Most teams have played 3 games against an FBS team, which means it's time to start comparing Tech's numbers to the rest of the country.
Total yards & total points stats are a fugazzi. Just white noise. When Kenpom changed the college basketball stat world, he did so by looking at per possession stats. In football, this translates to how often does a team score per drive? How frequently do they allow points? What percentage of their possessions result in a TD? Or a turnover?
These are more meaningful and predictive stats. It's not our defenses fault that 40% of the TD passes we've given up were thrown by Tech QBs. Per-drive stats disregard that. The ones below also disregard games against FCS teams and garbage-time possessions.
For these comparisons below, note that Tech has played a slightly tougher schedule than Kansas State, although not by much. Both teams have played at least a top 30ish toughest schedule, but I would make Tech's around the top 20th toughest schedule played to date.
Offensive Points Per Drive:
Texas Tech - 2.05 points per offensive possession. 79th in the country.
Kansas State - 2.23 points per offensive possession. 70th in the country.
Offensive TD Percentage:
Texas Tech - 24.4% of possessions end with a TD play. 81st in the country.
Kansas State - 25.7% of possessions end with a TD play. 78th in the country.
Offensive Turnover Percentage:
Texas Tech - 14.6% of possessions end with a turnover. 87th in the country.
Kansas State - 0% of possessions end with a turnover. 1st in the country, obviously.
Is that even correct? How is that possible? I hate playing this damn team.
Offensive Yards Per Play:
Texas Tech - 5 yards per play. 97th in the country.
This is a product of (1) all the negative yard plays against UH and, to a lesser extent, NC State, and (2) the hyper-efficient dink-and-dunk offense we ran against Texas to the tune of 100 plays (which represents a large portion of our total plays on the season). Last year at Western Kentucky, Kittley's offense ranked 4th in the country in yards per play.
Kansas State - 5.24 yards per play. 87th in the country.
They have actually taken a big step back from last year's offense in this category, which was sneakily way better than people gave it credit for (the 27-year-old version of Skyler Thompson was good).
Defensive Points Per Drive:
Texas Tech - 2.03*** points allowed per possession. 58th in the country.
Kansas State - 1.58 points allowed per possession. 28th in the country.
*** The average starting field position for Texas Tech's defense is 130th out of 131 teams. I'm going to be honest with you guys, I didn't even know there were 130 FBS teams now. That's bad. However, I love that it's almost become this defense's identity through 4 games. I can't remember who said this, maybe DeRuyter, but the defense's motto has been.... "911.... you call, we ball." They are embracing adversity and have really shown up in big spots. They have been unfazed when our other units put them in a compromised situation. And are well suited for short-field OT possessions, allowing just 1.5 points per drive to UH and UT (effectively, causing us to win the games)
Kansas State's defense, meanwhile, has benefited from the 26th best starting field position.
Defensive TD Percentage:
Texas Tech - 21.1% of possessions end with opponents running a TD play. 39th in the country.
This is good for our standards. Good for anyone's standards when you consider the teams we've played. Really good when you consider how often the defense is having to respond to an emergency situation.
Kansas State - 16.7% of possessions end with opponents running a TD play. 20th in the country.
Defensive Turnover Percentage:
Texas Tech - 13.2% of opponents' possessions end with a turnover. 51st in the country.
Our defense could really take the next step here. A little bit better turnover luck, and we're talking about a top 25 defensive unit.
Kansas State - 16.7% of opponents' possessions end with a turnover. 23rd in the country.
Man, f*ck Kansas State. How do they keep getting away with this?
Defensive Yards Per Play:
Texas Tech - 5.16 yards allowed per play. 39th in the country.
Kansas State - 5.34 yards allowed per play. 46th in the country.
Interesting that both teams are 3-1 and have allowed more yards per play than they are generating. That's a bit odd.
Our offense obviously has a ton of room for improvement, and we may have seen some of that on Saturday. Kittley might be figuring out how to move the ball down the field with Donovan in a way that scores points and doesn't totally screw our defense over. It would make sense that UH / NC State / UT taught him a lot about Donovan, our skill guys, and our OL - what they can and can't do against real opponents. I expect us to keep getting better each week.
Kansas State's defense looks like the real deal on paper, though.
Ryan left it all out on the field in everything he did. In his honor, we bring you Fields of Gold, so that others facing bone cancer can keep on playing. A portion of proceeds from every case sold is donated to The Little Warrior Foundation.
