SWC75
Bored Historian
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I’m going to use the same system used last year to break down games from the perspective of how many times did each team get what they wanted from a play and deny the other team what they wanted. It’s basically an attempt to see if one team physically dominated the game, in which case they’d win most of the plays, or was the game decided on “big” plays, mistakes and breaks, as most games are. If you physically dominated a team, you have a chance to win a lot of games if the other things at least even out. If you weren’t physically dominated in a loss, that loss doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t win a bunch of other games on your schedule. Basically, the problems can be fixed on the practice field, not the recruiting trail or the weight room.
The formula is this: If the offense on first down, can get at least a third of the way to a first down or on second down can get at least halfway to a first down, (always round the yardage needed up), or on third or fourth down can get a first down, they won the play. If they didn’t the defense won the play. Any offensive score is a win for the offense. Any turnover is a win for the defense. If a penalty is part of the play, the yardage gained or lost just gets figured into the play’s result. Penalties that negate a play or dead ball fouls are counted separately. If a team runs the “victory” play at the end of a half or game, (it’s always a two yard loss), their goal is to maintain possession of the ball while the clock runs, not to gain yardage. So any victory play where they do that is a win for them , despite the lost yardage.
Any successful placekick is a win for the kicking team. An unsuccessful kick is a win for the defending team. Punts are evaluated by their net result only. A punt from the 50 yard line into the end zone is a 30 yard punt, not a 50 yard punt. A 53 yard punt that produces a 52 yard return is a 1 yard punt. Any punt that results in a net change in the line of scrimmage of 40 yards downfield or that results in the other team starting from their own twenty yard line or closer to their goal line is a win for the kicking team. The one recent new wrinkle is that kickoff touchbacks now come out to the 25 yard line. Any kickoff that results in the receiving team starting their drive from the 25 yard line or closer to their own goal line is a win for the kicking team.
I’m going to chart each game in the following manner: For each team, I’ll list the result of each kickoff, (where the other team started their possession after the kickoff), the net yardage of each punt, (if they never got the punt off note whether it was blocked or bobbled and the net yardage of the play) and the yard line it wound up on, the result of each extra point, (I’ll note if it was a two point attempt) and field goal attempt. (I’ll also note any conversion returned for two points: I don’t think we’ve had one in our games since Pitt in 1990). Then I’ll record what happened on each first down run, first down pass, second down run and pass, third down run and pass and fourth down run and pass. If the yardage needed for a first down or a score in a goal to go situation is other than 10, I’ll note that unless the play resulted in a loss, no gain or an incomplete pass, in which case nit was a win for the defense regardless of the yardage needed. If it was a ”victory play” I’ll put a ’V’ next to it. Sacks are reported under passes, not runs, just by the negative yardage. If a quarterback scrambled for positive yardage, that’s a run simply because that’s how the ESPN play-by-play, which I am using, would record it.
I’ll note the number of penalties that were not tacked onto the play and the turnovers separately. Each line will have a “score” at the end of it, stating how many plays in each category each team won. There will be a grand total at the end, followed by a brief analysis of the stats and the game.
When Syracuse had the ball:
KO- 25, 25, 22, 29, 25 (SU4 NW1)
P- 16(S45), 38(N44), 45(N9), 51(N26), 56(N7), 42(N20) (SU4 NW2)
FG none
XP Good, Miss, Good, Good (SU3 NW1)
Total for kicking game: Syracuse 11 Northwestern 4
1st rush- -3, 0, 1, 4, 2, 5, 3TD, 3, 9, 5, 0, 4, -2, 5, 2, 9, 13, 10 (SU10 NW8)
1st pass- -10, I, 22, 0, I, 5, 27, 11, 8, I, 16TD, 11, I, 19, 7, 23, 3, I, I (SU10 NW9)
First Down total: Syracuse 20 Northwestern 17
2nd rush- 6(20), 2, 2, 5(6), 6(5), 1, 3, 9(5), 6(7), 1(1), 15TD (SU5 NW5)
2nd pass- I, 6, 14, I, I, 8(8), 3(2), 5(7), 10(1), 4(5), 10(20), 6, 4(3), 19(12), 16(8), 6(5), (SU13 NW3)
Second Down total: Syracuse 18 Northwestern 8
