Good Jon Solomon piece on how college football is trending on offense so far this season here. A few highlights:
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FBS teams are averaging 186.6 rushing yards per game, up from 182.5 through four weeks in 2014. Yards per carry are at 4.67 in 2015, up from 4.59 last season at this time.
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Passing yards per game have declined three straight years since a record 238.3 yards in 2012. FBS teams have thrown for 239.3 yards per game in the first month of 2015, down from 243.4 in the first four weeks of 2014. However, passing yards per attempt are up 2 percent this season to 7.51.
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Yards per play — arguably the most pivotal offensive statistic — are up 2 percent to 5.93 compared to the opening month of 2014.
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Scoring in FBS through the first month is up 1 percent to 31.8 points per game… The SEC was the highest-scoring conference in the opening month of 2014 (39.5 points). But perhaps due to so many teams starting new quarterbacks, the SEC ranks fourth through the first month of 2015 at 32.6 points.
On that last point, Georgia may be bucking a trend. Through the first four games of 2014, the Dawgs averaged 45.25 ppg. This year, there’s an ever so slight increase in that average to 45.5.
But the overall story there is one of more scoring, more offensive efficiency and less throwing to do so. I wonder how much of that can be chalked up to personnel and how much to deliberate strategy.
“The runs” huh? Like it.
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I blame it all on that LF7 dude. No other running back in the country in 2015. He, alone, raised that average and will carry the national load all the way to NYC for the ceremony.
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Didn’t know you worked for ESPN.
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“Passing yards per game have declined three straight years since a record 238.3 yards in 2012. FBS teams have thrown for 239.3 yards per game in the first month of 2015, down from 243.4 in the first four weeks of 2014”
I may be retarded but this doesn’t seem to add up to me.
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I think the first sentence refers to the entire season.
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