SWC75
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THE SYSTEM: The offense wins a play if they get a third of the way to a first down on first down, half way to a first down on second down or gets a first down on third or fourth down. Otherwise the defense wins. Any score is a win for the team that scores. Any turnover is a win for the team that winds up with the ball. The kicking team wins a kick-off where the other team winds up with the ball from their own 25 in to their goal line: outside of that and the receiving team won. The kicking team wins any punt that produces a new +40 yard change in the line of scrimmage or forces the other team to begin from their 20 yard line in. Any successful place kick is a win for the kicking team. I’ve put the yards to go in parenthesis if it’s other than 10 yards. Penalties are simply tacked onto the play before the play is evaluated if they didn’t nullify it. If the penalty did nullify the play or was a dead ball foul, it’s listed separately.
When SU had the ball:
KO- NCS 22, NCS 31, NCS 4, Onside SU 46 (our ball) SU 3 NCS 1
P- 35 (NCS20), 36 (NSU39), 58 (NCS35), 24 (NCS49), 36 (NCS8), 27 (NCS10), 43 (NCS33), 51 (NCS51), 33 (NCS30) SU 5 NCS 4
FG- GOOD from 50 SU 1 NCS 0
XP- GOOD, GOOD SU 2 NCS 0
Total for kicking game: Syracuse 11 NC State 5
1st rush- 12, 0, -9, 4, 1, 4, 0, -2, 6, 5, 5, 7, 12, 1, 4 SU 9 NCS 6
1st pass- -5, 35(20), I, -6, 9, 5, 8, 5, 25TD, -5, I , 6, 10, I, 5, I, -5, I SU 8 NCS 10
First Down total: Syracuse 17 NC State 16
2nd rush- 0. -4. 4. 10(6), 3(2), 10(4), -3, -1, 2(4), -5 SU 4 NCS 6
2nd pass- I, I, 7(15), I, 13(16), I, 15(10), I, I, I, I, 4, I, -7, 19, 10(5, 32(10), I SU 5 NCS 13
Second Down total: Syracuse 9 NC State 19
3rd run- 1(10), 6(1), 5(5), 16(21) SU 2 NCS 2
3rd pass- 17, I, -8, I, 2(6), 30(3), 29(8), I, -8, 16(2), 11(14), -8 SU 4 NCS 8
Third Down total: Syracuse 6 NC State 10
4th run- none
4th pass- none
Fourth Down total: none
Total for plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 32 NC State 45
Running plays: Syracuse 15 NC State 14
Passing plays: Syracuse 17 NC State 31
Penalties (not added on to play): Syracuse 10, 10, 10 NC State 15, 15 SU 2 NCS 3
Turnovers: Interception, fumble, interception SU 0 NCS 3
Total for penalties and turnovers: Syracuse 2 NC State 6
Total for when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 45 NC State 56
When NC State had the ball
KO- SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25 SU 0 NCS 5
P- 59 (SU2), 24 (SU 14), 45 (SU4), 33 (NCS42), 52 (NCS 34), 38 (SU26), 37 (SU6), 37, (SU38)
SU 3 NCS 5
FG- GOOD from 43, GOOD from 41, GOOD from 21 SU 0 NCS 3
XP- 2pt try GOOD, GOOD SU 0 NCS 2
Total for kicking game: Syracuse 3 NC State 15
1st rush- 4, 1, 8, 5, 7, -10, 3, 2, -3, 3, 0, -1v, 5, 3, 5, -2, 2, 7, 3, -1v SU 12 NCS 8
1st pass- 7, 12, 6, I, I, 2, I SU 4 NCS 3
First Down total: Syracuse 16 NC State 11
2nd rush- 4(9), 4, 7(3), 6(8), 4(8), 3(7), 0, 8, 4(3), 3(7) SU 4 NCS 6
2nd pass- 19(6), 5(3), 5(2), I, I,I, 7(20), 29(7), 26(8), I, I, 4(5), 9(12), I SU 7 NCS 7
Second Down total: Syracuse 11 NC State 13
3rd run- 0, 1(2), 28(10 SU 2 NCS 1
3rd pass- I, -4, 1(11), 15(10), I, I, 9(4), I, 0, 0, 13(18), -7, 18TD SU 10 NCS 3
Third Down total: Syracuse 12 NC State 4
4th run- 18(10) SU 0 NCS 1
4th pass- none
Fourth Down total: Syracuse 0 NC State 1
Total for plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 39 NC State 29
Running plays: Syracuse 18 NC State 16
Passing plays: Syracuse 21 NC State 13
