Reyrey
Sophomore
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2020
- Messages
- 1,066
Men Lie. Women Lie. Numbers don’t.
Before we dive into our Stats compared to the rest of the NCAA, let’s discuss last week briefly. We are what our record is, 6-2. That’s a good thing. It hasn’t been pretty, but the moral of story is we are improved from last year. We are winning games we haven’t won in years past. We are also learning different ways to win, building culture, and handling adversity.
Let’s look at one case study.
U.Washington
2021: 4-8 (Loss to Montana)
2022: 11-2 (Started 4-0. Lost 2, then won last 6 and won their bowl game) Those wins were often close.
We aren’t Washington and I’m not saying we will repeat their 2022 and 2023. But IMO, we are on a similar track. At the end of the day, this team has to learn to win and build/handle success. They have won back to back OT games. No easy task. They have come back to beat “more talented teams” Clemson. In a game they played terrible, they found a way to win. They started terrible, and turned around to dominate a “more talented team”. The have handled and shut out inferior opnennets. The next step is to maintain success, and also upset a better team.
Here’s how we rank.
The Good.
Line of Scrimmage. Especially the defensive side. It feels like our Defense is starting to find their identity. We are top 10 in sacks and TFL. That has helped us get to a top 10 rush defense. More specifically, we rank #5 in defensive YPC. That’s outstanding, especially considering the injuries. Offensively, it’s a somewhat similar story. Oline play has been very good in pass pro. Run blocking has been a bit inconsistent, but at the end of the day pass and rush O are both top 40 and have equated to a top 20 total yards and YPP. Balance is a good thing.
The Meh.
While our offense has statistically moved the ball well, we miss explosive plays. Our offense is built around sustaining long drives and wearing people down. That’s great, but we need to reestablish big plays. Both in the air and on the ground. Teams are starting to play more off zone. Against UVA we had 2 plus over 20 yards. Clemson we had 2.
On defense, critical areas need to improve. Our defense has closed down and performed well in 4th and overtime. But as a whole, Red Zone and 3/4th down need to improve.
The Bad.
This is probably a self explanatory piece. But first, QB play has to improve. Tyler is injured. But he is either healthy enough to play or not. Last week he looked like he was not. I’m not sure I’m of the belief that your injured starting QB needs to moved on (Riley Leonard for example) but if taking time off to get healthy gets me AM TVD, please do that. QB play as well as the rest of the team, has led to a terrible turnover margin. It’s not good and you can’t win with that. Penalties need to improve as well. Last week was improved, but I think the ACC sent a memo to refs to call 0 penalties in the game.
Moral of the Story.
We are 6-2. That’s a good thing. There are improvements needed. But, there have been improvements made. There are plenty areas of the ball that have looked great. There are plenty of players that have looked great. And underlying theme for both of those. Young players or Mario Transfers. The point is that the vision is unfolding. It will take time to get there. We are learning to win, and players are developing. This takes time. WE ARE IN A REBUILD. But, we are on the right side of the rebuild. On to NC State.
Go Canes.
Before we dive into our Stats compared to the rest of the NCAA, let’s discuss last week briefly. We are what our record is, 6-2. That’s a good thing. It hasn’t been pretty, but the moral of story is we are improved from last year. We are winning games we haven’t won in years past. We are also learning different ways to win, building culture, and handling adversity.
Let’s look at one case study.
U.Washington
2021: 4-8 (Loss to Montana)
2022: 11-2 (Started 4-0. Lost 2, then won last 6 and won their bowl game) Those wins were often close.
We aren’t Washington and I’m not saying we will repeat their 2022 and 2023. But IMO, we are on a similar track. At the end of the day, this team has to learn to win and build/handle success. They have won back to back OT games. No easy task. They have come back to beat “more talented teams” Clemson. In a game they played terrible, they found a way to win. They started terrible, and turned around to dominate a “more talented team”. The have handled and shut out inferior opnennets. The next step is to maintain success, and also upset a better team.
Here’s how we rank.
| Category | Change | Miami | FCS Removed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Offense YPG | -9 | 19th | 27th |
| Offense Yards Per Play | -7 | 16th | 15th |
| Pass Efficiency O | -11 | 26th | 28th |
| Pass O | -14 | 38th | 41st |
| Yards Per Att | — | — | 35th |
| Rush O | -3 | 31st | 36th |
| Yards per Cary | — | — | 18th |
| Red Zone O | +5 | 40th | 32nd |
| Sacks Allowed | +4 | 11th | 9th |
| TFL Allowed | +9 | 33rd | — |
| Completion % | +1 | 9th | 12th |
| 3rd Down O | -4 | 22nd | 45th |
| Total Defense YPG | -2 | 24th | 35th |
| Defensive YPP | +5 | 24th | 30th |
| Pass Efficiency D | +2 | 37th | 27th |
| TFL | +3 | 8th | |
| Sacks | +3 | 8th | 12th |
| Rush D | -1 | 8th | 12th |
| Yards per Cary | — | — | 10th |
| Red Zone D | -21 | 68th | 63rd |
| Pass D | -4 | 77th | 91st |
| Completion % | — | — | 13th |
| 3rd Down D | -7 | 52nd | 36th |
| Penalty Yards Per Game | +7 | 116th | 126th |
| Avg TOP | -20 | 30th | 26th |
| Turnover Margin | -7 | 82nd | 82nd |
| FG% | — | — | 8th |
| Avg Scoring Margin | — | — | 20th |
The Good.
Line of Scrimmage. Especially the defensive side. It feels like our Defense is starting to find their identity. We are top 10 in sacks and TFL. That has helped us get to a top 10 rush defense. More specifically, we rank #5 in defensive YPC. That’s outstanding, especially considering the injuries. Offensively, it’s a somewhat similar story. Oline play has been very good in pass pro. Run blocking has been a bit inconsistent, but at the end of the day pass and rush O are both top 40 and have equated to a top 20 total yards and YPP. Balance is a good thing.
The Meh.
While our offense has statistically moved the ball well, we miss explosive plays. Our offense is built around sustaining long drives and wearing people down. That’s great, but we need to reestablish big plays. Both in the air and on the ground. Teams are starting to play more off zone. Against UVA we had 2 plus over 20 yards. Clemson we had 2.
On defense, critical areas need to improve. Our defense has closed down and performed well in 4th and overtime. But as a whole, Red Zone and 3/4th down need to improve.
The Bad.
This is probably a self explanatory piece. But first, QB play has to improve. Tyler is injured. But he is either healthy enough to play or not. Last week he looked like he was not. I’m not sure I’m of the belief that your injured starting QB needs to moved on (Riley Leonard for example) but if taking time off to get healthy gets me AM TVD, please do that. QB play as well as the rest of the team, has led to a terrible turnover margin. It’s not good and you can’t win with that. Penalties need to improve as well. Last week was improved, but I think the ACC sent a memo to refs to call 0 penalties in the game.
Moral of the Story.
We are 6-2. That’s a good thing. There are improvements needed. But, there have been improvements made. There are plenty areas of the ball that have looked great. There are plenty of players that have looked great. And underlying theme for both of those. Young players or Mario Transfers. The point is that the vision is unfolding. It will take time to get there. We are learning to win, and players are developing. This takes time. WE ARE IN A REBUILD. But, we are on the right side of the rebuild. On to NC State.
Go Canes.
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