under construction

under construction

November 25, 2014

Most Efficient, Yet Maybe Missing Out

MASON--not Tarkenton, Zeier, Greene, 
Murray, etc.--has quarterbacked the most
efficient UGA scoring offense since the mid-40s.
Looking through the NCAA's updated team football statistics yesterday, I discovered Georgia currently leads the FBS in a telling, yet uncalculated statistic--to find, one we stat geeks actually have to figure out on our own.

I've been blogging about the YPP, or yards per point, statistic nearly since I started this blog.

Offensively, measuring the "efficiency" of a team's scoring, points scored are divided into total yards gained to figure its Offensive YPP. The lower the Offensive YPP, the better, and currently, the Bulldogs evidently have the most efficient scoring offense in the nation (record in parenthesis):

1) Georgia (9-2), 10.7
2) LA Tech (7-4), 11.1
3) Ohio State (10-1), 11.55
4) North Texas (4-7), 11.62
5) Baylor (9-1), 11.69
6) Michigan State (9-2), 11.718
7) Oregon (10-1), 11.724
8) TCU (9-1), 11.80
9) Temple (5-5), 11.83
10) Kansas State (8-2), 11.9

What's more, over the last 73 years since the 1941 season, Georgia's 10.7 Offensive YPP currently ranks as the second-highest in school history:

10.6- 1946 (10-0)
10.7- 2014 (9-2)
11.5- 2007 (11-2)
11.6- 1971 (10-1)
11.7- 1948 (9-1)
12.0- 2002 (13-1)

As far as Defensive YPP, this is a measurement the Bulldogs have, you could say, "struggled in" the last several years. Contrary to Offensive YPP, Defensive YPP measures the "efficiency" of a team's scoring defense and is figured by points allowed being divided into total yards yielded. The higher the better, while it's been shown, at least in the SEC, the teams with the better Defensive YPPs are usually contending for, if not capturing a conference championship.  Of the six FBS teams currently with a Defensive YPP of higher than 19.5, three--Alabama, Miss. State, and Ole Miss--are from the SEC.

Georgia's Defensive YPP of 15.8 currently ranks just 9th in the conference; however, it's slotted 43rd of the 125 FBS teams, or in the top 35 percent nationwide.  What's more, Georgia's current 15.8 mark is second highest of the last seven Bulldog teams beginning in 2008, and third-best of the last nine Georgia teams beginning in 2006: 

15.8- 2014 (9-2)
12.9- 2013 (8-5)
18.2- 2012 (12-2)
13.5- 2011 (10-4)
14.9- 2010 (6-7)
13.1- 2009 (8-5)
12.7- 2008 (10-3)
16.0- 2007 (11-2)
14.7- 2006 (9-4)

Here's where it could become real puzzling: although the Bulldogs have the most efficient scoring offense in the nation--the most efficient at Georgia in the last 68 years--and one of the program's most efficient scoring defenses since defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder left town a decade ago, the 2014 Bulldog squad is actually not very efficient, suffering a couple of "bad" losses amidst primarily easy victories.  And, unless Missouri finally loses this Friday, the "efficient" Bulldogs, as was the case in 2007, will miss out again on a trip to the Georgia Dome in one-and-a-half weeks.

Go figure.

No comments: