It is no secret that we had our difficulties running the ball last year (especially as the season progressed). So, let’s take a look at some statistics from last season and try to pinpoint the causes of our shortcomings. For the purpose of this analysis, the OU game will be very significant. First, that particular game was just about the midpoint of the regular season (game 6). Also, and perhaps more significant, that is when we lost Dockery to a season-ending injury. Let us begin.
Before the OU game, we rushed for the following totals in our contests: 212, 172, 330, 193 & 119. That gives us an average of 205 YPG.
After the OU game, we rushed for the following amounts in our games: 162, 128, 227, 164, 143, 70, & 70. That’s an average of 138 YPG.
On its surface, it would appear that the loss of Dockery had a tremendous impact on our ability to run the ball. Let’s dig a little deeper and ask a few more questions just to make sure. Could our decreased rushing totals be due to the fact that Colt improved as a passer over the course of the season? Could it also be due to Greg Davis having more confidence in Colt and therefore allowing Colt to pass the ball more?
Before the OU game, we passed for the following: 198, 154, 163, 246 & 300. This gives us an average of 212 YPG.
After the OU game, our passing yards were: 275, 220, 256, 346, 241, 160 & 308. That’s an average of 258 YPG.
(Note: Remember that Colt did not play after the fist possession of the KSU game and was not healthy during the A&M game. I think our passing numbers during those two games reflect those items)
Our overall rushing output decreased by 67 YPG, and our passing output increased by 46 YPG after OU. That gives us a net difference of –21 Total YPG after OU. We’ll dig deeper once more.
Pre OU, our yards per rush attempt were the following: 4.8, 5.5 (Ohio St.), 7.7, 4.8 & 2.8. That’s an average of 5.1 YPR. (Also, note that the SHSU game [2.8] was played without Charles and S. Young). We also averaged 40 rush attempts per game.
After OU, our averages were the following: 4.4, 3.8, 5.2, 3.6, 3.2, 2.8 & 3.3. That’s an average of 3.8 YPR. We also averaged 36 rush attempts per game.
Let’s look at one more category.
Before the OU game, we averaged 23 pass attempts per game.
After the OU game, we averaged 34 pass attempts per game.
Conclusion
After the OU game, we ran the ball a little less (4 attempts less per game) than we did before the RRS. Was this due to improvements in our passing game? Yes. However, we were tremendously less effective rushing than we were passing as the season progressed (see above). Nonetheless, there are still many positives we can take away from these stats. First, the improvements in our passing game during the course of last season were great. With a healthy Colt, Sweed, Quan, Shipley, Pittman and Finley, I think our passing game will be deadly this year. Before the Dockery injury last year, we were quite effective running the ball. The big question obviously is will our running game be able to return to the form it had when Dockery was healthy. If so, our offense will be extremely balanced and will be one of the tops in the nation. If not, we’ll simply be an above average offense that struggles against elite defenses.
Before the OU game, we rushed for the following totals in our contests: 212, 172, 330, 193 & 119. That gives us an average of 205 YPG.
After the OU game, we rushed for the following amounts in our games: 162, 128, 227, 164, 143, 70, & 70. That’s an average of 138 YPG.
On its surface, it would appear that the loss of Dockery had a tremendous impact on our ability to run the ball. Let’s dig a little deeper and ask a few more questions just to make sure. Could our decreased rushing totals be due to the fact that Colt improved as a passer over the course of the season? Could it also be due to Greg Davis having more confidence in Colt and therefore allowing Colt to pass the ball more?
Before the OU game, we passed for the following: 198, 154, 163, 246 & 300. This gives us an average of 212 YPG.
After the OU game, our passing yards were: 275, 220, 256, 346, 241, 160 & 308. That’s an average of 258 YPG.
(Note: Remember that Colt did not play after the fist possession of the KSU game and was not healthy during the A&M game. I think our passing numbers during those two games reflect those items)
Our overall rushing output decreased by 67 YPG, and our passing output increased by 46 YPG after OU. That gives us a net difference of –21 Total YPG after OU. We’ll dig deeper once more.
Pre OU, our yards per rush attempt were the following: 4.8, 5.5 (Ohio St.), 7.7, 4.8 & 2.8. That’s an average of 5.1 YPR. (Also, note that the SHSU game [2.8] was played without Charles and S. Young). We also averaged 40 rush attempts per game.
After OU, our averages were the following: 4.4, 3.8, 5.2, 3.6, 3.2, 2.8 & 3.3. That’s an average of 3.8 YPR. We also averaged 36 rush attempts per game.
Let’s look at one more category.
Before the OU game, we averaged 23 pass attempts per game.
After the OU game, we averaged 34 pass attempts per game.
Conclusion
After the OU game, we ran the ball a little less (4 attempts less per game) than we did before the RRS. Was this due to improvements in our passing game? Yes. However, we were tremendously less effective rushing than we were passing as the season progressed (see above). Nonetheless, there are still many positives we can take away from these stats. First, the improvements in our passing game during the course of last season were great. With a healthy Colt, Sweed, Quan, Shipley, Pittman and Finley, I think our passing game will be deadly this year. Before the Dockery injury last year, we were quite effective running the ball. The big question obviously is will our running game be able to return to the form it had when Dockery was healthy. If so, our offense will be extremely balanced and will be one of the tops in the nation. If not, we’ll simply be an above average offense that struggles against elite defenses.
