Browse > Home / Football / Open Thread and Common Opponent Data - OSU/UM

Open Thread and Common Opponent Data - OSU/UM

November 21, 2008

OSU FootballHow’s THAT for a quick season? Is it just me?

Tomorrow the top-10 ranked will play The Worst Team In History. Seriously. In 111 years, no team has faced a statistically worse UM opponent.

UM fans, if you think that makes Buckeye fans breathe easier or act overconfident, guess again. Games like this always make me nervous. On paper, should have an easier time with the tomorrow than they had against I-AA Youngstown. Which is precisely why I’m hoping the team doesn’t think of it that way. If there’s one weakness with this current class of senior leaders, it’s that time and time again they’ve failed to take the big games seriously. Cakewalking into . Infighting against . Choking against .

However, if there is a reassuring theme from the Tressel era, it’s that he’s always been successful at getting the players fired up for . Even in his one loss, the overmatched kept it close into the fourth quarter.

Unlike what you’ve read in the papers, The Worst Team In History did not miss out on a bowl game this season. Actually, they earned a spot in the “ Bowl,” and that’s how the Worst Players in Michigan History are looking at it.

Below are the tables comparing apples to apples between the good and bad guys.

The tables list the opponent(s) in chronological order down the first column, and include the following ‘important’ stats: total points (Pts), total yards (Yds), total first downs (Dwns), and turnovers (TOs); for each team and its opponent (Opp).

Table 1: The Worst Team In History

  Pts Pts (opp) Yds Yds (opp) Frst Dwns Dwns (opp) TOs TOs (opp)
27 25 268 384 14 18 5 4
20 45 319 501 17 19 2 0
Penn St. 17 46 291 482 15 22 1 1
Mich St. 21 35 252 473 13 22 4 3
42 48 300 522 15 25 1 1
29 6 435 188 20 8 1 1
NrthWstrn 14 21 264 257 15 14 2 2
TOTAL 170 226 2129 2807 109 128 16 12
AVERAGE 24.3 32.3 304.1 401 15.6 18.3 2.3 1.7

 

Table 2:

  Pts Pts (opp) Yds Yds (opp) Frst Dwns Dwns (opp) TOs TOs (opp)
34 21 414 268 21 18 1 3
20 17 327 326 17 19 2 2
16 3 222 298 14 18 0 2
Mich St. 45 7 332 240 18 14 0 5
Penn St. 6 13 287 281 14 18 2 0
NrthWstrn 45 10 441 294 23 20 0 3
30 20 354 455 16 25 1 2
TOTAL 196 91 2377 2162 123 132 6 17
AVERAGE 28 13 339.6 308.9 17.6 18.9 .85 2.4

 

The values in Table 3 indicate a team’s overall performance, percentage-wise, against the average numbers the common opponents collectively allow.

For example, in the table below, scored an average of 12% fewer points on these common opponents than what those opponents typically allow, while their defense allowed those same opponents to score 15% more points than what they would typically get, and so on.

Table 3: Performance against what Common Opponents Typically Allow

  % Scoring % Scoring Defense % Yards % Yards Allowed
Worst Team in History -12 +15 -10 +4
+31 -54 0 -20

 

Notes:
The Worst Team In History gets a lot of guff for its poor offensive performance, but as the charts show, the defense deserves just as much, if not more, blame for this season’s woes. Some rationalize that this is a direct result of the poor offense - “the defense is on the field too much.” But this is absolute bunk. Look at - statistically, their offense is about as poor as UM’s, but is in position to win 10 games this year. Why? Because they have a decent defense. UM has no excuses.

Also: Holy 17 to 6 turnover ratio for , Batman! To me, this is the most satisfying defensive improvement from last season, and the one that’s most likely to impact tomorrow’s game.

Only one question this week:

  • Final score?

sportsMonkey’s Prediction:

  • wins its conference record 4th straight Big 10 Championship with a 932 to negative 50 drubbing of The Worst Team In History.
  • Seriously, , 42-13. Tradition and adrenaline keep it interesting in the first quarter or two, but the pull away and don’t look back.


Go to Source

Related Stories

Written by feed · Filed Under Football 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

Got something to say?