Looking for a way to spend my time before Saturday, I decided to compare stats.
The first thing I looked at was the Sagarin Rating, and since it showed Clemson's SOS was better than FSU's, I considered all the 2015 games.
I expected our Offense and Defense to be better, and here's what I found (some numbers rounded):
Strength of Sch.--- CU #28 ------------ FSU #64
Scoring Offense --- CU #11 @ 41 PPG ----- FSU #47 @ 33 PPG Total Offense ------ CU #19 @ 485 YPG ---- FSU #41 @ 441 YPG Rushing Offense --- CU #20 @ 218 YPG --- FSU #56 @ 180 YPG Passing Offense ---- CU #33 @ 267 YPG --- FSU #37 @ 261 YPG 3rd Down Conver. -- CU #18 @ .462% ------ FSU #65 @ .402% Ave. Opp Total D -- CU #30 (No Wofford)-- FSU #45 (No TX State)
Scoring Defense --- CU #18 @ 18 PPG ----- FSU #13 @ 17 PPG Total Defense ------ CU #5 @ 278 YPG ---- FSU #24 @ 323 YPG Rushing Defense --- CU #14 @ 109 YPG --- FSU #38 @ 139 YPG Passing Defense ---- CU #11 @ 169 YPG --- FSU #23 @ 184 YPG 3rd Down Defense -- CU #1 @ .212% ------- FSU #50 @ .364% Ave. Opp Total O --- CU #65(No Wofford)-- FSU #93 (No TX State)
I know we've struggled with turnovers and on special teams lately. This will be a concern Saturday, but after looking at the stats, there's not as much of a discrepancy as I feared.
Turnover Margin --- CU #64 @ +.13 ---------- FSU #12 @ +1.13 Net Punting -------- CU #68 @ 37.45 YDS ---- FSU #65 @ 37.62 YDS Punt Returns ------- CU #124 @ 2.11 YDS --- FSU #115 @ 3.35 YDS Punt Return Def.--- CU #28 @ 4.58 YDS ----- FSU #102 @ 12.27 YDS Kickoff Returns ---- CU #19 @ 24.95 YDS --- FSU #9 @ 26.07 YDS KO Return Def.----- CU #119 @ 26.29 YDS -- FSU #5 @ 16.22 YDS
It looks like, on average, we have performed better defensively against better offensive teams and better offensively against better defensive teams than Fla. State this year. Let's hope it continues this week.
The way I see it, if we can hold them to only one out of three TDs on KO returns every time we score a TD, we ought to be good.