3rd run- -3, 6(1), 2(2), 3(1), 5(1) (SU4 NW 1)
3rd pass- 13(9), -4, 1(8), 28(10), I, I, I (SU2 NW5)
Third Down total: Syracuse 6 Northwestern 6
4th run- none
4th pass- none
Fourth Down total: none
Total for plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 44 Northwestern 31
Penalties: 5, 5, 10, 5, 5 (SU0 NW5)
Turnovers: Interception, Interception, interception, interception (SU0 NW4)
Total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 55 Northwestern 44
When Northwestern had the ball:
KO- 21, 7, 14, 25, 27, 25, 25, 23 (SU1 NW7)
P- 42(S20), 45(S22), 44(S20), 19(N44), 32(S30) (SU2 NW3)
FG Good, Good (SU0 NW2)
XP Good, Good. Good, Good, Good, Good (SU0 NW6)
Total for kicking game: Syracuse 3 Northwestern 18
1st rush- -0, 1, 1, -1, 8, 3, 6, -3, 0, 2, 7, 1, 6, 6, 2, -2, 5, 7, -2V (SU12 NW8)
1st pass- 16, 25, 26, 8TD, 5, 32, 5, 20TD, 43, I, 9, 11, 28(15), 5TD, 7, 8, 16 (SU1 NW16)
First Down total: Syracuse 13 Northwestern 24
2nd rush- 4, 9, 5(11), 3(5), 7, 2(4), 8(13), -4, 8(9), 1(4), 6(8), 4(5), 0 (SU4 NW9)
2nd pass- 9(9), 5(9), 4(2), 10(7), 6, 14(1), 8(8), I, I, 7(2), I, I (SU4 NW8)
Second Down total: Syracuse 8 Northwestern 17
3rd run- 6(2), 0, 33(2), 6(4), 24(1), 4(3), 1(2), 28(1)TD, 5(3) (SU2 NW7)
3rd pass- -1, 7(4), I, 7(5), -2, -4, I, 47TD, 6(12) (SU6 NW3)
Third Down total: Syracuse 8 Northwestern 10
4th run- none
4th pass—10 (SU0 NW1)
Fourth Down total: Syracuse 0 Northwestern 1
Total for plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 29 Northwestern 51
Penalties: 5, 15, 5, 10, 5 (SU5 NW0)
Turnovers: none
Total when Northwestern had the ball: Syracuse 37 Northwestern 69
Overall kicking game total: SU 14 NW 22
Overall plays from scrimmage total: SU 84 NW 95
Overall penalties and turnovers: SU 5 NW 9
Game Total: SU 93 NW 113
COMMENT: Everybody’s talking about the quarterback position, primarily because we went 0-4 on turnovers. But the issue in this game was the defense. Against Penn State we were 19-51 on offense and 34-32 on defense. Against Northwestern we were 44-31 on offense and 29-51 on defense. We were an appalling 1-16 on Northwestern’s first down passes, including 3TD passes. They were also successful on their first 7 second down passes. We did do fairly well on first down runs, (12-8) but once they got the passing game going it opened up for the running attack, especially Cain Colter’s runs. Nobody knew how good we would be on offense this year with the new quarterback, patching up the line and an untested receiving corps. But wasn’t our defense supposed to be pretty good?
SEASON TOTALS
When SU has the ball:
KO- SU6 OPP3
P- SU8 OPP6
FG SU1 OPP1
XP SU5 OPP1
Total for kicking game: SU20 OPP11
1st rush- SU13 OPP23
1st pass- SU12 OPP16
First Down total: SU25 OPP39
2nd rush- SU9 OPP12
2nd pass- SU18 OPP12
Second Down total: SU 27 OPP 24
3rd run- SU4 OPP4
3rd pass- SU7 OPP14
Third Down total: SU11 OPP18
4th run- none
4th pass-SU0 OPP 1
Fourth Down total: SU 0 OPP 1
Total for plays from scrimmage: SU63 OPP82
Penalties: 11
Turnovers: 7
Total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 83 Opponent 111
When the opponent has the ball:
KO- SU3 OPP11
P- SU7 OPP5
FG SU0 OPP5
XP SU0 OPP8
Total for kicking game: SU 10 OPP29
1st rush- SU21 OPP14
1st pass- SU5 OPP25
First Down total:
2nd rush- SU7 OPP15
2nd pass- SU11 OPP14
Second Down total: SU18 OPP29
3rd run- SU10 OPP8
3rd pass- SU9 OPP5
Third Down total: SU19 OPP13
4th run- SU0 OPP1
4th pass- SU1 OPP1
Fourth Down Total: SU 1 OPP2
Total for plays from scrimmage: SU 87 OPP112
Penalties: 10
Turnovers: 4
Total when Opposition had the ball: Syracuse 111 Opposition 141
Overall kicking game total: SU 30 OPP 40
Overall plays from scrimmage total: SU 150 OPP 194
Overall penalties and turnovers: SU18 OPP14
Game Total: SU 198 OPP 248
The formula is this: If the offense on first down, can get at least a third of the way to a first down or on second down can get at least halfway to a first down, (always round the yardage needed up), or on third or fourth down can get a first down, they won the play. If they didn’t the defense won the play. Any offensive score is a win for the offense. Any turnover is a win for the defense. If a penalty is part of the play, the yardage gained or lost just gets figured into the play’s result. Penalties that negate a play or dead ball fouls are counted separately. If a team runs the “victory” play at the end of a half or game, (it’s always a two yard loss), their goal is to maintain possession of the ball while the clock runs, not to gain yardage. So any victory play where they do that is a win for them , despite the lost yardage.
