 33
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 0
XP: Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 3
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 5 Boston College 8
1r: 4, -1, -2, 17, 5, 4, 3, 0, 3, 9, 5, 2, 0, 4, 3, 4, 4
Total: Syracuse 9 Boston College 8
1p: -1, O, 16, I, 69TD, -8s, I, I, I, 13, I, 10, Interception
Total: Syracuse 9 Boston College 4
First Down Total: Syracuse 18 Boston College 12
2r: 6(6), -1, 2(11), 6(7), 3, 4(1), 1(6)
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 4
2p: 4(11), 2(12), 17(5), I, I, -4s, 29TD, Interception, I, I, 1(6), 15(6), I, I, I
Total: Syracuse 12 Boston College 3
Second Down Total: Syracuse 15 Boston College 7
3r: 4(7), 16(6), 14(22), 0
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 1
3p: I, 10(7), 3TD, 1(11), I, 11(5), 30, I, Fumble, 21
Total: Syracuse 5 Boston College 5
Third Down Total: Syracuse 8 Boston College 6
4r: 11(3)
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 1
4p: I
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 15 Boston College 14
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 27 Boston College 12
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 42 Boston College 26
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -10, +15 Syracuse 1 Boston College 1
Game total when Boston College had the ball: Syracuse 48 Boston College 35
Overall game total: Syracuse 110 Boston College 96
Comments: Our dominance in the kicking game was again absent for the second game in arrow. Andre Szmyt kicked all six extra points cleanly but he also missed his fourth field goal of the year, (he’s now 28 for 32: he needs four more field goals in the bowl game to set the national record). We were only 5-6 on kick-offs and punts. As a result we had no advantage in field positon: we needed 446 yards to score a touchdown on every possession and so did Boston College. And we had one more possession than they did, so their average starting point was their 32. Ours was our 30. We earned out 42 points by making successful plays from scrimmage.
Despite a couple of notable lapses, our pass defense was excellent. We were 9-4 on first down passes, (which are normally the easiest to complete and get the biggest yardage because the defense is more likely to expect a run) and 12-3 in second down passes, (when the defense still has to focus on both). Ironically, we were only 5-5 on third down, (when the defense normally expects a pass unless minimal yardage is involved). This game was more about stopping 1st (18-12) and 2nd (15-7) down plays than 3rd (8-6), down plays.
13 of the 15 penalties not tacked onto a play came when we were on offense. A lot of that was Eric Dungey’s stutter counts but not all of it.
- On first down, the offensive team wants to get at least a third of the way to a new first down: they will have two more plays before they might have to surrender the ball and if they gain that same amount of yards on each of those two plays, they’ll get the first down. If they don’t make it a third of the way to a new first down, the defense won the play.
- On second down, the offense wants to get at least halfway to a new first down by the same logic.
- On third and fourth down, they want to get the first down.
- Penalties, if added onto a play by the referees, are added on to the results above. If the offense gains 5 yards on first down but there was holding and they lost yardage instead, the defense won the play. If a running back made a 20 yard run on first and ten and the holding was 15 yards downfield, turning it into a 5 yard gain, that’s still a win for the offense. If the defense is penalized and it’s tacked on, again the net result is what is evaluated. The penalties I’ve listed negated the play entirely and are a “loss” for the penalized team and thus a win for their opponent. .
- If a penalty was not tacked onto a play, it’s a lost play for the team being penalized. I'll count them separate from the other plays from scrimmage because I don't know if the intended play before the penalty would have been a run or a pass - so i wouldn't know where to put it in the chart below.
- A turnover is, obviously, a win for the team that wound up with the ball.
- On a kick-off a touchback brings the ball out to the 25 yard line. Teams still seem to be trying to kick the ball into the end zone and avoid a runback if they can, so any kick-off that results in the receiving team starting between their goal line and their 25 is a win for the kicking team. Beyond that, the receiving team wins.
- On a punt, a touchback takes the ball out of the 20. So any punt that results in the other team taking over from their goal line to their 20 is a win for the punting team. If the next change in field position is at least 40 yards, the punting tam has also won the play.
- A successful place kick is, obviously, a win for the kicking team.
- Any play that results in a touchdown is, obviously, a win for that team that scores it.
- A “victory play” where a team accepts a loss just to let the clock run out, is a win for the offensive team.
I will indicate in parenthesis how many yards there were to go to get a new first down, (if other than 10), unless it was for no gain or negative yardage. If it was a touchdown, (“TD)” a scramble/sack (“S”) a victory play (“V”) or involved a penalty (P). I’ll treat a scramble or a sack as a passing play as the Cuse.com play by play now tells you when it’s either of those two. 1R means first down running plays. 1P means first down passing plays, etc.
