FanPost

Bowl Game Offensive Summary

Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

Russell Athletic Bowl Offensive Summary:

29 called running plays (39.2%) for 105 yds
45 called pass plays - (60.8%) for 447 yds

We had 29 called rushing plays for 105 yards. Two of those were QB runs for 22 yards.

Of these 29 called runs :
0 yds or loss : 7 plays (24.1%) for a net of -8 yds (-1.1 yd avg)
1-2 yd gain : 12 plays (41.3%) for a net of 20 yds (1.7 yd avg)
3 yd gain : 3 plays (10.3%) for a net of 9 yds (3.0 yd avg)
4+ yd gains : 8 plays (27.6%) for a net of 87 yds
footnote - of the 8 successful running plays, 2 were QB keepers for 22 yds and 1 for 27 yds occurred in the last 30 seconds when the defense may not have been fully engaged.

Running Game Summary:

- 65.5% of called runnning plays (19 of 29) were for 2 yds or less
- these 19 plays netted a total of 12 yds for an avg of 0.6 yds per play

- 75.8% of called running plays (22 of 29) were for 3 yds or less
- these 22 plays netted a total of 21 yds or less than 1 yard per play


Passing Game Summary:

Teddy was 35 of 45 for 77.8%

Of the 10 incompletions:
- 3 were dropped balls (Copeland, Hubbell and Clark)
- 1 was batted down at the line
- 1 was good coverage (batted down by defender)
- 5 were over throws, under throws or out of bounds.

So discounting the dropped balls and the pass batted down at the line, Teddy had 6 incompletions on him.
--Of these 6 incompletions, 5 were on passes over 20 yds in the air (83.3%)
--And all 5 under/over throws were on passes over 20 yds in the air (25,30, 41, 34, 27)

Teddy had one pass under 20 yards in the air not completed, or dropped - 29 of 30 for 96.7%
This or something similar is what I think we could have done all year.

Some people say you can't exist on just a short passing game, so let's look at only those passes gaining more than 10 yards charted by distance in the air:

under 10 yds - 15 of 15 (100%) for a total of 261 yds (195 yards after catch)
10 - 19 yds - 4 of 4 (100%) for 62 total yds (12 yds after catch)
20+ yds - 2 of 7 (28.6%) for 53 yds (0 yards after the catch)

This emphasis on more passing and shorter quicker throws was unstoppable. It maximized Teddy's phenomenal accuracy and minimized most of the o-line deficiencies.

I strongly believe the offense we saw last night with 60% passes and 84% of those throws under 20 yards is by far our best option, and one which would have left us undefeated.

Would we have played for a National Championship? Probably not, but we would have been in a BCS Bowl
and Teddy would have been sitting in New York at the Heisman dinner. And that would have been enough for me.

Go Cards.