Any successful placekick is a win for the kicking team. An unsuccessful kick is a win for the defending team. Punts are evaluated by their net result only. A punt from the 50 yard line into the end zone is a 30 yard punt, not a 50 yard punt. A 53 yard punt that produces a 52 yard return is a 1 yard punt. Any punt that results in a net change in the line of scrimmage of 40 yards downfield or that results in the other team starting from their own twenty yard line or closer to their goal line is a win for the kicking team. The one recent new wrinkle is that kickoff touchbacks now come out to the 25 yard line. Any kickoff that results in the receiving team starting their drive from the 25 yard line or closer to their own goal line is a win for the kicking team.
I’m going to chart each game in the following manner: For each team, I’ll list the result of each kickoff, (where the other team started their possession after the kickoff), the net yardage of each punt, (if they never got the punt off note whether it was blocked or bobbled and the net yardage of the play) and the yard line it wound up on, the result of each extra point, (I’ll note if it was a two point attempt) and field goal attempt. (I’ll also note any conversion returned for two points: I don’t think we’ve had one in our games since Pitt in 1990). Then I’ll record what happened on each first down run, first down pass, second down run and pass, third down run and pass and fourth down run and pass. If the yardage needed for a first down or a score in a goal to go situation is other than 10, I’ll note that unless the play resulted in a loss, no gain or an incomplete pass, in which case nit was a win for the defense regardless of the yardage needed. If it was a ”victory play” I’ll put a ’V’ next to it. Sacks are reported under passes, not runs, just by the negative yardage. If a quarterback scrambled for positive yardage, that’s a run simply because that’s how the ESPN play-by-play, which I am using, would record it.
I’ll note the number of penalties that were not tacked onto the play and the turnovers separately. Each line will have a “score” at the end of it, stating how many plays in each category each team won. There will be a grand total at the end, followed by a brief analysis of the stats and the game.
When Syracuse had the ball:
KO- 25, 25, 22, 29, 25 (SU4 NW1)
P- 16(S45), 38(N44), 45(N9), 51(N26), 56(N7), 42(N20) (SU4 NW2)
FG none
XP Good, Miss, Good, Good (SU3 NW1)
Total for kicking game: Syracuse 11 Northwestern 4
1st rush- -3, 0, 1, 4, 2, 5, 3TD, 3, 9, 5, 0, 4, -2, 5, 2, 9, 13, 10 (SU10 NW8)
1st pass- -10, I, 22, 0, I, 5, 27, 11, 8, I, 16TD, 11, I, 19, 7, 23, 3, I, I (SU10 NW9)
First Down total: Syracuse 20 Northwestern 17
2nd rush- 6(20), 2, 2, 5(6), 6(5), 1, 3, 9(5), 6(7), 1(1), 15TD (SU5 NW5)
2nd pass- I, 6, 14, I, I, 8(8), 3(2), 5(7), 10(1), 4(5), 10(20), 6, 4(3), 19(12), 16(8), 6(5), (SU13 NW3)
Second Down total: Syracuse 18 Northwestern 8
3rd run- -3, 6(1), 2(2), 3(1), 5(1) (SU4 NW 1)
3rd pass- 13(9), -4, 1(8), 28(10), I, I, I (SU2 NW5)
Third Down total: Syracuse 6 Northwestern 6
4th run- none
4th pass- none
Fourth Down total: none
Total for plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 44 Northwestern 31
Penalties: 5, 5, 10, 5, 5 (SU0 NW5)
Turnovers: Interception, Interception, interception, interception (SU0 NW4)