Penalties (not added on to play): Syracuse 10 NC State 5, 5, 5, 5, 10 SU 5 NCS 1
Turnovers: none
Total for penalties and turnovers: Syracuse 5 NC State 1
Total when NC State had the ball: Syracuse 47 NC State 45
Overall kicking game total: Syracuse 14 NC State 20
Overall plays from scrimmage total: Syracuse 71 NC State 74
Running plays: Syracuse 33 NC State 30
Passing plays: Syracuse38 NC State 44
Overall penalties and turnovers: Syracuse 7 NC State 7
Game Total: Syracuse 92 NC State 101
Comments: I was surprised that SU won 15 of our running plays to 14. But six our lost plays were actually lost yardage plays, (and I count sacks as passing plays). The problem appeared to be in the middle of the line, where we have bene hard hit by injuries. We gained 21 net yards on 13 carries up the middle, compared to 39 yard going left and 29 yards going right, both in seven carries. But here’s an interesting stat within a stat: we had a run of four straight successful running plays up the middle in the second half: 6 yards, 16 yards, 5 yards and 6 yards, (two by Moore and two by Gulley). So some kind of successful adjustment was made there. We did a great job on third down pass plays. I was surprised that the punting plays were as close as they were. The three times State pinned us within our 10 yards line were significant. But the game was clearly lost on the three turnovers.
TOTALS FOR YEAR
When SU had the ball:
KO- SU 23 OPP 18
P- SU 34 OPP 18
FG- SU 16 OPP 5
XP- SU 17 OPP 2
Total for kicking game: SU 90 OPP 43
1st rush- SU 91 OPP 80
1st pass- SU 40 OPP 53
First Down total: SU 131 OPP 133
2nd rush- SU 49 OPP 45
2nd pass- SU 44 OPP 65
Second Down total: SU 93 OPP 110
3rd run- SU 19 OPP 19
3rd pass- SU 31 OPP 67
Third Down total: SU 50 OPP 86
4th run- SU 4 OPP 1
4th pass-SU 2 OPP 3
Fourth Down total: SU 6 OPP 4
Total for plays from scrimmage: SU 280 OPP 333
Running plays: SU 163 OPP 145
Passing plays: SU 117 OPP 188
Penalties (not added onto play): SU 13 OPP 33 (penalties by the other team that each team benefited by)
Turnovers (by SU): SU 0 OPP 14
Total for penalties and turnovers: SU 13 OPP 47
Total when Syracuse had the ball: SU 383 OPP 423
When the Opposition had the Ball:
KO- SU 8 OPP 36
P- SU 15 OPP 34
FG- SU 2 OPP 14
XP- SU 1 OPP 21
Total for kicking game: SU 26 OPP 105
1st rush- SU 95 OPP 81
1st pass- SU 41 OPP 63
First Down total: SU 136 OPP 144
2nd rush- SU 40 OPP 60
2nd pass- SU 50 OPP 58
Second Down total: SU 90 OPP 118
3rd run- SU 23 OPP 29
3rd pass- SU 50 OPP 28
Third Down total: SU 73 OPP 57
4th run- SU 2 OPP 2
4th pass-SU 2 OPP 1
Fourth Down total: SU 4 OPP 3
Total for plays from scrimmage: SU 303 OPP 322
Running plays: SU 160 OPP 172
Passing plays: SU 143 OPP 150
Penalties (not added on to play): SU 33 OPP 17 (penalties by the other team that each team benefited by)
Turnovers: SU (got) 17 SU 17 OPP 0
Total for penalties and turnovers: SU 50 OPP 33
Total when the opposition had the ball: SU 379 OPP 460
Overall kicking game total: SU 116 OPP 148
Overall plays from scrimmage total: SU 583 OPP 660
Running plays: SU 323 OPP 322
Passing plays: SU 260 OPP 338
Overall penalties and turnovers: SU 63 OPP 80
Game Total: Syracuse 762 Opposition 888
Comments: I think the way to look at this is not as a percentage, (We have been successful in 762 of 1650 plays: 46.2%. But you could the view the difference as if the other team was running extra plays we didn’t get to run that were successful. The opposition has had 126 more successful plays than we have, an average of 14 per game. That’s really quite a difference.
