It seems it might be worth recapping a few things about our first two opponents in thinking about our own performances so far. As always, two games into a season (one game not against us) it is difficult to know for sure the true qualities of a team. So, the following is largely based upon preseason expectations.
Among others, SB Nation ran some good previews.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...ule-roster
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...ule-roster
There are some similarities in the strengths and weaknesses of our first two opponents. Both teams were expected to be strong on defense, with good performance on that side of the ball last year and relatively light losses. UCF was #4 in the country in total defense yds/play and NW was #41. NW defense was hit quite hard by injury last year, with many of those missing returning.
For NW, the D-Line was expected to be a strength with most everyone returning. Linebackers the main question. Secondary the biggest strength, particularly at corner.
UCF had more losses from last year. Not on the line, though, where they returned 5 of the 6 who played extensively. Run defense was already their strength, and expected to be more so this year. They did need to replace 2 linebackers and the entire starting secondary â though their returners did have more experience than Stanfordâs.
On offense, neither of these teams were very good last year, with an unclear path towards improvement. NW was #122 in yds/play, #107 in pts/drive, and #111 in S&P+. They were particularly bad at passing, despite having a senior QB who was drafted and actually made the roster on the Broncos. The run game with a strong spread flavor to it was a relative strength, with a very good frosh RB (Jackson). With a good returning back, a new QB, a receiver corps that was poor though possibly recovering they were expected to lean heavily to the run.
UCFâs offense was also not great last year, #105 in yds/play, #64 in pts/drive, and #99 in S&P+. Last year their run game struggled but was expected to improve with a line returning 8 of 10 who started a game last year and all the RBs. The pass game was okay last year, but they lost their top 4 WRs and at least for our game lost their QB.
Taking these characteristics of our opponents into account levels our analysis of our own performances.
So far this year Stanfordâs defense was quite good in points allowed, passing allowed (outside of PI calls), and overall yards. However, these may be the two worst offenses we face this year, with particular issues in their pass games. So, while I donât have too many complaints about the secondary beyond the PIs, they have not had much of a test. The run D had more of a test, and did okay despite NW ending up with a pretty good total by simply keeping at it and eeking out first downs.
Probably the best thing the offense did in the disaster in Evanston was the bread and butter run game with the RBs averaging 5.0 yds/carry; we just didnât stick with it as the RBs had only 19 carries. We struggled more to run the ball vs UCF, though we tried much harder. The RBs averaged 3.5 yds/carry but got 33 carries for a not-horrible team total of 130 yds rushing. While Hoganâs good rating vs UCF was largely on the back of two long runs by Love, his troubles were also to some extent associated with terrible drops by WRs and TEs. At any rate, the one mitigating issue for the offense is that the teams we have played probably will show to be one good D (NW) and one okay D (UCF). Weâll see plenty of defenses not as good as NW the rest of the season, and some not as good as UCF.
Among others, SB Nation ran some good previews.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...ule-roster
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...ule-roster
There are some similarities in the strengths and weaknesses of our first two opponents. Both teams were expected to be strong on defense, with good performance on that side of the ball last year and relatively light losses. UCF was #4 in the country in total defense yds/play and NW was #41. NW defense was hit quite hard by injury last year, with many of those missing returning.
For NW, the D-Line was expected to be a strength with most everyone returning. Linebackers the main question. Secondary the biggest strength, particularly at corner.
UCF had more losses from last year. Not on the line, though, where they returned 5 of the 6 who played extensively. Run defense was already their strength, and expected to be more so this year. They did need to replace 2 linebackers and the entire starting secondary â though their returners did have more experience than Stanfordâs.
On offense, neither of these teams were very good last year, with an unclear path towards improvement. NW was #122 in yds/play, #107 in pts/drive, and #111 in S&P+. They were particularly bad at passing, despite having a senior QB who was drafted and actually made the roster on the Broncos. The run game with a strong spread flavor to it was a relative strength, with a very good frosh RB (Jackson). With a good returning back, a new QB, a receiver corps that was poor though possibly recovering they were expected to lean heavily to the run.
UCFâs offense was also not great last year, #105 in yds/play, #64 in pts/drive, and #99 in S&P+. Last year their run game struggled but was expected to improve with a line returning 8 of 10 who started a game last year and all the RBs. The pass game was okay last year, but they lost their top 4 WRs and at least for our game lost their QB.
Taking these characteristics of our opponents into account levels our analysis of our own performances.
So far this year Stanfordâs defense was quite good in points allowed, passing allowed (outside of PI calls), and overall yards. However, these may be the two worst offenses we face this year, with particular issues in their pass games. So, while I donât have too many complaints about the secondary beyond the PIs, they have not had much of a test. The run D had more of a test, and did okay despite NW ending up with a pretty good total by simply keeping at it and eeking out first downs.
Probably the best thing the offense did in the disaster in Evanston was the bread and butter run game with the RBs averaging 5.0 yds/carry; we just didnât stick with it as the RBs had only 19 carries. We struggled more to run the ball vs UCF, though we tried much harder. The RBs averaged 3.5 yds/carry but got 33 carries for a not-horrible team total of 130 yds rushing. While Hoganâs good rating vs UCF was largely on the back of two long runs by Love, his troubles were also to some extent associated with terrible drops by WRs and TEs. At any rate, the one mitigating issue for the offense is that the teams we have played probably will show to be one good D (NW) and one okay D (UCF). Weâll see plenty of defenses not as good as NW the rest of the season, and some not as good as UCF.
