RE: explosives in the running game, I looked at the Top 12 teams in the country in terms of yards per carry, and compared that to how many explosive runs they had. It's kind of interesting.
Toledo -- 44 runs of 10+ yards (#2 in the country), 13 runs of 20+, 5 runs of 30+ in 5 games
UCF -- 38 runs of 10+ yards (#6 in the country), 14 runs of 20+, 8 runs of 30+ in 5 games
Oregon -- 28 runs of 10+ yards, 7 runs of 20+, 4 runs of 30+ in only 4 games
LA-Lafayette -- 35 runs of 10+ yards (#10 in the country), 10 runs of 20+, 6 runs of 30+ in 5 games
Tennessee -- 31 runs of 10+ yards, 8 runs of 20+, 5 runs of 30+ in only 4 games
New Mexico State -- 26 runs of 10+ yards, 8 runs of 20+, 4 runs of 30+ in 5 games
USC -- 38 runs of 10+ yards, 13 runs of 20+ yards, 5 runs of 30+ yards in 6 games
Kentucky -- 26 runs of 10+ yards, 13 runs of 20+ yards, 8 runs of 30+ yards in 5 games
Kansas -- 41 runs of 10+ yards (#3 in the country), 11 runs of 20+, 3 runs of 30+ in 5 games
Liberty -- 50 runs of 10+ (#1 in the country), 15 runs of 20+, 5 runs of 30+, in 5 games
LSU -- 31 runs of 10+, 10 runs of 20+, 7 runs of 30+ in 5 games
Miami -- 25 runs of 10+ yards (#46 in the country), 6 runs of 20+, 2 runs of 30+ in 4 games
Of the Top 12 teams in the country in YPC, you can argue we are the least explosive. Only 6 runs all season of 20+. That's the fewest of any of these teams. Only 2 runs all season of 30+. Again, fewest of any of these teams.
One thing to note, these numbers are slightly skewed by pass protection, as sacks are counted as rushes in college football, so if you're avoiding sacks, your YPC will be higher, if you're taking a lot of sacks, even if you're running it well on designed runs, your YPC will be lower. So this isn't 100% perfect, but it's a good indicator. I love our backfield, and the run game was obviously very good in the three easier games, not great vs A&M and slightly better than that last week, but we're not breaking off the huge runs that other teams are and that we expect. I think that's why you heard Chris Johnson was going to get some burn last week, although he only got the 1 touch. The coaches obviously see this as well. And frankly it was a lot of the same the last few years also. We know Gattass was radioactive waste, but we still only had THREE runs all season (11 games) of 30+ yards. That was 101st in the country. Should NEVER happen at a school like Miami. In 2021 we only had TWO all season, in 11 games. So we have got to get more explosive in the run game...maybe Fletcher helps out there if he's healthy. I like Parrish and Chaney has been tough, but those guys just don't have the explosiveness that we need.