When Syracuse had the ball:
KO: SU 44, Fumble, BC 30, BC 25, BC 9, BC 35, BC 31
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 4
P: 36 to BC 20, 31 to BC 18, 28 to BC 30, 34 to BC 35
Total: Syracuse 2 Boston College 2
FG: No Good from 44
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 1
XP: Good, Good, Good, Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 6 Boston College 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 11 Boston College 7
1r: 4, -1, 5, 19, -1, 3, 4, 3, 3, -1v, 6, 0, 1, 0, 6, 8, 6, 6, 3, 2(5), 1, -3, 2, -1v
Total: Syracuse 12 Boston College 12
1p: 10, 75TD, 34, I, 10, 16, 22, 7, I, 5, I, I, -3s, 22TD, I
Total: Syracuse 9 Boston College 6
First Down Total: Syracuse 21 Boston College 18
2r: 1(6), 3, 2TD, -3, 5(5), 3(4), 3, 10(4), 3(20,, 1, 1(40, 21(7), 1(3), 4(9), -5, -2, -2v
Total: Syracuse 7 Boston College 10
2p: I, I, 5(7), I, I, I, 9, Interception, 7, 8(9), I, 12, 17(14)
Total: Syracuse 6 Boston College 7
Second Down Total: Syracuse 13 Boston College 17
3r: 2(11), 4TD, 32(5), 6(2), 5(21), 18TD, 10(1), 3(1), 3(9), 2(3), 1(12), 2, -1v
Total: Syracuse 7 Boston College 6
3p: 4(5), 11, I, 35(7), -18s, 17(13), 2TD, I
Total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 4
Third Down Total: Syracuse 11 Boston College 10
4r: -2
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 0
4p: 34(1)
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 26 Boston College 29
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 20 Boston College 17
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 46 Boston College 46
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, +5, -10, -5, -5, -15, +10, +5, =5, +15, -15, -5 Syracuse 5 Boston College 8
Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 62 Boston College 61
When Boston College had the ball:
KO: SU 25, SU 23, SU 25, SU 25
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 4
P: 36 to SU 33, 39 to SU 36, 46 to SU 15, 34 to SU 35, 26 to SU 34
Total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 1
FG: No Good from 33
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 0
XP: Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 3
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 5 Boston College 8
1r: 4, -1, -2, 17, 5, 4, 3, 0, 3, 9, 5, 2, 0, 4, 3, 4, 4
Total: Syracuse 9 Boston College 8
1p: -1, O, 16, I, 69TD, -8s, I, I, I, 13, I, 10, Interception
Total: Syracuse 9 Boston College 4
First Down Total: Syracuse 18 Boston College 12
2r: 6(6), -1, 2(11), 6(7), 3, 4(1), 1(6)
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 4
2p: 4(11), 2(12), 17(5), I, I, -4s, 29TD, Interception, I, I, 1(6), 15(6), I, I, I
Total: Syracuse 12 Boston College 3
Second Down Total: Syracuse 15 Boston College 7
3r: 4(7), 16(6), 14(22), 0
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 1
3p: I, 10(7), 3TD, 1(11), I, 11(5), 30, I, Fumble, 21
Total: Syracuse 5 Boston College 5
Third Down Total: Syracuse 8 Boston College 6
4r: 11(3)
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 1
4p: I
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 15 Boston College 14
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 27 Boston College 12
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 42 Boston College 26
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -10, +15 Syracuse 1 Boston College 1
Game total when Boston College had the ball: Syracuse 48 Boston College 35
Overall game total: Syracuse 110 Boston College 96
Comments: Our dominance in the kicking game was again absent for the second game in arrow. Andre Szmyt kicked all six extra points cleanly but he also missed his fourth field goal of the year, (he’s now 28 for 32: he needs four more field goals in the bowl game to set the national record). We were only 5-6 on kick-offs and punts. As a result we had no advantage in field positon: we needed 446 yards to score a touchdown on every possession and so did Boston College. And we had one more possession than they did, so their average starting point was their 32. Ours was our 30. We earned out 42 points by making successful plays from scrimmage.
Despite a couple of notable lapses, our pass defense was excellent. We were 9-4 on first down passes, (which are normally the easiest to complete and get the biggest yardage because the defense is more likely to expect a run) and 12-3 in second down passes, (when the defense still has to focus on both). Ironically, we were only 5-5 on third down, (when the defense normally expects a pass unless minimal yardage is involved). This game was more about stopping 1st (18-12) and 2nd (15-7) down plays than 3rd (8-6), down plays.
13 of the 15 penalties not tacked onto a play came when we were on offense. A lot of that was Eric Dungey’s stutter counts but not all of it.