Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 4075991, member: 289"] 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. I have decided to list the “Big Plays” at the bottom of each team’s summary. A big play is a play from scrimmage of over 20 yards, (or 20+ yards lost), kickoff returns of +25 yards, punt returns of +20, blocked kicks and turnovers on fumbles, interceptions and downs. When Syracuse had the ball: Drive Starts: S25, S43, S29, S36, S25, S15, S16, S19, S25, S21, S5, S12 Average: 271/12 = S23 with a total of 929 to go. KO: 50, P35, P25 Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 2 P: 37 to P18, 45 to P14, 36 to P25, 42 to S48, 44 to P36, 45 to P27, 21 to S25 Total: Syracuse 5 Pittsburgh 2 FG: none Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0 XP: Good, Good Total: Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 0 Kicking plays total: Syracuse 8 Pittsburgh 4 1r: 5, 4, 3, -2, -2, 10, 7, -2, 2, 5, 2, 0, -2v, -1, 2, 6 Total: Syracuse 7 Pittsburgh 9 1p: I, 19, 4, 30, -3(s), 8, 30 Total: Syracuse 5 Pittsburgh 1 First Down Total: Syracuse 12 Pittsburgh 10 2r: 5(6), 0, 3(12), 0, 4(12), 0, 3(2) Total: Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 5 2p: 10(5), 17(7), 5(12), Fumble, I, 9(11), I, 15(13), I, -6(s) Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 6 Second Down Total: Syracuse 6 Pittsburgh 11 3r: 3(1), 2(16), 0, 14 Total: Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 2 3p: 9(12), 9TD, -8(s), -12(s), I, 9, I, 14(6), I Total: Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 7 Third Down Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 9 4r: none Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0 4p: 8(3), -10(s) Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 1 Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 1 Total on running plays: Syracuse 11 Pittsburgh 16 Total on passing plays: Syracuse 12 Pittsburgh 15 Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 23 Pittsburgh 31 Penalties not tacked on to plays: +13, -8, -5, -5, -5, -3, +15 Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 5 Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 33 Pittsburgh 40 Big Plays:30 yard pass, 30 yard pass When Pittsburgh had the ball: Drive Starts: 50, P18, P14, P25, S45, S48, P36, P35, P27, P25, S25, P38 Average: 450/12 = P37.5 with 750 to go. KO: S25, S15, S25, S 21, S12 Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 5 P: 46 to S29, 43 to S40, 51 to S16, 36 to S19 Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 4 FG: Good from 26 Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 1 XP: Good, Good, Good Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 3 Kicking plays total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 13 1r: 7, 7, 9, 3, 1, 9, 1, 6, 22, 4, 3, 6, 9, 4, 7, 0, 0 Total: Syracuse 6 Pittsburgh 11 1p: 9, 7, 15TD, 5, 7, I, 0, 3, 10, I, 8, Interception Total: Syracuse 5 Pittsburgh 7 First Down Total: Syracuse 11 Pittsburgh 18 2r: 7(17), 5(1), 2(3), 1(13), 7, 1(4), 1(1), 7(4), 2, 2 Total: Syracuse 5 Pittsburgh 5 2p: -2, 1(3), 18(7), 7(9), I, I, 11(s), I, I, 7(4), 7(6), 5, 4TD, 5(2), 2(6) Total: Syracuse 8 Pittsburgh 7 Second Down Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh 3r: 392), 5(10, 8(37), 7(30, 0, -4v Total: Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 5 3p: I, 0, 6(5), 25TD, I, 25(12), 20(3), 4(3), 3(4) Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 5 Third Down Total: Syracuse 6 Pittsburgh 10 4r: 6(1) Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 1 4p: I Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 0 Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 1 Total on running plays: Syracuse 13 Pittsburgh 22 Total on passing plays: Syracuse 18 Pittsburgh 19 Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 31 Pittsburgh 41 Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -15, -5, +7 Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 1 Game total when Pittsburgh had the ball: Syracuse 34 Pittsburgh 55 Big Plays: 25 yard TD pass, 22 yard run, 22 yard pass, 20 yard pass Overall game total: Syracuse 67 Pittsburgh 95 Comments: Pittsburgh kicked the ball 13 times and got what they wanted out of it each time. We attempted one first down pass in the first half. It was incomplete. Our lack of success on third down passes continued: 9 of them produced two successful plays and a net 21 yards. It did produced 1 touchdown. We finally got a takeover after 5 straight games without one – and it did no good. And excited Duce Chestnut tried to run it out of the end zone, got tackled at the 5. A 2 yard run, two incomplete passes and a 27 yard punt return set up a field goal for the other guys. This encapsulated the season perfectly. 67-95 is -28 plays. Here are the games in the Dino Babers Era that were closest to that: 2016 Syracuse 99 Louisville 132 = -33 We lost 28-62 2016 Syracuse 72 Wake Forest 101 = -29 We lost 9-28 2016 Syracuse 71 North Carolina State 103 = -32 We lost 20-35 2017 Syracuse 80 Louisiana State 103 = -23 We lost 26-35 2017 Syracuse 86 Miami 119 = -33 We lost 19-27 2018 Syracuse 109 Connecticut 83 = +26 We won 31-24 2019 Syracuse 82 Maryland 112 = -30 We lost 20-63 2020 Syracuse 76 Wake Forest 99 = -23 We lost 14-38 2020 Syracuse 68 Boston College 96 = -28 We lost 13-16 2020 Syracuse 76 North Carolina State 108 = -32 We lost 29-38 2021 Syracuse 65 North Carolina State 88 = -23 We lost 17-41 Big plays are exciting but if you can’t keep up with the other team on a play-by-play basis. It’s hard to win. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?