Thursday, November 28, 2019

25 Questions About The End

 What is their body of work?

So here we are again, Buffalo at the end.  They are 6-5 and if they had not given Kent State a win for the ages, they would be 7-4 with a five-game winning streak.  Even starting slow, after big losses from last year's team, the Bulls are finishing strong and look to be one of the conference's consistently effective programs.  Their coach is a proven success.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 24, which is typical.

Who are their statistical leaders? (Top 20 Nationally)

Jaret Patterson is #13 in all-purpose yards, #8 in rushing yards
Ledarius Mack is #10 in forced fumbles
Taylor Riggins is #17 in sacks

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are +6, in MAC Play.  They lost 4 to Miami and have been + in every other game.

Offense:

How is their QB play? (MAC Only, from here on)

Their QB is Kyle VanTrease, a SO who has not put up great numbers in his first season as a starter.  The only QB with a lower efficiency rating is Grant Loy.  He completes 59% of his passes, a 7:1 TD/INT ratio and 11.8 per completion.  He's not a dual-threat QB.

What is their scoring and yards per play


They are 6th in the MAC in scoring offense and 8th with 5.4 yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

Oh yeah.  About that.  Jaret Patterson was the MAC FR of the year and if there was a SO of the year it would probably be him.  If you happened to watch him gash UT a couple weeks ago, you see how good he is.  He has 965 yards on the season.  They run a lot, so his average is 5.5 which isn't great and as a team they are 7th in yards per carry.

Do they pass the ball?

See above.  Patterson also leads them in yards per catch.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run a lot, 69%.  A lot.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are 5th in the MAC at 56%.

Do they score in the red zone?

They are very good with 5.8 points per possession.  They have 46 red zone trips and only 5 outright misses (all games)

Do they protect the quarterback?

Yeah.  Uh, sacks on 1.8% of passing attempts.  Only 3 in MAC play, impressive even with their lowing passing numbers.

Defense:
Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They are 2nd in the MAC in scoring and yards per play allowed, behind only Miami and essentially the same as they are.

Do they defend the run effectively?

Very.  They lead the MAC at 2.9 yards per carry allowed.  That's also #8 in FBS.

Can they be passed on?

Not easily.  They are second in the MAC.  They allow 57% with 6 TD and 7 INT and 11.8 per reception.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?


They are 2nd in the MAC at 36%

Do they defend in the red zone? (all games)

They allow 4 points per trip, which is outstanding.  They allow TDs only 50% of the time in the red zone.

Do they pressure the QB?

You could say that.  28 sacks in MAC PLAY.  +25 compared to the opponent.  Sacks on 12.3% of opposing passing plays.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are last in the MAC in net punting.

Punt Return?

Middle of the pack on punt returns.  No TDs.

Placekicking? (all games)

He's not great.  Main kicker is 9 of 14 and 7 of 9 inside 40.  Long of 45

Kickoff? 

Opponents start on the 25.

Kickoff Return? (all games)

They start on the 27.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

Well, this is going to be a difficult one.  UB is just much better than BG right now.  This would be a UT type upset, maybe worse because it is on the road.  I fear BG will struggle to move the ball and struggle to stop Jarret Patterson.  Good thing...UB is a ball possession team.  BG is shallow and banged up...I believe there are maybe more players gone than we have heard and there have to be others on the field with it on their mind.  Long season.


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