SEASON SUMMARY
VILLANOVA SU scrimmage: 29-36 VIL scrimmage: 40-46 Kicking: 17-11 PEN/TO: 5-10 Total: 91-103
C. MICHIGAN SU scrimmage: 41-36 CM scrimmage: 36-22 Kicking: 14-13 PEN/TO: 8-5 Total: 99-76
MARYLAND SU scrimmage: 41-34 MD scrimmage: 30-27 Kicking: 14-21 PEN/TO: 6-9 Total: 91-91
NOTRE DAME SU scrimmage: 29-37 ND scrimmage: 22-51 Kicking: 8-18 PEN/TO: 12-8 Total: 71-114
LOUISVILLE SU scrimmage: 23-37 LOU scrimmage: 30-37 Kicking: 9-21 PEN/TO: 9-5 Total: 71-100
FLORIDA STATE SU scrimmage: 34-31 FS scrimmage: 27-45 Kicking: 11-15 PEN/TO: 8-10 Total: 80-101
WAKE FOREST SU scrimmage: 32-36 FS scrimmage: 36-21 Kicking: 15-15 PEN/TO: 3-5 Total: 86-77
CLEMSON SU scrimmage: 19-41 FS scrimmage: 37-41 Kicking: 14-15 PEN/TO: 5-5 Total: 75-102
NC STATE SU scrimmage: 32-45 FS scrimmage: 39-29 Kicking: 14-20 PEN/TO: 7-7 Total: 92-101
Comment: We don’t have as much talent as Notre Dame, Louisville, Florida State or Clemson but hung in there for most of those games anyway. We didn’t play well vs. Villanova, who is a very good FCS team. We have comparable talent to Maryland and NC State but didn’t play as well on those days. We were better than Central Michigan and Wake Forest. Of course you knew that but there it is in the numbers.
I noted that against Louisville, both teams had 14 possessions and we had a combined 1,025 yards to go to score vs. 871 for Louisville. That to me was 154 yards of “hidden offense” the Cardinals didn’t have to generate to score. I decided to keep track of that stat for all the games this season:
Syracuse 9 possessions with 714 yards to go (average 79) Villanova 9/706 (78). +8 hidden yards for Villanova
Syracuse 11/746 (68) Central Michigan 11/865 (79) +119 hidden yards for Syracuse
Syracuse 13/1072 (82) Maryland 14/903 (64.5) +169 hidden yards for Maryland
Syracuse 12/909 (76) Notre Dame 13/930 (72) +21 hidden yards for Syracuse but +4 per possession for Notre Dame
Syracuse 14/1025 (73) Louisville 14/871 (62) +154 hidden yards for Louisville
Syracuse 11/711 (65) Florida State 11/748 (68) +37 hidden yards for Syracuse
Syracuse 12/918 (76.5) Wake Forest 13/913 (70) +5 hidden yards for Wake Forest but +6.5 per possession.
Syracuse 15/1092 (72.8) Clemson 15/976 (65.1)+116 hidden yards for Clemson
Syracuse 15/1122 (74.8) NC State 14/1009 (72.1) ++113 hidden yards for NC State
Overall, we’ve had 112 possessions with a total of 8,309 yards to go, an average of 74. The opposition has had 114 possessions with a total of 7,921 yards to go, an average of 69. In the five games where there was a significant difference, the team with the big advantage won all three games by an average of 18 points. It may not be the only reason they won or won by that margin, but I’m sure it helped.
I’ve also been comparing the number of plays run from scrimmage to time of possession. (I realize that TOP includes plays that weren’t runs and passes from scrimmage but I’m assuming the time of such plays will be about equal for both teams). The Daily Orange preview handed out before the Villanova game says the goal of both offensive coordinator George MacDonald and quarterback coach Tim Lester was to get off plays in an average of 18 seconds and to get off 3.33 plays per minute. In 2013 Syracuse got off 2.42 plays per minute. The fastest team in the country was Texas Tech at 3.08 plays per minute, (there was no quote on seconds per play).
Syracuse 69 plays in 22:12, Villanova 87 plays in 37:48
That means that we got off a play every 19.30 seconds and 3.11 plays per minute. Villanova got off a play 26.1 seconds and 2.30 plays per minute. But they got off 18 more plays than we did.
