SWC75
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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.
The WESTERN MICHIGAN game
When Syracuse had the ball:
KO: WM 25, WM 22, WM 25, WM 10, WM 25, WM 25, WM 19, WM 25, WM 28, WM 15
Total: Syracuse 10 Western Michigan 0
P: 47 to WM 19, 44 to WM 14, 33 to WM 5, 51 to WM 34
Total: Syracuse 4 Western Michigan 0
FG: Good from 26, Good from 43
Total: Syracuse 2 Western Michigan 0
XP: Good, Good, Good, Good, Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 7 Western Michigan 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 23 Western Michigan 0
1r: 3, 14, 4, 2, 1TD, 18, 9, 1(4), 36, 5, 1(7), 3, 6, 1, 9, 2, 0, 13, 1, 1, 1, 2, 0, 8(9), 27TD, 5, 2, 2, 6, 1(8)
Total: Syracuse 14 Western Michigan 16
1p: 27TD, I, I, 30, I, I, Fumble, I, 21TD
Total: Syracuse 3 Western Michigan 5
First Down Total: Syracuse 17 Western Michigan 21
2r: 15(7), 1, 7(6), 3TD, 7(5), 2(1), -1, 3, 8(9), 1TD, 2(5), 1(3), 3(6), 2(4), 2(7)
Total: Syracuse 9 Western Michigan 6
2p: I, I, 38(8), 8, I, I, I, I, 7(19), 22, I, 10(9), I, 50
Total: Syracuse 5 Western Michigan 9
Second Down Total: Syracuse 14 Western Michigan 15
3r: 18, 3(9), 2(1), 5(6), 49(7), 11(9), -3, 2(1), 4(3), 0, 2(3), 4(2), 4(5)
Total: Syracuse 7 Western Michigan 6
3p: I, -7s, I, -4, 5
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 4
Third Down Total: Syracuse 8 Western Michigan 10
4r: 1TD, 6(2), -1
Total: Syracuse 2 Western Michigan 1
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Western Michigan 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 2 Western Michigan 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 32 Western Michigan 29
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 9 Western Michigan 18
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 41 Western Michigan 47
Penalties not tacked on to plays: +5, +5, +5, -9, -5, +15, +5 Syracuse 5 Western Michigan 2
Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 69 Western Michigan 49
When Western Michigan had the ball:
KO: SU 37, SU 47, SU 41, SU 18, SU 40, SU 41, WM 20
Total: Syracuse 6 Western Michigan 1
P: 26 to SU 41, 28 to SU 48, 41 to SU 32, 54 to SU 17, 34 to SU 22
Total: Syracuse 3 Western Michigan 2
FG: Missed from 24
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 0
XP: Good, Good, Good, Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Western Michigan 7
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 10 Western Michigan 10
1r: 4, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4, 2, 2, 13, 31, 2, 4TD, 0, 11, 12
Total: Syracuse 8 Western Michigan 7
1p: Interception, I, I, I, -3, 25, I, 37, 21, I, 9, 84TD, 12, 59, Interception, 6, I, I, 16, 26, 17TD
Total: Syracuse 10 Western Michigan 11
First Down Total: Syracuse 18 Western Michigan 18
2r: 1(6), 8, 59(7), 4(8), 4(8), -1, 2(1), 64TD, 2
Total: Syracuse 3 Western Michigan 6
2p: 17(8), I, I, I, 4(13), 12, I, 16
Total: Syracuse 5 Western Michigan 3
Second Down Total: Syracuse 8 Western Michigan 9
3r: 1(2), 7TD
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 1
3p: 3(5), I, I, I, 12(4), I
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 5
Third Down Total: Syracuse 2 Western Michigan 6
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Western Michigan 0
4p: 6(4), -2s
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 1
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 12 Western Michigan 14
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 17 Western Michigan 20
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 29 Western Michigan 34
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -15, +14, +6, +15 Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 3
Game total when Western Michigan had the ball: Syracuse 40Western Michigan 47
Overall Game Total: Syracuse 109 Western Michigan 96
Comments: The real difference in the game was the kicking game. We were an incredible 23-0 in our kicks and the Broncos were a poor 10-10. Teams usually win most of the plays when they kick the ball. Last year we won 154 of 194 plays when we kicked the ball (79.4%) with our best game being Central Michigan when we won 19 of 21 plays where we kicked the ball. Our opposition won 155 of 210 plays where they kicked it (73.8%) with their best game being 17-3, (Wake Forest). Here is the “drive chart” for the game:
Syracuse University
I added up the yard line each drive began, (if it was beyond the 50, it’s the distance from the goal line behind them to the line of scrimmage). Both teams had 16 possessions. SU’s total yardage from their own goal line, (actually that line is the other team’s goal, of course), is 621. Subtract that from 1600 and Syracuse had 979 yards to go on their possessions. They gained 560 yards in the game, so they gained 57% of the yards they needed to score a touchdown every time. the Broncos were a total of 332 yards form their own goal line, so they needed to gain 1,268 yards to score a touchdown every time. They gained 621 yards. They gained 49% of the yards they needed to score a touchdown every possession. They gained 61 more yards but had 289 more yards to go.
