It’s obvious to the casual observer the improvement of our football team compared to last year’s team.
I can recall in Matt Campbell’s first game against UNI we lost 2 fumbles, had 2 interceptions, and numerous penalties on the offense (procedure, motion and linemen downfield). And I recall one of our receivers, in motion, collided with our running back in the backfield after the ball was snapped. As the season wore on the team played better each week without much to show for it.
So, when the season started this fall I was more interested to see if the coaching had eliminated many of the mistakes and errors made by last year’s team. I thought it would be a good measure of whether the coaching staff was making marked improvement in our play, regardless of wins or losses. I started comparing rankings of different categories provided by the NCAA after each week.
Below is a comparison of NCAA rankings, out of 129 teams, through the first 7 games of each season. There are only 2 categories where we have not improved, Red Zone Offense and KO Returns.
DEFENSE: The improvement in total defense, rushing defense and scoring defense is incredible.
OFFENSE: The scoring offense ranking from year to year is the biggest stat. Our rushing offense is about the same, passing efficiency offense has had a big jump which must correlate to the improvement in scoring.
OFFENSE 2016 / 2017
Total Offense 109 / 64
Scoring Offense 100 / 32
Passing Offense 100 / 32
Passing Efficiency 101 / 30
Rushing Offense 63 / 36
Red Zone Offense 10 / 25
‘DETAILS’: Campbell has preached ‘details’ since he arrived. I think these categories may signify the biggest improvement by the team because they reflect the ability of the coaches to coach up the players on simply the basics of good, solid, smart football.
· No lost fumbles this year.
· Protecting the quarterback much, much better.
· Winning the turnover battle.
· Not making the stupid, drive killing penalties on offense and fewer defensive penalties.
· KO returns ranking is way down, but we have had only 11 kickoff returns in 7 games this year (thank you defense) so it hasn’t had a big impact on game results.
We have a special football staff at ISU. The last 5 games of last season had considerable improvement, especially on offense. It will be interesting to check these stats at the end of the season.
I can recall in Matt Campbell’s first game against UNI we lost 2 fumbles, had 2 interceptions, and numerous penalties on the offense (procedure, motion and linemen downfield). And I recall one of our receivers, in motion, collided with our running back in the backfield after the ball was snapped. As the season wore on the team played better each week without much to show for it.
So, when the season started this fall I was more interested to see if the coaching had eliminated many of the mistakes and errors made by last year’s team. I thought it would be a good measure of whether the coaching staff was making marked improvement in our play, regardless of wins or losses. I started comparing rankings of different categories provided by the NCAA after each week.
Below is a comparison of NCAA rankings, out of 129 teams, through the first 7 games of each season. There are only 2 categories where we have not improved, Red Zone Offense and KO Returns.
DEFENSE: The improvement in total defense, rushing defense and scoring defense is incredible.
DEFENSE 2016 / 2017
Total Defense 110 / 35
Rushing defense 114 / 23
Rushing defense 114 / 23
Scoring Defense 96 / 34
Pass Efficiency Defense 77 / 76
Red Zone Defense 104 / 82
Team Sacks 101 / 64
Passes Intercepted 81 / 28
Net Punting 38 / 30
Pass Efficiency Defense 77 / 76
Red Zone Defense 104 / 82
Team Sacks 101 / 64
Passes Intercepted 81 / 28
Net Punting 38 / 30
OFFENSE: The scoring offense ranking from year to year is the biggest stat. Our rushing offense is about the same, passing efficiency offense has had a big jump which must correlate to the improvement in scoring.
OFFENSE 2016 / 2017
Total Offense 109 / 64
Scoring Offense 100 / 32
Passing Offense 100 / 32
Passing Efficiency 101 / 30
Rushing Offense 63 / 36
Red Zone Offense 10 / 25
‘DETAILS’: Campbell has preached ‘details’ since he arrived. I think these categories may signify the biggest improvement by the team because they reflect the ability of the coaches to coach up the players on simply the basics of good, solid, smart football.
· No lost fumbles this year.
· Protecting the quarterback much, much better.
· Winning the turnover battle.
· Not making the stupid, drive killing penalties on offense and fewer defensive penalties.
· KO returns ranking is way down, but we have had only 11 kickoff returns in 7 games this year (thank you defense) so it hasn’t had a big impact on game results.
‘DETAILS’ 2016 / 2017
Fumbles Lost 76 / 1
Sacks Allowed 124 / 20
Turnover Margin 97 / 10
Turnovers Lost 58 / 9
Fewest Penalty Yards 97 / 10
Fewest Penalties 110 / 5
Punt Returns 49 / 40
KO Returns 29 / 116
Fumbles Lost 76 / 1
Sacks Allowed 124 / 20
Turnover Margin 97 / 10
Turnovers Lost 58 / 9
Fewest Penalty Yards 97 / 10
Fewest Penalties 110 / 5
Punt Returns 49 / 40
KO Returns 29 / 116
We have a special football staff at ISU. The last 5 games of last season had considerable improvement, especially on offense. It will be interesting to check these stats at the end of the season.
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