Seems there is one thing we are getting right

[JelloYacketDeleted062020]

Just checking national stats and we are tied with Alabama for #6 in creating turnovers with 16 for the year.

The interesting breakout of this is that of the 6 teams tied/better, those teams' defensive turnovers are tilted to either fumbles or interceptions whereas ours are the most balanced (7 fumbles and 9 interceptions).

Of the 6 teams tied/better, 4 have played 2 cupcakes, 1 played 3 cupcakes and 1 (Florida) only played 1 cupcake.

And one other random observation. Through 7 games, we have forced at least one turnover per game. We have not done that in the last 10 seasons.

Yeah, we have issues and problems but this is very encouraging. Imagine if we could just stop turning the ball over.

Team Gained Lost Margin
Florida 18 9 +9
Kansas 18 5 +13
Miami 17 12 +5
Boston College 17 11 +6
Fresno State 17 6 +11
Georgia Tech 16 12 +4
Alabama 16 5 +11

Better yet, if you look at our winning % over the past 10 seasons and regress against our turnover margin, the R^2 is .7677. An increase in turnover margin increasing our winning % by 2.4%.

 

[killacam32]

I did another check and determined that we are giving up around 7 more points per game than we have in recent previous seasons (limited to FBS teams - cupcakes excluded). Also, our defense is allowing a third down conversion rate of 53% to FBS opponents - that is putrid.

So I'm not ready to say our Defense is solid in all aspects of the game. It took Woody 2 seasons to get it going at App St.

Out of 6 games we've allowed 49 points and 31 points, so sure, the PPG number is high, one of those games we scored 60 points, and the other was our 2nd game of the year. I'll cut them some slack.