Syracuse 79 plays in 33:22, Central Michigan 68 plays in 26:18
We: 25.34 seconds/play and 2.37 plays per minute. They: 23.21 seconds/play and 2.55 plays per minute. But e got off 11 more plays.
Syracuse 79 plays in 32:14, Maryland 58 plays in 27:46
We: 24.48 seconds/play and 2.45 plays per minute. They: 28.72 seconds/ play and 2.09 plays per minute.
Syracuse 68 plays in 26:43, Notre Dame 80 plays in 33:17
We: 23.57 seconds/play and 2.55 plays per minute. They: 24.96 seconds/play and 2.40 plays per minute. But they got off 12 more plays.
Syracuse: 62 plays in 23:02, Louisville 70 plays in 36:58
We: 22.29 seconds/play and 2.69 plays per minute. They: 31.69 seconds/play and 1.89 plays per minute. But they got off 8 more plays.
Syracuse: 67 plays in 23:33, Florida State 72 plays in 36:27
We: 21.09 seconds/play and 2.85 plays per minute. They: 30.38 seconds per play and 1.98 plays per minute. but they got off five more plays.
Syracuse: 70 plays in 31:47, Wake Forest 59 plays in 28:13
We: 27.24 seconds per pay and 2.20 plays per minute. They: 28.69 seconds per play and 2.09 plays per minute. Neither team was playing hurry-up.
Syracuse 62 plays in 25:06, Clemson 83 plays in 34:54
We: 24.29 seconds per play and 2.47 plays per minute. They: 25.22 seconds per play and 2.38 seconds per play. Clemson played normally in the first half, sped things up in the third quarter and then slowed it back down in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse 68 plays in 31:18, NC State 79 plays in 28:43
We: 27.61 seconds per play and 2.17 plays per minute. They: 21.81 seconds per play and 2.75 plays per inute.
Total: Syracuse 624 plays in 249.19, Opposition: 636 plays in 290:24
We: 23.97 seconds/play and 2.50 plays per minute. They: 27.40 seconds per play and 2.19 plays per minute.
It may be that MacDonald and Lester were eliminating the time taken on kicking plays, (which is included in time of possession), so we might be closer to our goals than it appears. But it’s clear that the speed with which you get plays off does little to determine whether you win the game. It doesn’t even determine which team gets off more plays. What matters is how many successful plays you run and how many first downs you get. You aren’t going to wear teams out by hurriedly running plays that don’t work. At this point we seem to have given up on exhausting teams with our pace, (and trapping them in the same defensive packages with no time to change them)./ But NC State did a pretty good job of it on us.
When SU had the ball:
KO- NCS 22, NCS 31, NCS 4, Onside SU 46 (our ball) SU 3 NCS 1
P- 35 (NCS20), 36 (NSU39), 58 (NCS35), 24 (NCS49), 36 (NCS8), 27 (NCS10), 43 (NCS33), 51 (NCS51), 33 (NCS30) SU 5 NCS 4
FG- GOOD from 50 SU 1 NCS 0
XP- GOOD, GOOD SU 2 NCS 0
Total for kicking game: Syracuse 11 NC State 5
1st rush- 12, 0, -9, 4, 1, 4, 0, -2, 6, 5, 5, 7, 12, 1, 4 SU 9 NCS 6
1st pass- -5, 35(20), I, -6, 9, 5, 8, 5, 25TD, -5, I , 6, 10, I, 5, I, -5, I SU 8 NCS 10
First Down total: Syracuse 17 NC State 16
2nd rush- 0. -4. 4. 10(6), 3(2), 10(4), -3, -1, 2(4), -5 SU 4 NCS 6
2nd pass- I, I, 7(15), I, 13(16), I, 15(10), I, I, I, I, 4, I, -7, 19, 10(5, 32(10), I SU 5 NCS 13
