Big Ten Yards Per Play differential ranking

PitinoFan

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Offensive yards per play minus defensive yards per play allowed.

Games against FCS opponents are not included.

I’ll update this every week.

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Big Ten updated avg YPP differential/game:

Ohio St 3.97
Wisconsin 3.86
Michigan St 2.04
Penn St 1.99
Nebraska 1.7
Iowa 0.83
Minnesota 0.69
Purdue 0.64
Indiana 0.52
Rutgers 0.4
Illinois/Maryland 0.26
Michigan 0.16
Northwestern -0.81

Source: https://twitter.com/biggerten/status/1175787102904233986?s=21


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Updated Big Ten YPP differential/game (FCS games not included):
Ohio St +3.9
Penn St +3.13
Wisconsin +2.99
Michigan St +1.87
Minnesota +1.68
Iowa +1.58
Michigan +1.15
Nebraska +0.69
Illinois +0.26
Indiana +0.08
Purdue -0.44
Northwestern -0.71
Rutgers -0.93
Maryland -1.63

https://twitter.com/biggerten/status/1178139873699618816?s=21


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Right in the "meaty" part of the curve....
 






Legit thought Ohio State might drop off with Urban gone. Nope.
 



I really like this stat. It gives at least some indication about how the guys in the trenches are playing. We are faring better than I expected. I would love to see this stat additionally broken out into two sections: Differential on running plays and differential on passing plays.


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Updated Big Ten YPP differential/game (not including FCS):

Ohio St 3.71
Wisconsin 3.45
Penn St 3.41
Minnesota 2.08
Michigan/Michigan St 1.1
Iowa 1.08
Nebraska 0.67
Indiana 0.08
Maryland -0.34
Illinois -0.45
Northwestern -0.74
Purdue -1.2
Rutgers -1.45

https://twitter.com/biggerten/status/1180685747675906049?s=21


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Finally an impressive complete defensive performance. I was worried about how the D would hold up versus a good running team.

I've also been concerned with the Gophs run game, but yesterday's performance helped dispel that. Illinois was the first team that didn't fully commit to stopping the run (committing extra D backs to TJ et al at times) and the Gophs were able to adjust.

...granted, it was Illinois which is turning out to be a dumpster fire.
 

For context, the guy who puts these numbers together (Steve Deace) had this to say about the YPP differential stats. The Gophers are in the “very very good” category at the moment, but we still haven’t played the best teams on the schedule, so we’ll have to wait and see how it shakes out. There are also more games on the schedule that we will likely dominate, like Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, and possibly Nebraska.
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“Anything over a yard for a season usually means you’re good. Anything over 2 for a season means you’re very very good. Anything over 3 for a season means you’re elite.”


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Last edited:

For context, the guy who puts these numbers together (Steve Deace) had this to say about the YPP differential stats. The Gophers are in the “very very good” category at the moment, but we still haven’t played the best teams on the schedule, so we’ll have to wait and see how it shakes out. There are also more games on the schedule that we will likely dominate, like Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, and possibly Nebraska.
—-

“Anything over a yard for a season usually means you’re good. Anything over 2 for a season means you’re very very good. Anything over 3 for a season means you’re elite.”


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Great Big Ten analysis tool! Nice job!
 

“Anything over a yard for a season usually means you’re good. Anything over 2 for a season means you’re very very good. Anything over 3 for a season means you’re elite.”
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Well it's obvious exactly what level the Gophers are aiming for then...
 


Updated Big Ten YPP differential/game (FCS games not included):

Ohio St +3.85
Wisconsin +2.91
Minnesota +2.39
Penn St +2.12
Michigan +1.26
Indiana +1.25
Iowa +1.05
Michigan St +0.5
Nebraska +0.13
Maryland -0.55
Purdue -0.77
Illinois -0.82
Northwestern -1.4
Rutgers -2.31

https://twitter.com/biggerten/status/1185790403670433794?s=21



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Post Maryland update:

Updated Big Ten YPP differential/game (FCS games not counted)
Ohio St +3.64
Minnesota +2.33
Wisconsin +2.27
Penn St +1.92
Michigan +1.49
Indiana +1.16
Iowa +1.03
Michigan St +0.34
Nebraska -0.04
Maryland -0.74
Purdue -0.77
Illinois -0.8
Northwestern -1.42
Rutgers -2.31

https://twitter.com/biggerten/status/1188328257910923266?s=21


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So... our TPP Differential went down... after we beat Maryland?

YPP is an interesting stat.

We completely dominated Maryland, but evidently we were not so dominant in YPP.

Granted, Maryland did manage a long play or two after the score got out of hand; I suppose that skews the average some.
 

So... our TPP Differential went down... after we beat Maryland?

YPP is an interesting stat.

We completely dominated Maryland, but evidently we were not so dominant in YPP.

Granted, Maryland did manage a long play or two after the score got out of hand; I suppose that skews the average some.

Maryland ran very few. Those big plays certainly skewed their average a great deal.
 

Maryland ran very few. Those big plays certainly skewed their average a great deal.

Exactly.

Which makes me wonder: would you rather your team ran fewer plays with a higher YPP, or more plays with a lower YPP? Is time of possession more important than YPP, generally?

In the Maryland-Minnesota game, time of possession was the story of the game, in my opinion. We held the ball in a way I've seldom seen before. I know time of possession is something Fleck believes in.
 

Exactly.

Which makes me wonder: would you rather your team ran fewer plays with a higher YPP, or more plays with a lower YPP? Is time of possession more important than YPP, generally?

In the Maryland-Minnesota game, time of possession was the story of the game, in my opinion. We held the ball in a way I've seldom seen before. I know time of possession is something Fleck believes in.

You would usually prefer more plays with a lower YPP, since higher YPP indicates more explosive plays and possibly long touchdowns. I'd rather make the team earn their scores by grinding out long drives which leads to more potential mistakes for their offense.
 

All of our B1G opponents to date have a negative YPP. This season was absolutely set up for a run, glad we’re taking advantage to make it a fun year!
 

All of our B1G opponents to date have a negative YPP. This season was absolutely set up for a run, glad we’re taking advantage to make it a fun year!

Nebraska is slightly positive, but none of our opponents have played well so far.

These numbers do also include us throttling them.
 

Maryland has a 59 yard play against our second team D. Ran 46 plays. Added ~1.28 ypp for them.

Gophers ran an astounding 76 plays.
 

The Gophers have faced the "who's who" of bad defenses in the BG10 so far thus the big differential. All have given up over 400 yards per game. Ga. Southern and Fresno have better statistical defenses than any of the BG10 teams the Gophs have faced. SDSU might be the best defense the Gophs have faced this year (not in your stats). The YPP probably comes back to earth the next few games, but hopefully not by much!
 

So... our TPP Differential went down... after we beat Maryland?

YPP is an interesting stat.

We completely dominated Maryland, but evidently we were not so dominant in YPP.

Granted, Maryland did manage a long play or two after the score got out of hand; I suppose that skews the average some.

For perspective,

Minnesota: 6.55 yards per play
Maryland: 4.56 yards per play

A two yard per play advantage is dominant.


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