At halftime we were up 34-7. We had rushed for 238 yards, passed for 191, (I add sacks to the passing totals), for a total of 429 yards. Western Michigan had rushed for 117, passed for 52 and had a total of 159 yards. In the second half we rushed for 112 yards, passed for 35 and gained 131. The Broncos rushed for 125, passed for 327 and gained 462. In terms of winning plays, we’d won 21 of 32 rushing attempts but only 4 for 18 passing attempts. We were 17-0 in kicks and 3-1 in penalties for a total of 45-26. When Western had the ball, we’d won 9 of 17 running plays and 14 of 17 passing plays and 28 of 45 overall. The combined total was 63 winning plays for us to 43 for them. In the second half, when we had the ball, we were 11-18 on runs, 5-4 on passes and 24-23 overall. When the Broncos had the ball, they won 6 of 10 runs and 17 of 20 passing plays, 23 of 29 scrimmage plays and 30 of 41 overall. The biggest turn-around were those passing plays: from 14-3 in the first half in SU’s favor to 3-17 in the second half in the Bronco’s favor.
- 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.
The WESTERN MICHIGAN game
When Syracuse had the ball:
KO: WM 25, WM 22, WM 25, WM 10, WM 25, WM 25, WM 19, WM 25, WM 28, WM 15
Total: Syracuse 10 Western Michigan 0
P: 47 to WM 19, 44 to WM 14, 33 to WM 5, 51 to WM 34
Total: Syracuse 4 Western Michigan 0
FG: Good from 26, Good from 43
Total: Syracuse 2 Western Michigan 0
XP: Good, Good, Good, Good, Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 7 Western Michigan 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 23 Western Michigan 0
1r: 3, 14, 4, 2, 1TD, 18, 9, 1(4), 36, 5, 1(7), 3, 6, 1, 9, 2, 0, 13, 1, 1, 1, 2, 0, 8(9), 27TD, 5, 2, 2, 6, 1(8)
Total: Syracuse 14 Western Michigan 16
1p: 27TD, I, I, 30, I, I, Fumble, I, 21TD
Total: Syracuse 3 Western Michigan 5
First Down Total: Syracuse 17 Western Michigan 21
2r: 15(7), 1, 7(6), 3TD, 7(5), 2(1), -1, 3, 8(9), 1TD, 2(5), 1(3), 3(6), 2(4), 2(7)
Total: Syracuse 9 Western Michigan 6
2p: I, I, 38(8), 8, I, I, I, I, 7(19), 22, I, 10(9), I, 50
Total: Syracuse 5 Western Michigan 9
Second Down Total: Syracuse 14 Western Michigan 15
3r: 18, 3(9), 2(1), 5(6), 49(7), 11(9), -3, 2(1), 4(3), 0, 2(3), 4(2), 4(5)
Total: Syracuse 7 Western Michigan 6
3p: I, -7s, I, -4, 5
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 4
Third Down Total: Syracuse 8 Western Michigan 10
4r: 1TD, 6(2), -1
Total: Syracuse 2 Western Michigan 1
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Western Michigan 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 2 Western Michigan 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 32 Western Michigan 29
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 9 Western Michigan 18
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 41 Western Michigan 47
Penalties not tacked on to plays: +5, +5, +5, -9, -5, +15, +5 Syracuse 5 Western Michigan 2
Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 69 Western Michigan 49
When Western Michigan had the ball:
KO: SU 37, SU 47, SU 41, SU 18, SU 40, SU 41, WM 20
Total: Syracuse 6 Western Michigan 1
P: 26 to SU 41, 28 to SU 48, 41 to SU 32, 54 to SU 17, 34 to SU 22
Total: Syracuse 3 Western Michigan 2
FG: Missed from 24
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 0
XP: Good, Good, Good, Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Western Michigan 7
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 10 Western Michigan 10
1r: 4, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4, 2, 2, 13, 31, 2, 4TD, 0, 11, 12
Total: Syracuse 8 Western Michigan 7