Total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 55 Northwestern 44
When Northwestern had the ball:
KO- 21, 7, 14, 25, 27, 25, 25, 23 (SU1 NW7)
P- 42(S20), 45(S22), 44(S20), 19(N44), 32(S30) (SU2 NW3)
FG Good, Good (SU0 NW2)
XP Good, Good. Good, Good, Good, Good (SU0 NW6)
Total for kicking game: Syracuse 3 Northwestern 18
1st rush- -0, 1, 1, -1, 8, 3, 6, -3, 0, 2, 7, 1, 6, 6, 2, -2, 5, 7, -2V (SU12 NW8)
1st pass- 16, 25, 26, 8TD, 5, 32, 5, 20TD, 43, I, 9, 11, 28(15), 5TD, 7, 8, 16 (SU1 NW16)
First Down total: Syracuse 13 Northwestern 24
2nd rush- 4, 9, 5(11), 3(5), 7, 2(4), 8(13), -4, 8(9), 1(4), 6(8), 4(5), 0 (SU4 NW9)
2nd pass- 9(9), 5(9), 4(2), 10(7), 6, 14(1), 8(8), I, I, 7(2), I, I (SU4 NW8)
Second Down total: Syracuse 8 Northwestern 17
3rd run- 6(2), 0, 33(2), 6(4), 24(1), 4(3), 1(2), 28(1)TD, 5(3) (SU2 NW7)
3rd pass- -1, 7(4), I, 7(5), -2, -4, I, 47TD, 6(12) (SU6 NW3)
Third Down total: Syracuse 8 Northwestern 10
4th run- none
4th pass—10 (SU0 NW1)
Fourth Down total: Syracuse 0 Northwestern 1
Total for plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 29 Northwestern 51
Penalties: 5, 15, 5, 10, 5 (SU5 NW0)
Turnovers: none
Total when Northwestern had the ball: Syracuse 37 Northwestern 69
Overall kicking game total: SU 14 NW 22
Overall plays from scrimmage total: SU 84 NW 95
Overall penalties and turnovers: SU 5 NW 9
Game Total: SU 93 NW 113
COMMENT: Everybody’s talking about the quarterback position, primarily because we went 0-4 on turnovers. But the issue in this game was the defense. Against Penn State we were 19-51 on offense and 34-32 on defense. Against Northwestern we were 44-31 on offense and 29-51 on defense. We were an appalling 1-16 on Northwestern’s first down passes, including 3TD passes. They were also successful on their first 7 second down passes. We did do fairly well on first down runs, (12-8) but once they got the passing game going it opened up for the running attack, especially Cain Colter’s runs. Nobody knew how good we would be on offense this year with the new quarterback, patching up the line and an untested receiving corps. But wasn’t our defense supposed to be pretty good?
SEASON TOTALS
When SU has the ball:
KO- SU6 OPP3
P- SU8 OPP6
FG SU1 OPP1
XP SU5 OPP1
Total for kicking game: SU20 OPP11
1st rush- SU13 OPP23
1st pass- SU12 OPP16
First Down total: SU25 OPP39
2nd rush- SU9 OPP12
2nd pass- SU18 OPP12
Second Down total: SU 27 OPP 24
3rd run- SU4 OPP4
3rd pass- SU7 OPP14
Third Down total: SU11 OPP18
4th run- none
4th pass-SU0 OPP 1
Fourth Down total: SU 0 OPP 1
Total for plays from scrimmage: SU63 OPP82
Penalties: 11
Turnovers: 7
Total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 83 Opponent 111
When the opponent has the ball:
KO- SU3 OPP11
P- SU7 OPP5
FG SU0 OPP5
XP SU0 OPP8
Total for kicking game: SU 10 OPP29
1st rush- SU21 OPP14
1st pass- SU5 OPP25
First Down total:
2nd rush- SU7 OPP15
2nd pass- SU11 OPP14
Second Down total: SU18 OPP29
3rd run- SU10 OPP8
3rd pass- SU9 OPP5
Third Down total: SU19 OPP13
4th run- SU0 OPP1
4th pass- SU1 OPP1
Fourth Down Total: SU 1 OPP2
Total for plays from scrimmage: SU 87 OPP112
Penalties: 10
Turnovers: 4
Total when Opposition had the ball: Syracuse 111 Opposition 141
Overall kicking game total: SU 30 OPP 40
Overall plays from scrimmage total: SU 150 OPP 194
Overall penalties and turnovers: SU18 OPP14
Game Total: SU 198 OPP 248