The Little Warrior Foundation's mission is to fund & find a lasting cure for childhood cancer, with a specific focus on Ewing's Sarcoma.
https://shop.summerlandwinebrands.com/Shop/Fields-of-Gold
@Saynotobarefoot
Total yards & total points stats are a fugazzi. Just white noise. When Kenpom changed the college basketball stat world, he did so by looking at per possession stats. In football, this translates to how often does a team score per drive? How frequently do they allow points? What percentage of their possessions result in a TD? Or a turnover?
These are more meaningful and predictive stats. It's not our defenses fault that 40% of the TD passes we've given up were thrown by Tech QBs. Per-drive stats disregard that. The ones below also disregard games against FCS teams and garbage-time possessions.
For these comparisons below, note that Tech has played a slightly tougher schedule than Kansas State, although not by much. Both teams have played at least a top 30ish toughest schedule, but I would make Tech's around the top 20th toughest schedule played to date.
Offensive Points Per Drive:
Texas Tech - 2.05 points per offensive possession. 79th in the country.
Kansas State - 2.23 points per offensive possession. 70th in the country.
Offensive TD Percentage:
Texas Tech - 24.4% of possessions end with a TD play. 81st in the country.
Kansas State - 25.7% of possessions end with a TD play. 78th in the country.
Offensive Turnover Percentage:
Texas Tech - 14.6% of possessions end with a turnover. 87th in the country.
Kansas State - 0% of possessions end with a turnover. 1st in the country, obviously.
Is that even correct? How is that possible? I hate playing this damn team.
Offensive Yards Per Play:
Texas Tech - 5 yards per play. 97th in the country.
This is a product of (1) all the negative yard plays against UH and, to a lesser extent, NC State, and (2) the hyper-efficient dink-and-dunk offense we ran against Texas to the tune of 100 plays (which represents a large portion of our total plays on the season). Last year at Western Kentucky, Kittley's offense ranked 4th in the country in yards per play.
Kansas State - 5.24 yards per play. 87th in the country.
They have actually taken a big step back from last year's offense in this category, which was sneakily way better than people gave it credit for (the 27-year-old version of Skyler Thompson was good).
Defensive Points Per Drive:
Texas Tech - 2.03*** points allowed per possession. 58th in the country.
Kansas State - 1.58 points allowed per possession. 28th in the country.
*** The average starting field position for Texas Tech's defense is 130th out of 131 teams. I'm going to be honest with you guys, I didn't even know there were 130 FBS teams now. That's bad. However, I love that it's almost become this defense's identity through 4 games. I can't remember who said this, maybe DeRuyter, but the defense's motto has been.... "911.... you call, we ball." They are embracing adversity and have really shown up in big spots. They have been unfazed when our other units put them in a compromised situation. And are well suited for short-field OT possessions, allowing just 1.5 points per drive to UH and UT (effectively, causing us to win the games)
Kansas State's defense, meanwhile, has benefited from the 26th best starting field position.
Defensive TD Percentage:
Texas Tech - 21.1% of possessions end with opponents running a TD play. 39th in the country.
This is good for our standards. Good for anyone's standards when you consider the teams we've played. Really good when you consider how often the defense is having to respond to an emergency situation.
Kansas State - 16.7% of possessions end with opponents running a TD play. 20th in the country.
Defensive Turnover Percentage:
Texas Tech - 13.2% of opponents' possessions end with a turnover. 51st in the country.
Our defense could really take the next step here. A little bit better turnover luck, and we're talking about a top 25 defensive unit.
Kansas State - 16.7% of opponents' possessions end with a turnover. 23rd in the country.
Man, f*ck Kansas State. How do they keep getting away with this?
Defensive Yards Per Play:
Texas Tech - 5.16 yards allowed per play. 39th in the country.
Kansas State - 5.34 yards allowed per play. 46th in the country.
Interesting that both teams are 3-1 and have allowed more yards per play than they are generating. That's a bit odd.
Our offense obviously has a ton of room for improvement, and we may have seen some of that on Saturday. Kittley might be figuring out how to move the ball down the field with Donovan in a way that scores points and doesn't totally screw our defense over. It would make sense that UH / NC State / UT taught him a lot about Donovan, our skill guys, and our OL - what they can and can't do against real opponents. I expect us to keep getting better each week.
Kansas State's defense looks like the real deal on paper, though.
Ryan left it all out on the field in everything he did. In his honor, we bring you Fields of Gold, so that others facing bone cancer can keep on playing. A portion of proceeds from every case sold is donated to The Little Warrior Foundation.
The Little Warrior Foundation's mission is to fund & find a lasting cure for childhood cancer, with a specific focus on Ewing's Sarcoma.
https://shop.summerlandwinebrands.com/Shop/Fields-of-Gold
@Saynotobarefoot
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