Here's a simple plot of our 2015 defensive results. The plot shows the opponent's average yards of offense per game on the horizontal axis. On the vertical axis are the actual yards our defense allowed by each team. The "theoretical" line is where all of the points would lie if our defense gave up exactly the average yards that the opposing offense gains. So, points below the line are where you want to be.
And the further below the line, the better we did defensively. Clearly, our best defensive games YTD have been against Boston College, NC State, and Samford, relative to how well those teams usually perform offensively. And as we all saw, our performance against FSU sticks out as our worst defensive performance this year. Consistently, our defense holds opponents below their offensive average.
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On offense, we have been more average with a few games much better. With Petrino at the helm, fans expect more out of the offense. But even in our worst showings--Clemson, NC State, and Wake Forest--we have been in line offensively with where those defenses hold their opponents. Where we have significantly deviated, it has always been to the upside--Boston College, Syracuse, Samford, and less so, FSU.
The data show no obvious trends with time or any other variable. We simply need more consistency on offense at the upper range of our potential, and for the defense to continue to do its stellar job...
And the further below the line, the better we did defensively. Clearly, our best defensive games YTD have been against Boston College, NC State, and Samford, relative to how well those teams usually perform offensively. And as we all saw, our performance against FSU sticks out as our worst defensive performance this year. Consistently, our defense holds opponents below their offensive average.
***************************************************************************************
On offense, we have been more average with a few games much better. With Petrino at the helm, fans expect more out of the offense. But even in our worst showings--Clemson, NC State, and Wake Forest--we have been in line offensively with where those defenses hold their opponents. Where we have significantly deviated, it has always been to the upside--Boston College, Syracuse, Samford, and less so, FSU.
The data show no obvious trends with time or any other variable. We simply need more consistency on offense at the upper range of our potential, and for the defense to continue to do its stellar job...
