I had a lot of fun with Excel putting together some surprising Nole statistics. Also inside: I link to some good Nole Articles.
Noles by the Numbers
Remember to post your questions for the Virginia Tech Expert Here
The last time we won as a ranked team? 2006 against Rice. Ouch, let's correct that this weekend.
I ran some numbers this week. You won't find these anywhere else. Why? I create them via excel. Use them to talk smack to your friends.
Redzone Touchdown Defense Percentage
This stat measures the % of time that a defense gives up a touchdown on a redzone drive.
| Name | Drives | Points | Rush TD | Pass TD | Red Zone TD % | Points per Red Zone Trip |
| Florida St. | 18 | 53 | 2 | 3 | 28% | 2.9 |
| Kentucky | 13 | 40 | 1 | 3 | 31% | 3.1 |
| Tennessee | 22 | 76 | 2 | 5 | 32% | 3.5 |
| Boston College | 12 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 33% | 3.1 |
| Georgia Tech | 20 | 67 | 4 | 3 | 35% | 3.4 |
| Clemson | 19 | 76 | 3 | 4 | 37% | 4.0 |
| Northern Ill. | 13 | 45 | 2 | 3 | 38% | 3.5 |
| Minnesota | 13 | 50 | 4 | 1 | 38% | 3.8 |
| Iowa | 18 | 61 | 2 | 5 | 39% | 3.4 |
| BYU | 17 | 58 | 5 | 2 | 41% | 3.4 |
| Alabama | 12 | 50 | 1 | 4 | 42% | 4.2 |
Yep, you guessed it, # 1
We also lead the nation in points allowed per red zone trip, but that stat has noise due to opposing team's field goal kicking.
Let's take a look at the same stat, for our offense:
| Name | Drives | Points | Rush TD | Pass TD | Red Zone TD % | Points per Red Zone Trip | |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 36 | 236 | 19 | 14 | 92% | 6.6 |
| 24 | Oklahoma St. | 35 | 190 | 21 | 3 | 69% | 5.4 |
| 49 | Florida St. | 25 | 131 | 11 | 5 | 64% | 5.2 |
| 83 | Notre Dame | 22 | 84 | 5 | 7 | 55% | 3.8 |
| 116 | Wake Forest | 23 | 83 | 4 | 5 | 39% | 3.6 |
Hmm... 49th. That needs to improve. We're really 2 very close pass plays away from being a lot higher up.
Miscellaneous
- FSU still leads the nation in 3rd down defense, and is the only team to hold opponents under 20 conversions. Why is it so crucial to win first down? That's why.
- FSU has already scored as many TD's this year as they did last year (27).
- We are not getting to the QB, posting a Sack rate of 6.04 %, the lowest in the last 5 years. I'm not sure what to make of that, as we are doing great on 3rd down. Maybe we are forcing quicker throws?
- Despite having only 6 penalties, this was our worst penalty night. Why? None were of the beneficial defensive variety. I really hope we get back to the aggressive defensive style.
- The Noles have entered the top 50 in OPAED (Opponent Adjusted Pass Efficiency Defense), checking in at # 44. Va Tech? # 79.
Let's talk penalties, again, as the media is still all over the Noles for their penalties:
| Rank | Name | Games | Penalties | Yards Penalized | Penalties Per Game | Yards Per Game | Wins | Losses | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 6 | 20 | 139 | 3.33 | 23.17 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Arizona | 7 | 24 | 192 | 3.43 | 27.43 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | Navy | 7 | 24 | 196 | 3.43 | 28.00 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Boston College | 6 | 21 | 164 | 3.50 | 27.33 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Penn St. | 8 | 29 | 238 | 3.63 | 29.75 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Ball St. | 7 | 26 | 264 | 3.71 | 37.71 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Army | 7 | 27 | 264 | 3.86 | 37.71 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | Syracuse | 7 | 28 | 253 | 4.00 | 36.14 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 9 | Iowa | 8 | 33 | 294 | 4.13 | 36.75 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
Hmm, how many of those teams are ranked?...
4, and one of them is Ball State, who hasn't played anyone and doesn't need to play aggressively.
How about those scandalous, undisciplined, poorly behaved clubs?
| 111 | Oklahoma St. | 7 | 58 | 500 | 8.29 | 71.43 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 111 | Nebraska | 7 | 58 | 474 | 8.29 | 67.71 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 113 | Florida | 6 | 50 | 380 | 8.33 | 63.33 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 114 | Southern Miss. | 7 | 60 | 576 | 8.57 | 82.29 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 115 | Texas Tech | 7 | 61 | 507 | 8.71 | 72.43 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 116 | Hawaii | 7 | 62 | 565 | 8.86 | 80.71 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 117 | Florida St. | 6 | 55 | 505 | 9.17 | 84.17 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 118 | TCU | 8 | 77 | 677 | 9.63 | 84.63 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 119 | Georgia | 7 | 69 | 560 | 9.86 | 80.00 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
Yeah, thought so. 6 of those teams are ranked, and the bad teams on the list are at least respectable (except Hawaii).
So yeah, penalties = bad, right? Carry On.
Noles around the Nation
I'm always interested to see what others are saying about us:
Of the 5 sites ranking the ACC teams, all have the Noles at # 1 or # 2. There is a ton of love for the Noles right now, and many sites believe we will go to the Orange Bowl.
Props to a traditional media guy... Andrew Carter has a nice review of the offense in the first half of the season, in a 2 part series: One, Two.
Scalpem discusses the attendance issues. Hopefully, we won't be hit too hard by the World Series. Go Rays! Speaking of the Rays, please visit the great Rays Site: DRAYS BAY!
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