Was doing some work for the magazine -- thought I'd post this here.
College football statistics guru Bill Connelly of SB Nation has a formula he calls “S&P+ Ratings,” a system derived from the play-by-play and drive data of all 800-plus of a season's Football Bowl Subdivision games.
According to Connelly, the components for S&P+ reflect opponent-adjusted components of four of what Connelly has deemed the Five Factors of college football: efficiency, explosiveness, field position, finishing drives and turnovers.
Through five games, Notre Dame’s highest ranking among those five factors was finishing drives, calculated as points per trip inside the 40 yard line (unadjusted) and Redzone S&P+ (adjusted).
By definition, finishing drives is a look not at how frequently a team creates scoring opportunities, but how teams finish the ones they have. The purposes of this stat, the "red zone" starts at the 40, not the 20.
In its 2-3 start, Notre Dame was averaging 6.03 points per trip inside the 40, which ranked tied for eighth in FBS with Pittsburgh and South Florida. The Irish had scored touchdowns on 17 of their 23 attempts once inside the 20, a touchdown percentage of 73.9 percent.
The national average for scoring is 4.72. Notre Dame’s maligned defense is allowing 4.91 points per trip, which ranked 76th in the country.
A major factor in that success is the dual-threat abilities of junior quarterback DeShone Kizer. He was responsible for 20 of Notre Dame’s 26 touchdowns in the first five games and remains the team’s best short-yardage runner near the goal line.
Notre Dame could be even better: sophomore kicker Justin Yoon had missed three field goals on his seven attempts through five games.
The combined record of the teams in the Top 10 in finishing drives is 32-15, led by top-five teams Ohio State and Alabama. Marshall, UNLV, Oregon and Notre Dame have losing records through five weeks.
Top 10 Teams In Finishing Drives
1. Ohio State 6.71
2. Marshall 6.46
3. Western Michigan 6.22
4. UNLV 6.21
5. Alabama 6.11
T6. Miami 6.06
T6. Oregon 6.06
T8. Notre Dame 6.03
T8. Pittsburgh 6.03
T8. South Florida 6.03
College football statistics guru Bill Connelly of SB Nation has a formula he calls “S&P+ Ratings,” a system derived from the play-by-play and drive data of all 800-plus of a season's Football Bowl Subdivision games.
According to Connelly, the components for S&P+ reflect opponent-adjusted components of four of what Connelly has deemed the Five Factors of college football: efficiency, explosiveness, field position, finishing drives and turnovers.
Through five games, Notre Dame’s highest ranking among those five factors was finishing drives, calculated as points per trip inside the 40 yard line (unadjusted) and Redzone S&P+ (adjusted).
By definition, finishing drives is a look not at how frequently a team creates scoring opportunities, but how teams finish the ones they have. The purposes of this stat, the "red zone" starts at the 40, not the 20.
In its 2-3 start, Notre Dame was averaging 6.03 points per trip inside the 40, which ranked tied for eighth in FBS with Pittsburgh and South Florida. The Irish had scored touchdowns on 17 of their 23 attempts once inside the 20, a touchdown percentage of 73.9 percent.
The national average for scoring is 4.72. Notre Dame’s maligned defense is allowing 4.91 points per trip, which ranked 76th in the country.
A major factor in that success is the dual-threat abilities of junior quarterback DeShone Kizer. He was responsible for 20 of Notre Dame’s 26 touchdowns in the first five games and remains the team’s best short-yardage runner near the goal line.
Notre Dame could be even better: sophomore kicker Justin Yoon had missed three field goals on his seven attempts through five games.
The combined record of the teams in the Top 10 in finishing drives is 32-15, led by top-five teams Ohio State and Alabama. Marshall, UNLV, Oregon and Notre Dame have losing records through five weeks.
Top 10 Teams In Finishing Drives
1. Ohio State 6.71
2. Marshall 6.46
3. Western Michigan 6.22
4. UNLV 6.21
5. Alabama 6.11
T6. Miami 6.06
T6. Oregon 6.06
T8. Notre Dame 6.03
T8. Pittsburgh 6.03
T8. South Florida 6.03