Second Down total: Syracuse 9 NC State 19
3rd run- 1(10), 6(1), 5(5), 16(21) SU 2 NCS 2
3rd pass- 17, I, -8, I, 2(6), 30(3), 29(8), I, -8, 16(2), 11(14), -8 SU 4 NCS 8
Third Down total: Syracuse 6 NC State 10
4th run- none
4th pass- none
Fourth Down total: none
Total for plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 32 NC State 45
Running plays: Syracuse 15 NC State 14
Passing plays: Syracuse 17 NC State 31
Penalties (not added on to play): Syracuse 10, 10, 10 NC State 15, 15 SU 2 NCS 3
Turnovers: Interception, fumble, interception SU 0 NCS 3
Total for penalties and turnovers: Syracuse 2 NC State 6
Total for when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 45 NC State 56
When NC State had the ball
KO- SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25 SU 0 NCS 5
P- 59 (SU2), 24 (SU 14), 45 (SU4), 33 (NCS42), 52 (NCS 34), 38 (SU26), 37 (SU6), 37, (SU38)
SU 3 NCS 5
FG- GOOD from 43, GOOD from 41, GOOD from 21 SU 0 NCS 3
XP- 2pt try GOOD, GOOD SU 0 NCS 2
Total for kicking game: Syracuse 3 NC State 15
1st rush- 4, 1, 8, 5, 7, -10, 3, 2, -3, 3, 0, -1v, 5, 3, 5, -2, 2, 7, 3, -1v SU 12 NCS 8
1st pass- 7, 12, 6, I, I, 2, I SU 4 NCS 3
First Down total: Syracuse 16 NC State 11
2nd rush- 4(9), 4, 7(3), 6(8), 4(8), 3(7), 0, 8, 4(3), 3(7) SU 4 NCS 6
2nd pass- 19(6), 5(3), 5(2), I, I,I, 7(20), 29(7), 26(8), I, I, 4(5), 9(12), I SU 7 NCS 7
Second Down total: Syracuse 11 NC State 13
3rd run- 0, 1(2), 28(10 SU 2 NCS 1
3rd pass- I, -4, 1(11), 15(10), I, I, 9(4), I, 0, 0, 13(18), -7, 18TD SU 10 NCS 3
Third Down total: Syracuse 12 NC State 4
4th run- 18(10) SU 0 NCS 1
4th pass- none
Fourth Down total: Syracuse 0 NC State 1
Total for plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 39 NC State 29
Running plays: Syracuse 18 NC State 16
Passing plays: Syracuse 21 NC State 13
Penalties (not added on to play): Syracuse 10 NC State 5, 5, 5, 5, 10 SU 5 NCS 1
Turnovers: none
Total for penalties and turnovers: Syracuse 5 NC State 1
Total when NC State had the ball: Syracuse 47 NC State 45
Overall kicking game total: Syracuse 14 NC State 20
Overall plays from scrimmage total: Syracuse 71 NC State 74
Running plays: Syracuse 33 NC State 30
Passing plays: Syracuse38 NC State 44
Overall penalties and turnovers: Syracuse 7 NC State 7
Game Total: Syracuse 92 NC State 101
Comments: I was surprised that SU won 15 of our running plays to 14. But six our lost plays were actually lost yardage plays, (and I count sacks as passing plays). The problem appeared to be in the middle of the line, where we have bene hard hit by injuries. We gained 21 net yards on 13 carries up the middle, compared to 39 yard going left and 29 yards going right, both in seven carries. But here’s an interesting stat within a stat: we had a run of four straight successful running plays up the middle in the second half: 6 yards, 16 yards, 5 yards and 6 yards, (two by Moore and two by Gulley). So some kind of successful adjustment was made there. We did a great job on third down pass plays. I was surprised that the punting plays were as close as they were. The three times State pinned us within our 10 yards line were significant. But the game was clearly lost on the three turnovers.
