ktchamp97
10-30-2005, 02:46 PM
BS you say? Let's take a look at the cold, hard facts...it's not as outlandish as it sounds. It's nice to say, "USC's offense is amazing," "VTech's defense is incredible," "UT is overrated and doesn't deserve to be #1 or #2," but lets take a deeper look.
USC (8-0)
Avg Score 49.8 - 20.5; #1 in Total O; #35 in Total D
Opponents:
Hawaii (3-5): Avg Score 27 - 36; #18 in Total O; #101 in Total D
Arkansas (2-5): Avg Score 26 - 30; #48 in Total O; #76 in Total D
Oregon (7-1): Avg Score 35 - 25; #12 in Total O; #53 in Total D
Ariz. St. (4-4): Avg Score 39-29; #5 in Total O; #106(tie) in Total D
Arizona (2-6): Avg Score 20-27; #88 in Total O; #86 in Total D
Notre Dame (5-2): Avg Score 38-25; #9 in Total O; #96 in Total D
Washington (1-7): Avg Score 21-25; #71 in Total O; #102 in Total D
Wash. St. (3-5): Avg Score 36-33; #10 in Total O; #106(tie) in Total D
USC's average opponent is...
3-4 scoring 30ppg and allowing 29ppg and ranked 33rd in Total O and 91st in Total D.
Texas (8-0)
Avg Score 46.6 - 16.1; #6 in Total Offense; #7 in Total Defense
Opponents:
U. La-La. (3-5): Avg Score 22-31; #64 in Total O; #84 in Total D
Ohio State (6-2): Avg Score 30-16; #52 in Total O; #13 in Total D
Rice (0-7): Avg Score 21-46; #103 in Total O; #114 in Total D
Missouri (5-3): Avg Score 33-38: #22 in Total O; #55 in Total D
Oklahoma (5-3): Avg Score 26-25; #97 in Total O; #15 in Total D
Colorado (6-2): Avg Score 29-18; #57 in Total O; #29 in Total D
Texas Tech (7-1): Avg Score 46-19; #2 in Total O; #24 in Total D
Oklahoma St. (3-5): Avg Score 19-30; #94 in Total O; #94 in Total D
Texas' average opponent is...
4-4 scoring 28ppg and allowing 28ppg and ranked 61st in Total O and 54th in Total D
Virginia Tech (8-0)
Avg Score 36.7 - 9.1; #44 in Total O; #2 in Total D
Opponents:
NC State (3-4): Avg Score 23-21; #76 in Total O; #22 in Total D
Duke (1-8): Avg Score 15-37; #116 in Total O; #83 in Total D
Ohio (4-4): Avg Score 20-30; #90 in Total O; #104 in Total D
G. Tech (5-2): Avg Score 21-19; #75 in Total O; #19 in Total D
W. Virginia (6-1): Avg Score 27-20; #73 in Total O; #9 in Total D
Marshall (4-4): Avg Score 19-25; #86 in Total O; #31 in Total D
Maryland (4-4): Avg Score 26-24; #55 in Total O; #47 in Total D
Boston Coll. (6-2): Avg Score 26-16; #45 in Total O; #16 in Total D
VTech's average opponent is...
4-4 scoring 22ppg and allowing 24ppg and ranked 77th in Total O and 41st in Total D
In Summary:
USC scores 20 more than its opponents allow and gives up 9 less than its opponents score; therefore we'll say that USC is +29 against its opponents. USC has the #1 total offense against defenses that rank 91st. USC has the #35 total defense against offenses that rank 33rd.
Texas scores 18 more than its opponents allow and gives up 12 less than its opponents score; therefore, we'll say that Texas is +30 against its opponents. Texas has the #6 Total offense against defenses that rank 54th. Texas has the #7 Total defense against offenses that rank 61st.
VT scores 13 more than its opponents allow and gives up 13 less than its opponents allow; therefore, we'll say that VT is +26 against its opponents. VT has the #44 Total O against defenses that rank 41st. VT has the #2 Total D against offenses that rank 77th.
What does it all mean?
"Common knowledge" tells us that USC clearly has the best offense of the three and VTech clearly has the best defense. However, a closer look at each teams' competition shows that USC's offense has hardly been tested, facing teams that average ranking 91st in the nation in Total Defense with 0 teams being ranked in the top 50. At the same time, VTech's defense has faced teams that average ranking 77th in the nation in total offense with only one team being ranked in the top 50 (BC).
USC's offense and VTech's defense are by far the best units of each team, yet Texas offense and defense compares very favorably to both. Texas' offense ranks #6 in the nation and scores 18 more than its opponents allow...compare that to #1 and 20 more, respectively, for USC. Texas' defense ranks #7 in the nation and allows 12 less than its opponents score...compare that to #2 and 13 less, respectively, for VT.
In the end, however, I still think USC deserves to be the #1 team in the country. Their defense, at face value, doesn't compare to UT and VTech's, but they have faced much, much better offenses.
An argument can be made that Texas is the best team in the nation, but they are ceratinly no worse than #2. Comparing UT and USC by the numbers, they are very closely matched.
