An interesting stat ranking...not that it means much teams at top vs teams at bottom...we're the same as Alabama...(well, not exactly but still 3-0 against them in football so far.)



Baylor has college football's fastest offense, but where does your team rank?
By Peter Berkes on May 15, 2015, 12:11p

The most up-tempo offenses in college football include some names you would expect. Baylor was the fastest, getting a play off every 18 seconds in 2014. Arizona, Oregon, and West Virginia and a few others averaged less than 20 seconds between plays.

When you take those raw pace numbers and adjust them based on how often teams ran the ball (since running plays naturally burn more clock than passing plays; see more on Bill Connelly's Adjusted Pace stat here), they all still occupy positions in the top 10. See the full 1-128 chart below.

But that adjustment shows some run-heavy teams like Air Force use more tempo than it appears. Air Force used a somewhat average number of seconds per play (23.1), but moved four seconds per play faster than it would be expected to. Adjusting the seconds-per-play figure ranks the Falcons as the country's eighth-fastest offense.

Here's the full list, via Football Study Hall's vaults.

Pace rank Team Seconds/play Run % Expected seconds/play
1 Baylor 18 52.3% 23.8
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81 Alabama 24.9 54.1% 24.1
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113 Rice 27.2 58.8% 24.6
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128 UTEP 30.5 65% 25.4


Comparing Auburn and Clemson spells out the difference. The Tigers and -- well, also the Tigers -- both took about 23 seconds per play and used a similar offense. But when adjusted for run percentage, Auburn ranks 28th and Clemson 51st. Auburn's offense is so run-heavy that it gets a significant adjustment bump.

Some predictions you probably got right are Arkansas and Alabama. Both of their coaches have criticized hurry-up offenses, and they practice what they preach. Alabama snaps every 24.9 seconds, good for an adjusted 81st in the country. But Lane Kiffin's occasional no-huddle means they're no match for Arkansas, which plods along at a play every 27.8 seconds, 116th in the country.

I know this topic frustrates most all of us. We heard alot about 'up tempo' last year but stats do not prove it out.

Assuming it was primarily b/c of a) DJ's injury and impact that had on offense and b) how many 'fast' TD's were given up on big plays by Rice D that required offense to 'slow' down the game with ball control.

Hope that changes this season. Good question for DB by anyone attending caravans.

Interesting to note that there is not a strong correlation between W's and L's and this stat though.

Teams in top 20 fastest offenses include:
UAB
Ark. St.
Texas St.
Air Force (surprising)
New Mexico St.

Teams below 113 (Rice) include:
Stanford
K-State
Arkansas
Oregon St.

(05-18-2015 12:37 AM)owl40 Wrote:  Interesting to note that there is not a strong correlation between W's and L's and this stat though.

Is there any correlation at all? Real question for the stats geeks out there.

While we are at it, is there a correlation between this stat and attendance? Presumably, faster football is more entertaining football and more bang for the buck. Does that equal butts in seats?

It doesn't matter how fast or how slowly we run our offense. I think the coaches want to run clock. They want it to be a clock running, ball control offense. What matters most is that it's executed.

(05-18-2015 12:37 AM)owl40 Wrote:  Assuming it was primarily b/c of a) DJ's injury and impact that had on offense and b) how many 'fast' TD's were given up on big plays by Rice D that required offense to 'slow' down the game with ball control.

I think it's largely b) and has been for years.

I'd rather solve it by 1) being sound enough defensively that you don't have to worry about b) and 2) running whatever offensive tempo you want.

Bottom line, if you're vulnerable to the big play, it puts the whole rest of your game on the back foot. Until we are good enough to prevent the big play against us, those dreams of signature wins and consistent 10-win seasons are just that--dreams.

(05-18-2015 09:19 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(05-18-2015 12:37 AM)owl40 Wrote:  Assuming it was primarily b/c of a) DJ's injury and impact that had on offense and b) how many 'fast' TD's were given up on big plays by Rice D that required offense to 'slow' down the game with ball control.

I think it's largely b) and has been for years.

I'd rather solve it by 1) being sound enough defensively that you don't have to worry about b) and 2) running whatever offensive tempo you want.

Bottom line, if you're vulnerable to the big play, it puts the whole rest of your game on the back foot. Until we are good enough to prevent the big play against us, those dreams of signature wins and consistent 10-win seasons are just that--dreams.

How westerners dream big.....
Score first, score often, and don't blink.