TOTALS FOR YEAR
When SU had the ball:
KO- SU 23 OPP 18
P- SU 34 OPP 18
FG- SU 16 OPP 5
XP- SU 17 OPP 2
Total for kicking game: SU 90 OPP 43
1st rush- SU 91 OPP 80
1st pass- SU 40 OPP 53
First Down total: SU 131 OPP 133
2nd rush- SU 49 OPP 45
2nd pass- SU 44 OPP 65
Second Down total: SU 93 OPP 110
3rd run- SU 19 OPP 19
3rd pass- SU 31 OPP 67
Third Down total: SU 50 OPP 86
4th run- SU 4 OPP 1
4th pass-SU 2 OPP 3
Fourth Down total: SU 6 OPP 4
Total for plays from scrimmage: SU 280 OPP 333
Running plays: SU 163 OPP 145
Passing plays: SU 117 OPP 188
Penalties (not added onto play): SU 13 OPP 33 (penalties by the other team that each team benefited by)
Turnovers (by SU): SU 0 OPP 14
Total for penalties and turnovers: SU 13 OPP 47
Total when Syracuse had the ball: SU 383 OPP 423
When the Opposition had the Ball:
KO- SU 8 OPP 36
P- SU 15 OPP 34
FG- SU 2 OPP 14
XP- SU 1 OPP 21
Total for kicking game: SU 26 OPP 105
1st rush- SU 95 OPP 81
1st pass- SU 41 OPP 63
First Down total: SU 136 OPP 144
2nd rush- SU 40 OPP 60
2nd pass- SU 50 OPP 58
Second Down total: SU 90 OPP 118
3rd run- SU 23 OPP 29
3rd pass- SU 50 OPP 28
Third Down total: SU 73 OPP 57
4th run- SU 2 OPP 2
4th pass-SU 2 OPP 1
Fourth Down total: SU 4 OPP 3
Total for plays from scrimmage: SU 303 OPP 322
Running plays: SU 160 OPP 172
Passing plays: SU 143 OPP 150
Penalties (not added on to play): SU 33 OPP 17 (penalties by the other team that each team benefited by)
Turnovers: SU (got) 17 SU 17 OPP 0
Total for penalties and turnovers: SU 50 OPP 33
Total when the opposition had the ball: SU 379 OPP 460
Overall kicking game total: SU 116 OPP 148
Overall plays from scrimmage total: SU 583 OPP 660
Running plays: SU 323 OPP 322
Passing plays: SU 260 OPP 338
Overall penalties and turnovers: SU 63 OPP 80
Game Total: Syracuse 762 Opposition 888
Comments: I think the way to look at this is not as a percentage, (We have been successful in 762 of 1650 plays: 46.2%. But you could the view the difference as if the other team was running extra plays we didn’t get to run that were successful. The opposition has had 126 more successful plays than we have, an average of 14 per game. That’s really quite a difference.
SEASON SUMMARY
VILLANOVA SU scrimmage: 29-36 VIL scrimmage: 40-46 Kicking: 17-11 PEN/TO: 5-10 Total: 91-103
C. MICHIGAN SU scrimmage: 41-36 CM scrimmage: 36-22 Kicking: 14-13 PEN/TO: 8-5 Total: 99-76
MARYLAND SU scrimmage: 41-34 MD scrimmage: 30-27 Kicking: 14-21 PEN/TO: 6-9 Total: 91-91
NOTRE DAME SU scrimmage: 29-37 ND scrimmage: 22-51 Kicking: 8-18 PEN/TO: 12-8 Total: 71-114
LOUISVILLE SU scrimmage: 23-37 LOU scrimmage: 30-37 Kicking: 9-21 PEN/TO: 9-5 Total: 71-100
FLORIDA STATE SU scrimmage: 34-31 FS scrimmage: 27-45 Kicking: 11-15 PEN/TO: 8-10 Total: 80-101
WAKE FOREST SU scrimmage: 32-36 FS scrimmage: 36-21 Kicking: 15-15 PEN/TO: 3-5 Total: 86-77
CLEMSON SU scrimmage: 19-41 FS scrimmage: 37-41 Kicking: 14-15 PEN/TO: 5-5 Total: 75-102
NC STATE SU scrimmage: 32-45 FS scrimmage: 39-29 Kicking: 14-20 PEN/TO: 7-7 Total: 92-101
Comment: We don’t have as much talent as Notre Dame, Louisville, Florida State or Clemson but hung in there for most of those games anyway. We didn’t play well vs. Villanova, who is a very good FCS team. We have comparable talent to Maryland and NC State but didn’t play as well on those days. We were better than Central Michigan and Wake Forest. Of course you knew that but there it is in the numbers.
I noted that against Louisville, both teams had 14 possessions and we had a combined 1,025 yards to go to score vs. 871 for Louisville. That to me was 154 yards of “hidden offense” the Cardinals didn’t have to generate to score. I decided to keep track of that stat for all the games this season:
Syracuse 9 possessions with 714 yards to go (average 79) Villanova 9/706 (78). +8 hidden yards for Villanova
Syracuse 11/746 (68) Central Michigan 11/865 (79) +119 hidden yards for Syracuse
Syracuse 13/1072 (82) Maryland 14/903 (64.5) +169 hidden yards for Maryland
Syracuse 12/909 (76) Notre Dame 13/930 (72) +21 hidden yards for Syracuse but +4 per possession for Notre Dame
Syracuse 14/1025 (73) Louisville 14/871 (62) +154 hidden yards for Louisville
Syracuse 11/711 (65) Florida State 11/748 (68) +37 hidden yards for Syracuse
Syracuse 12/918 (76.5) Wake Forest 13/913 (70) +5 hidden yards for Wake Forest but +6.5 per possession.