Virginia Tech, while a very good team, does not stack up against Texas or USC. While their defense is very good, Texas, by the numbers, is equally as impressive, but VTech's offense does not compare to either USC or Texas.
USC (8-0)
Avg Score 49.8 - 20.5; #1 in Total O; #35 in Total D
Opponents:
Hawaii (3-5): Avg Score 27 - 36; #18 in Total O; #101 in Total D
Arkansas (2-5): Avg Score 26 - 30; #48 in Total O; #76 in Total D
Oregon (7-1): Avg Score 35 - 25; #12 in Total O; #53 in Total D
Ariz. St. (4-4): Avg Score 39-29; #5 in Total O; #106(tie) in Total D
Arizona (2-6): Avg Score 20-27; #88 in Total O; #86 in Total D
Notre Dame (5-2): Avg Score 38-25; #9 in Total O; #96 in Total D
Washington (1-7): Avg Score 21-25; #71 in Total O; #102 in Total D
Wash. St. (3-5): Avg Score 36-33; #10 in Total O; #106(tie) in Total D
USC's average opponent is...
3-4 scoring 30ppg and allowing 29ppg and ranked 33rd in Total O and 91st in Total D.
Texas (8-0)
Avg Score 46.6 - 16.1; #6 in Total Offense; #7 in Total Defense
Opponents:
U. La-La. (3-5): Avg Score 22-31; #64 in Total O; #84 in Total D
Ohio State (6-2): Avg Score 30-16; #52 in Total O; #13 in Total D
Rice (0-7): Avg Score 21-46; #103 in Total O; #114 in Total D
Missouri (5-3): Avg Score 33-38: #22 in Total O; #55 in Total D
Oklahoma (5-3): Avg Score 26-25; #97 in Total O; #15 in Total D
Colorado (6-2): Avg Score 29-18; #57 in Total O; #29 in Total D
Texas Tech (7-1): Avg Score 46-19; #2 in Total O; #24 in Total D
Oklahoma St. (3-5): Avg Score 19-30; #94 in Total O; #94 in Total D
Texas' average opponent is...
4-4 scoring 28ppg and allowing 28ppg and ranked 61st in Total O and 54th in Total D
Virginia Tech (8-0)
Avg Score 36.7 - 9.1; #44 in Total O; #2 in Total D
Opponents:
NC State (3-4): Avg Score 23-21; #76 in Total O; #22 in Total D
Duke (1-8): Avg Score 15-37; #116 in Total O; #83 in Total D
Ohio (4-4): Avg Score 20-30; #90 in Total O; #104 in Total D
G. Tech (5-2): Avg Score 21-19; #75 in Total O; #19 in Total D
W. Virginia (6-1): Avg Score 27-20; #73 in Total O; #9 in Total D
Marshall (4-4): Avg Score 19-25; #86 in Total O; #31 in Total D
Maryland (4-4): Avg Score 26-24; #55 in Total O; #47 in Total D
Boston Coll. (6-2): Avg Score 26-16; #45 in Total O; #16 in Total D
VTech's average opponent is...
4-4 scoring 22ppg and allowing 24ppg and ranked 77th in Total O and 41st in Total D
In Summary:
USC scores 20 more than its opponents allow and gives up 9 less than its opponents score; therefore we'll say that USC is +29 against its opponents. USC has the #1 total offense against defenses that rank 91st. USC has the #35 total defense against offenses that rank 33rd.
Texas scores 18 more than its opponents allow and gives up 12 less than its opponents score; therefore, we'll say that Texas is +30 against its opponents. Texas has the #6 Total offense against defenses that rank 54th. Texas has the #7 Total defense against offenses that rank 61st.
VT scores 13 more than its opponents allow and gives up 13 less than its opponents allow; therefore, we'll say that VT is +26 against its opponents. VT has the #44 Total O against defenses that rank 41st. VT has the #2 Total D against offenses that rank 77th.
What does it all mean?
"Common knowledge" tells us that USC clearly has the best offense of the three and VTech clearly has the best defense. However, a closer look at each teams' competition shows that USC's offense has hardly been tested, facing teams that average ranking 91st in the nation in Total Defense with 0 teams being ranked in the top 50. At the same time, VTech's defense has faced teams that average ranking 77th in the nation in total offense with only one team being ranked in the top 50 (BC).
USC's offense and VTech's defense are by far the best units of each team, yet Texas offense and defense compares very favorably to both. Texas' offense ranks #6 in the nation and scores 18 more than its opponents allow...compare that to #1 and 20 more, respectively, for USC. Texas' defense ranks #7 in the nation and allows 12 less than its opponents score...compare that to #2 and 13 less, respectively, for VT.
In the end, however, I still think USC deserves to be the #1 team in the country. Their defense, at face value, doesn't compare to UT and VTech's, but they have faced much, much better offenses.
An argument can be made that Texas is the best team in the nation, but they are ceratinly no worse than #2. Comparing UT and USC by the numbers, they are very closely matched.
Virginia Tech, while a very good team, does not stack up against Texas or USC. While their defense is very good, Texas, by the numbers, is equally as impressive, but VTech's offense does not compare to either USC or Texas.