On the season, SDSU is averaging 149.7 rushing
yards per game which makes them a current system match.
Not exact matches
The Hilltoppers ranked 35th in IsoPPP (
which measures the magnitude of an offense's successful plays) and 18th in 20 -
yard gains
per game allowed (3.8).
Its best asset is a voracious running
game,
which ranked No. 1 in S&P + and second in
yards per carry entering the weekend.
After a steady 3 - 0 start to the season,
which featured McCaffrey grinding out 5.5
yards per carry and shouldering a major load, McCaffrey slowed down dramatically, and the passing
game couldn't pick the offense up.
The WVU
game (in
which the Mountaineers averaged 8.9
yards per play and Justin Crawford rushed for 331
yards) was a reminder that there were still plenty of ongoing issues.
The Pirates gave up 1.8 rushes
per game of 20 - plus
yards,
which wasn't good (92nd in FBS), but we're speaking relatively here.
Translation: The Steelers should dominate this
game in the trenches on passing downs,
which we should see plenty of since the Bengals can not run the ball (3.2
yards per carry, 31st in the NFL).
In
games with double digit winds in
which the home team has averaged 250 rushing
yards per game, the under drops to just 88 - 87.
Proving that there is some run to complement the shoot, the Falcons won eight of the nine
games in
which Heyward — who averaged a career - best 4.6
yards per rush — carried the ball at least 14 times.
The battle to watch will be the one between Luck and the Baltimore secondary,
which has allowed 258.75 passing
yards per game.
Not including sacks (of
which there have not been many), Barrett and Dobbins are averaging 23 carries
per game and 7.4
yards per carry.
Franklin's deceptive quickness,
which is most obvious on off - tackle runs, where he cuts through the open field like a combine harvester, adds a dimension to a San Diego ground
game that ended the 2014 season in third - to - last place in
yards per game (85.4) and in a three - way tie for second - to - last place in touchdowns (six).
Houston's offense is just 29th in rushing
yards per game,
which doesn't figure to improve with Foster out.
Clearly, Miami is focused on boosting its passing attack,
which ranked No. 26 in the NFL in passing
yards per game in 2012 (198.8).
Maryland (7 - 6) could only muster 222 total
yards, including just eight
yards on the ground against the Cardinal,
which came into the
game ranked second in the nation in scoring defense (16.0 points
per game) and fourth in total
yards allowed
per game (287).
Clemson averaged just 6.1
yards per play for the
game (
which is indeed worthy of a «just» for Clemson) and Tajh Boyd completed just 60 percent of his passes and averaged just 3.6
yards per carry (not including a sack).
The Steeler is mired in a nine -
game stretch in
which he's thrown for fewer than 300
yards per contest, his longest streak since 2008.
Offensive breakout notwithstanding, there are still major concerns about Dom Capers» defensive unit,
which, going into this
game, was worst in the NFL in rush defense (176
yards per game).
They also have Josh Gordon back, and against Dom Capers» defense,
which is allowing an average of more than 84
yards per game to No. 1 receivers, that can be the difference.
During their four -
game winning streak —
which has taken them to 6 - 2 overall and has kept them within a half -
game of the Pac - 12 South lead in advance of this week's trip to division leader USC — they have averaged 49 points
per game and a staggering 9.4
yards per play.
In Penn State's three losses, the Nittany Lions allowed a nightmarish 48 points
per game and 6.3
yards per play; they scored at least 39 points and lost twice,
which is almost a Texas Tech statistic.
It's the Turnover Chain vs. the nation's top defense by
yards allowed
per game,
which could mean a long night for quarterbacks Malik Rosier and Alex Hornibrook.
Focus on the pass, and the running
game (
which averaged over 150 rushing
yards per game during the regular season) will make you pay.
Snyder knows that it is Arizona State's defense,
which surrendered a league - high 30 points and 426
yards per game last fall, that will largely dictate the Sun Devils» fate this season.
Granted, the average was getting dragged down by the extended handoffs to Fuller and Lucien (combined: 5.3
yards per catch through three
games), but UCLA's offense was still further ahead of the
game in terms of efficiency (
which is important!)
They were 19th in Rushing IsoPPP (
which measures the magnitude of your successful plays) and made 6.4 rushes of 10 - plus
yards per game (27th).
Georgia ranks second in the nation in pass
yards per attempt allowed (5.6),
which should come in handy against an Oklahoma offense that ranks first overall in
yards per attempt (12.0) and third in passing
yards per game (367.4)
yards.
They're 15th in the league in
yards allowed
per game,
which is not terrible, but the Eagles» expectations are far higher than «not terrible.»
Talented as Mathieu has proved to be, Lotulelei is front and center in the transformation of Carolina's D,
which has gone from allowing 110.1 rushing
yards and 22.7 points
per game in 2012 to just 79.3 and 13.7 in» 13.
We should also point out that the Giants defense has allowed a league - high 314.5 passing
yards per game,
which should mean big things for Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins offense.
Led by an impressive core or linebackers
which include Terrell Suggs, Zachary Orr, C.J. Mosley and Elvis Dumervil, the Ravens are allowing a league - low 74.9 rushing
yards per game.
The pieces came together for Gannon in his second year with Oakland,
which had the No. 6 total offense in the league at 361.0
yards per game.
Part of this problem could be considered to be that the most used central midfield pairing, Lucas Leiva and Charlie Adam, aren't particularly dynamic nor inclined to get on the end of crosses (of
which Liverpool have had more,
per game, than any other team in the league apart from Wolves — more of
which, will be discussed later), so this only leaves a certain number of players who will be able to get into the box in the more rigid 4 -4-2 utilised for most of this season. Inspite of this, however, 58 % of Liverpool's goals have come from inside the 18
yard box, the highest in the league so far this season in terms of percentage of goals scored by each individual team, suggesting that this is the best avenue of attack for Liverpool, so the question has to be: why have Liverpool only managed to score 14 times, the 10th lowest amount of goals in the league?