Monday, June 08, 2009

By The Numbers, Part 4

So far we've looked at quite a few stats in our "By The Numbers" columns. We've covered stat rankings, mismatched schedules in terms of rankings, and one cupcake conference. Today I think we’ll discuss some statistics about scoring.

It’s no secret that some of the elite teams this year had some pretty high scoring offenses. They’d kind of have to, right? Oklahoma, Florida, Texas… those were some pretty productive offenses. But as any relatively intelligent person will tell you, the defense has to hold their own. USC, TCU, and (gasp) Iowa weren't too shabby last year in that department.

Now, we could give you a rundown of who scored the most points or who held their opponents to the fewest points, but that would be boring. And that’s not how we do things here at OTP. So, let’s look at who had the biggest discrepancy between points scored and points allowed. Then, we can look at those with the biggest discrepancy on the other end.

First, we present the five teams that scored the most versus points allowed:

5) Penn State. Scored: 506. Allowed: 187. Difference: 319 points.
4) Boise State. Scored:489. Allowed: 164. Difference: 325 points.
3) USC. Scored: 488. Allowed: 117. Difference: 371 points.
2) Oklahoma. Scored: 716. Allowed: 343. Difference: 373 points.
1) Florida. Scored: 611. Allowed: 181. Difference: 430 points.

Now, the not-so-top five teams that scored the least versus points allowed:

5) San Diego State. Scored: 231. Allowed: 446. Difference: -215 points.
4) Idaho. Scored: 235. Allowed: 513. Difference: -278 points.
3) Washington. Scored: 159. Allowed: 463. Difference: -304 points.
2) North Texas. Scored: 240. Allowed: 571. Difference: -331 points.
1) Washington State. Scored: 165. Allowed: 570. Difference: -405 points.

All in all, most of this expected, isn't it? To give this some numbers on the teams we cover, Ball State was 14th in this list with a scoring difference of 202 points. Kentucky appears nearly in the middle of all teams at 58th with a scoring difference of 15 points.

Now, here’s something that I do find interesting: the top 45 teams on this list all went bowling in 2008. But, six bowl teams in 2008 actually had a negative difference in points scored versus points allowed: Colorado State, Hawaii, FIU, Maryland, Minnesota, and Fresno State. Of those, two played in the New Mexico Bowl – Colorado State and Fresno State. What does this mean? Well, 1) even inefficient offenses and defenses can go bowling, and 2) watch the New Mexico Bowl only if there is nothing else on.

Two more interesting facts: Memphis both scored and allowed 353 points this season. Way to go Tigers! (Note: Derrick Rose's SAT score was 353. Consistency is key and this is why Memphis is who we thought they were. -RV, ed.) And, of the bottom 30 teams, 12 of them now have new head coaches. That seems about right.

I’ll have more stats for you soon, but how do these numbers sit with you readers? The comment section is now open for business.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So the teams that scored the most were the most successful? Wow... insightful.

Edge said...

I don't see where that was said, Anyonymous. I believe the comparison was made to productive offenses and effective defenses in terms of scoring as well as the other end of the spectrum. As a matter of fact, "success" wasn't used at all in this article. Please read this post again, take your time, and look up any in the dictionary that may confuse you.