We’re looking closer at some stats. We have a bit of a break with basketball and content just doesn’t show up at your door wanting to get posted. You have to go do it, so that’s what I worked on over the weekend, much to the detriment of any sleep.

First things first. Please acknowledge that I utilized data from CFB Graphs and Team Rankings. They are great sites. I typically use stats from Sharp College Football and had done that previously, but wanted to see if there were any stats that said things differently.

Stats You Probably Know

These are stats you probably know. The first graph are actual totals (NOT rankings) of havoc type of stats and some other things. I wanted some idea of where Houston and Texas Tech were on some standard stats like takeaways, sacks, quarterback hurries, etc. For the most part, Houston and Texas Tech were pretty similar with Houston having an edge in passes broken up as well as much lower yards per rush and yards per attempt.

Advanced Stats

These next stats are DEFNITELY NATIONAL RANKINGS so as an example, Texas Tech was 16th in forcing 3rd downs, while Houston was 39th. I think what you see here is that both teams were pretty good at 3rd downs, not great on 4th downs, and then Houston just has much better rankings in red zone scoring percentage, points per game, yards per game, points per play, and yards/play. Across the board, Houston was much better.

And then we get to the CFBGraphs stats and the Cougars just did a better job across the board (I think). Note that the colors are opposite (not sure why) between Houston and Texas Tech and remember that it is better to be closer to the center of the circle than out side. The net rank doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, but the advanced stats on Sharp loved Texas Tech’s defense too. In any event, Houston really separates themselves when it gets to the success rate and that’s a pretty big disparity. Houston just has a tighter circle, and simply, has had better stats.

Statistically, Houston is just a better defense because of their success rate and also because Houston just didn’t allow as many yards or as many points. It sort of comes down to that.