It’s hard to exactly predict what sort of play, moment, or drive that could end up breaking a college football game open for a team as it takes on an opponent. It’s hard to guess if there’s something specific that will lead to a team taking control of a matchup.
But sometimes, there are some numbers and matchups worth paying attention to. Like, you know, if a team is really good at running the ball and its opponent just can’t slow anyone down. Or if there’s a team that is plagued by mental errors and penalties facing off a team that just doesn’t have that problem at all.
Let’s start with that sort of example, in the Big Ten.
Nebraska is having all sorts of trouble with penalties and Indiana just isn’t
The Nebraska Cornhuskers do a lot of things well, but Matt Rhule’s team is really having problems with maintaining a clean game. The Huskers have had routine penalty issues and they’re about to take on an Indiana Hoosiers team that really doesn’t make many mistakes at all.
Right now, Nebraska is averaging 8.6 penalties per game which yields a total of 73.4 penalty yards per game. Comparing that to the Hoosiers and we see that Indiana has an average of 3.4 penalties with 27.6 penalty yards per game.
It’s certainly quite possible that this Indiana team isn’t as good as what we saw in Bloomington a season ago, but it’s still clear that Curt Cignetti is still going to coach a very efficient and disciplined team.
How does UCLA’s secondary account for Oregon’s passing attack?
Sticking with the Big Ten for a minute. This is one of the biggest games in the country as two fascinating Big Ten teams out on the West Coast have a chance to meet up and shake things up both on the national scene and with the conference race.
There’s a few elements to this one that could make things a bit interesting. For one, Dante Moore isn’t set to play against the Bruins, but Dylan Raiola is still talented and the Ducks are still really solid at moving the ball through the air. Oregon is averaging 346.5 passing yards per game, which happens to be good for No. 3 in the nation.
Meanwhile, UCLA’s pass defense isn’t exactly ranked as high. The Bruins are sitting at No. 91 when it comes to passing yards allowed per game with 225.8.
Houston runs the ball pretty effectively. Can K-State slow the Coogs down?
So far, the Cougars have shown that they’re planning on running the ball pretty frequently. And for good reason, folks! This is a team that is averaging 5.51 yards per carry (good for 20th in the nation). They are able to move the ball on the ground thanks to quarterback Conner Weigman and the running back duo of Re’Shaun Sanford II and Makhi Hughes.
Kansas State’s run defense doesn’t look quite as good though. So, this presents Willie Fritz and the Cougars a chance to beat up on a run defense that allows 3.99 yards per carry (good for No. 68 in the country).
And while this game may not get the same hype as some others on this list, it could have a significant impact on how things play out in the Big 12. After all, the Coogs had a chance to take Texas Tech to overtime and came up short. Don’t be surprised if UH carries a chip on its shoulder down the stretch of the season because of that.
LSU’s run defense is pretty scary and will meet a pretty potent rushing attack from Kentucky
Look, I don’t want to take anything away from what the Kentucky Wildcats do well. They are so very effective at running the ball. 5.17 yards per carry isn’t anything to overlook. That’s not something to take for granted, it’s a really solid number that is far better than most of the rest of the country.
And yet, at the same time. The LSU Tigers are holding opposing offenses to 2.01 yards per carry. Which is just absurd. Truly absurd. The LSU Tigers are dominating folks on the line of scrimmage and that could make things tricky for Kentucky’s running game, even though it’s really solid in its own right.
Similarly, Alabama will struggle against Georgia’s run defense
While the Alabama Crimson Tide have been really respectable at moving the ball on offense (they did such a terrifyingly good job in Starkville against the Mississippi State Bulldogs this past weekend), it’s going to be interesting to see how that running game fares against the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend.
So far this season, Alabama’s rushing attack is averaging 4.85 yards per carry and Georgia’s defense is allowing just 1.91 yards per carry. And that might be one of the biggest mismatches in this game. There are so many other areas in which these two teams are comparable.
Add us as a preferred source on Google