1p: Interception, I, I, I, -3, 25, I, 37, 21, I, 9, 84TD, 12, 59, Interception, 6, I, I, 16, 26, 17TD
Total: Syracuse 10 Western Michigan 11
First Down Total: Syracuse 18 Western Michigan 18
2r: 1(6), 8, 59(7), 4(8), 4(8), -1, 2(1), 64TD, 2
Total: Syracuse 3 Western Michigan 6
2p: 17(8), I, I, I, 4(13), 12, I, 16
Total: Syracuse 5 Western Michigan 3
Second Down Total: Syracuse 8 Western Michigan 9
3r: 1(2), 7TD
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 1
3p: 3(5), I, I, I, 12(4), I
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 5
Third Down Total: Syracuse 2 Western Michigan 6
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Western Michigan 0
4p: 6(4), -2s
Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 1
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 12 Western Michigan 14
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 17 Western Michigan 20
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 29 Western Michigan 34
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -15, +14, +6, +15 Syracuse 1 Western Michigan 3
Game total when Western Michigan had the ball: Syracuse 40Western Michigan 47
Overall Game Total: Syracuse 109 Western Michigan 96
Comments: The real difference in the game was the kicking game. We were an incredible 23-0 in our kicks and the Broncos were a poor 10-10. Teams usually win most of the plays when they kick the ball. Last year we won 154 of 194 plays when we kicked the ball (79.4%) with our best game being Central Michigan when we won 19 of 21 plays where we kicked the ball. Our opposition won 155 of 210 plays where they kicked it (73.8%) with their best game being 17-3, (Wake Forest). Here is the “drive chart” for the game:
Syracuse University
I added up the yard line each drive began, (if it was beyond the 50, it’s the distance from the goal line behind them to the line of scrimmage). Both teams had 16 possessions. SU’s total yardage from their own goal line, (actually that line is the other team’s goal, of course), is 621. Subtract that from 1600 and Syracuse had 979 yards to go on their possessions. They gained 560 yards in the game, so they gained 57% of the yards they needed to score a touchdown every time. the Broncos were a total of 332 yards form their own goal line, so they needed to gain 1,268 yards to score a touchdown every time. They gained 621 yards. They gained 49% of the yards they needed to score a touchdown every possession. They gained 61 more yards but had 289 more yards to go.
At halftime we were up 34-7. We had rushed for 238 yards, passed for 191, (I add sacks to the passing totals), for a total of 429 yards. Western Michigan had rushed for 117, passed for 52 and had a total of 159 yards. In the second half we rushed for 112 yards, passed for 35 and gained 131. The Broncos rushed for 125, passed for 327 and gained 462. In terms of winning plays, we’d won 21 of 32 rushing attempts but only 4 for 18 passing attempts. We were 17-0 in kicks and 3-1 in penalties for a total of 45-26. When Western had the ball, we’d won 9 of 17 running plays and 14 of 17 passing plays and 28 of 45 overall. The combined total was 63 winning plays for us to 43 for them. In the second half, when we had the ball, we were 11-18 on runs, 5-4 on passes and 24-23 overall. When the Broncos had the ball, they won 6 of 10 runs and 17 of 20 passing plays, 23 of 29 scrimmage plays and 30 of 41 overall. The biggest turn-around were those passing plays: from 14-3 in the first half in SU’s favor to 3-17 in the second half in the Bronco’s favor.
