As we get closer to the bowl season and the first ranking from the playoff committee, it seems the rhetoric and arguments are heating up particularly in comparing conferences since there is obviously competition for the playoff spots and for the best bowls. Comments have been made about the Big 12 playing arena football, having WAC type defenses and only OU making an attempt to play defense. And it seems the 'gold standard' to which all other teams and conferences are compared is the SEC. So ..... what do the facts say?
First of all an observation: If a result of playing 'arena football' is scoring more points, why would it be put forward as a negative, disparaging comment? I thought that was the objective ... score more points than your opponent. Thus far the Big 12 has averaged 78.5 play per game with the high being Texas Tech at 84.5 and Texas the low at 65.9. The SEC has averaged 76.4 play per game with the high being Mississippi at 79.0 and Georgia the low at 64.7. So not a big difference. But when you look at points per play the Big 12 has 5 teams in the top 10 ( Baylor, TCU, OSU, OU and Texas Tech) The SEC has one - LSU. So whats the point? These facts say: !) the Big 12 has more efficient offenses with respect to scoring points and 2) if your defense plays most of its games against Big 12 offenses, your defensive stats aren't going to look as good because you are playing against more efficient Big 12 offenses.
In addition there are some corroborating facts from the two Big 12 / SEC games thus far. In the Texas Tech vs Arkansas game, TT averaged 8.4 yards per play. Arkansas has allowed 5.6 yards per play for all opponents this year. On that day TT had a more effective offense than the other teams Arkansas has played. Also, TT has averaged 7.1 yards per play against all opponents this year. So this one game would indicate that Arkansas has a less effective defense than the average team TT has played.
In the OU vs Tennessee game, Tennessee averaged 3.34 yards per play and against all opponents they have averaged 5.5 yards per play. Against all opponents OU has allowed 4.1 yards per play.
Also, the perceptions that exist now are a result of several years of observations. Even though the plays per game this year are fairly comparable, it has not always been so. In 2011 when we missed the playoffs by an eyelash and part of the miss was due to people polls and perceptions, using Alabama's plays per game as a reference, OSU's defense played 3 more games.
First of all an observation: If a result of playing 'arena football' is scoring more points, why would it be put forward as a negative, disparaging comment? I thought that was the objective ... score more points than your opponent. Thus far the Big 12 has averaged 78.5 play per game with the high being Texas Tech at 84.5 and Texas the low at 65.9. The SEC has averaged 76.4 play per game with the high being Mississippi at 79.0 and Georgia the low at 64.7. So not a big difference. But when you look at points per play the Big 12 has 5 teams in the top 10 ( Baylor, TCU, OSU, OU and Texas Tech) The SEC has one - LSU. So whats the point? These facts say: !) the Big 12 has more efficient offenses with respect to scoring points and 2) if your defense plays most of its games against Big 12 offenses, your defensive stats aren't going to look as good because you are playing against more efficient Big 12 offenses.
In addition there are some corroborating facts from the two Big 12 / SEC games thus far. In the Texas Tech vs Arkansas game, TT averaged 8.4 yards per play. Arkansas has allowed 5.6 yards per play for all opponents this year. On that day TT had a more effective offense than the other teams Arkansas has played. Also, TT has averaged 7.1 yards per play against all opponents this year. So this one game would indicate that Arkansas has a less effective defense than the average team TT has played.
In the OU vs Tennessee game, Tennessee averaged 3.34 yards per play and against all opponents they have averaged 5.5 yards per play. Against all opponents OU has allowed 4.1 yards per play.
Also, the perceptions that exist now are a result of several years of observations. Even though the plays per game this year are fairly comparable, it has not always been so. In 2011 when we missed the playoffs by an eyelash and part of the miss was due to people polls and perceptions, using Alabama's plays per game as a reference, OSU's defense played 3 more games.
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