One more happy stat

This one kinda snuck up on me, but Aaron Murray now ranks third nationally in passer rating.

Envy and jealousy: Ode to Tyler Bray

This verges on the poetic:

… Of all the self-inflicted daggers Bray has wielded over the last three years, none has cut quite as deep as his late, game-killing fumble in Athens, which should not have come as a surprise – it is Tyler Bray’s raison d’être to absentmindedly push the wrong button, pull the wrong cord, lock the wrong door, nudging his beleaguered head coach ever closer to the edge – but somehow did after Bray completed four passes to move the Vols within striking distance of the tying (or potentially winning) touchdown.

**Sniff**  That’s beautiful.

Validation

If you’re looking for a dose of feel good today, there’s this:  KC Joyner, ESPN’s Dick Morris-like statistician whose 2011 output included pieces on why Georgia wouldn’t win the SEC East and how Marcus Lattimore was only the fifth best back in the conference, explains to us why Georgia is overrated (“But if we take a closer look at Georgia’s metrics and game tape, it is clear that this is a flawed and overrated squad that may barely deserve a top-10 ranking at this moment, let alone top 5.”).

Thanks, man.  I feel better already.

SEC net yards per play

I thought I’d take a peek at how our old stat friend, yards per play, has the SEC shaping up.  Teams are listed in order of net yards per play (stats via cfbstats.com, of course):

TEAM	O YPP	D YPP	NET YPP
Alabama	6.34	3.3	3.04
Georgia	7.98	5.04	2.94
LSU	6.42	3.59	2.83
Texas A&M	6.92	4.56	2.36
S. Carolina	6.33	4.38	1.95
Florida	6.2	4.37	1.83
MSU	6.19	5	1.19
Vanderbilt	6.07	4.91	1.16
Ole Miss	6.11	5.15	0.96
Tennessee	6.4	5.85	0.55
Missouri	5.02	4.84	0.18
Kentucky	5.12	5.37	-0.25
Auburn	5	5.38	-0.38
Arkansas	5.91	6.35	-0.44

The number that jumps out is Georgia’s offensive ypp figure of 7.98. When you’re averaging eight yards every time you snap the ball, that can cover up a lot of deficiencies elsewhere.  (As shown by the Dawgs’ decidedly mediocre defensive ypp number.)

Overall, though, what you see is a fairly consistent correlation between the net numbers and the perceived strength of the teams.  It’s not an exact match, of course – Vandy’s number is inflated by that game against Presbyterian and TAMU’s feasted on some awful defenses.

Upon further review: Georgia-Tennessee

A few things I noticed after watching the broadcast replay yesterday:

• I take back what I said about no embarrassing moments for Theus.  He got manhandled on the play that turned into the Marshall fumble.  This week’s match up with Devin Taylor?  Yikes.
• That Aaron Murray fourth-quarter slant pass that went through Wooten’s hands was an even more impressive throw than I thought.
• As a decision-maker, Murray played a near flawless game.  There were very few throws where he didn’t seem to be on the same page as his targets.
• Biggest mistake Grantham made in his second half adjustments was not going more balls out on the pass rush.  Bray had trouble handling pressure all game.
• I grow more impressed by the week with the job Will Friend is doing.
• I can say the same thing about Merritt Hall’s blocking.
• There’s something amusing about hearing Danielson’s derision of the offenses in the Baylor-West Virginia score-a-thon while he’s calling a game that results in 95 points and over 1,000 yards of offense.
• Speaking of Danielson, I’ll have to go back and watch again, but if he was right about the Vol formations tipping running plays, did Grantham pick up on that, too?  (If not, he should have.)
• Outside of the first throw of the game, Georgia didn’t test the Vol secondary with deep passes.  I’m not sure why.  As the Bennett TD showed, it’s not like UT has a bunch of blazers back there.
• If Georgia’s special teams are merely competent, this game isn’t close.  Why do I have to keep saying that?
• Yeah, there were plenty of missed assignments on defense.  But, my Gawd, Alec Ogletree is impressive.

Fabris Invitational Week 5 Results and Standings

It took a tiebreaker this week to separate a couple of 9-1 finishers.

Standings for Week 5
Rank	Selection	Adj Scores	Picks Edit	W-L	Pts	Tie Breaker Ark-A&M 10-58	Tie Breaker Winner
1	tl’s picks			9-1	9	20-42	(*)
1	RaleighwoodDawg’s picks			9-1	9	12-24
3	EdWarren’s picks			8-2	8	26-40
3	pcfrailey’s picks			8-2	8	31-27

Looks like it was a tough week for most – I went 5-5 and that was good enough to finish in a tie for forty-fourth.

Here are the overall standings:

Overall Standings Through Week 5
Rank	Selection	W-L	Pts	Tie Breaker Winner
1	Gadgetdawg’s picks	31-19	31	(*)
1	wncdawg’s picks	31-19	31
3	tl’s picks	30-20	30
3	ManBearPicks	30-20	30
3	4boysbrew’s picks	30-20	30
3	weasom’s picks	30-20	30
3	SilverBritches’s picks	30-20	30
8	WFHIT?’s picks	29-21	29
8	Hobnail_Boot blames Bobo	29-21	29
8	UGA-DAWG-in-TN’s picks	29-21	29
8	rosey1’s picks	29-21	29

Tight race.

My SEC Power Poll ballot, Week 5

It was not the prettiest of weeks for The World’s Most Powerful College Football Conference. (It sure was entertaining, though.)

I feel like this week’s ballot is little more than a placeholder, given the major battles we’ll see this weekend between four of the five top teams.  But here goes, anyway:

1. Alabama.  Nick Saban doesn’t have time for his team to be losing.  Although he has to be amused by the collective freak out over the Tide trailing in a regular season game for a whole fifteen seconds.
2. LSU.  Another mailed in effort.  The problem with sleepwalking through multiple games is that you run the risk of not waking up in time.
3. South Carolina.  Even really good teams play lousy first halves now and then.  But then really good teams ride players like Marcus Lattimore to play dominant second halves.
4. Georgia.  I think Georgia winds up being better than South Carolina by season’s end.  But right now, there’s too much uncertainty on the defense and special teams for me to peg the Dawgs higher than the ‘Cocks.
5. Florida.  No bye week bounce, but things will sort themselves out on Saturday.
6. Texas A&M.  The Aggies just keep pounding people on the scoreboard.
7. Mississippi State.  The Bulldogs get the rare bye week drop because TAMU has looked more impressive beating the teams it’s supposed to beat.
8. Tennessee.  Derek Dooley adds another impressive moral victory to his resume.
9. Missouri.  The UCF game wasn’t pretty, but a win’s a win.
10. Ole Miss.  In a shocking development, there’s a real possibility that the Rebel Black Bears could win a conference game this season.
11. Vanderbilt.  If the Commodores want to show that they’re improved, it’s about time for them to win a conference game on the road.
12. Auburn.  Even Kiehl Frazier should be functional this week, as Arkansas comes to the Plains.
13. Kentucky.  This is Kentucky football:  with a minute to go in the first half, the ‘Cats have the ball on the South Carolina ten… and can’t even get off a field goal attempt before the clock expires.
14. Arkansas.  So much for all the preseason talk that the Hog defense looked to be better this year.

Name that caption: Body English

Tavarres King, giving the replay official his all:

(photo via Getty Images)

Of course, that shouldn’t limit you in the comments. Have at it.

Gurshall

You know what’s fun to look at?  This chart.

You know what’s even more fun to look at?  This chart.