Syracuse 15/1092 (72.8) Clemson 15/976 (65.1)+116 hidden yards for Clemson
Syracuse 15/1122 (74.8) NC State 14/1009 (72.1) ++113 hidden yards for NC State
Overall, we’ve had 112 possessions with a total of 8,309 yards to go, an average of 74. The opposition has had 114 possessions with a total of 7,921 yards to go, an average of 69. In the five games where there was a significant difference, the team with the big advantage won all three games by an average of 18 points. It may not be the only reason they won or won by that margin, but I’m sure it helped.
I’ve also been comparing the number of plays run from scrimmage to time of possession. (I realize that TOP includes plays that weren’t runs and passes from scrimmage but I’m assuming the time of such plays will be about equal for both teams). The Daily Orange preview handed out before the Villanova game says the goal of both offensive coordinator George MacDonald and quarterback coach Tim Lester was to get off plays in an average of 18 seconds and to get off 3.33 plays per minute. In 2013 Syracuse got off 2.42 plays per minute. The fastest team in the country was Texas Tech at 3.08 plays per minute, (there was no quote on seconds per play).
Syracuse 69 plays in 22:12, Villanova 87 plays in 37:48
That means that we got off a play every 19.30 seconds and 3.11 plays per minute. Villanova got off a play 26.1 seconds and 2.30 plays per minute. But they got off 18 more plays than we did.
Syracuse 79 plays in 33:22, Central Michigan 68 plays in 26:18
We: 25.34 seconds/play and 2.37 plays per minute. They: 23.21 seconds/play and 2.55 plays per minute. But e got off 11 more plays.
Syracuse 79 plays in 32:14, Maryland 58 plays in 27:46
We: 24.48 seconds/play and 2.45 plays per minute. They: 28.72 seconds/ play and 2.09 plays per minute.
Syracuse 68 plays in 26:43, Notre Dame 80 plays in 33:17
We: 23.57 seconds/play and 2.55 plays per minute. They: 24.96 seconds/play and 2.40 plays per minute. But they got off 12 more plays.
Syracuse: 62 plays in 23:02, Louisville 70 plays in 36:58
We: 22.29 seconds/play and 2.69 plays per minute. They: 31.69 seconds/play and 1.89 plays per minute. But they got off 8 more plays.
Syracuse: 67 plays in 23:33, Florida State 72 plays in 36:27
We: 21.09 seconds/play and 2.85 plays per minute. They: 30.38 seconds per play and 1.98 plays per minute. but they got off five more plays.
Syracuse: 70 plays in 31:47, Wake Forest 59 plays in 28:13
We: 27.24 seconds per pay and 2.20 plays per minute. They: 28.69 seconds per play and 2.09 plays per minute. Neither team was playing hurry-up.
Syracuse 62 plays in 25:06, Clemson 83 plays in 34:54
We: 24.29 seconds per play and 2.47 plays per minute. They: 25.22 seconds per play and 2.38 seconds per play. Clemson played normally in the first half, sped things up in the third quarter and then slowed it back down in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse 68 plays in 31:18, NC State 79 plays in 28:43
We: 27.61 seconds per play and 2.17 plays per minute. They: 21.81 seconds per play and 2.75 plays per inute.
Total: Syracuse 624 plays in 249.19, Opposition: 636 plays in 290:24
We: 23.97 seconds/play and 2.50 plays per minute. They: 27.40 seconds per play and 2.19 plays per minute.
It may be that MacDonald and Lester were eliminating the time taken on kicking plays, (which is included in time of possession), so we might be closer to our goals than it appears. But it’s clear that the speed with which you get plays off does little to determine whether you win the game. It doesn’t even determine which team gets off more plays. What matters is how many successful plays you run and how many first downs you get. You aren’t going to wear teams out by hurriedly running plays that don’t work. At this point we seem to have given up on exhausting teams with our pace, (and trapping them in the same defensive packages with no time to change them)./ But NC State did a pretty good job of it on us.