Some interesting halfway point Massey numbers

[Luftgekuehlt67]

I love numbers - hell, look at the thread I started here - but they can be deceiving. They are an interesting and, I think, helpful tool for analysis, but you've got to pair them with a good set of Mark 1 Eyeballs for the full picture.

It's pretty simple:

- PSU is an elite defense. That means it's tough to move the ball against them. We really had to work to move the ball against them...yeah, no shit.

- Go back and look at the Maryland game. They are more in keeping with the quality of defenses will see here on out.

Conclusion? If you're spending a lot of time hand wringing about our O, take a break and wait to see how the Purdue game plays out. You might find the worry was a waste of time.

 

[ssckelley]

As long as we are talking analytics...

Some love to trumpet the 120th ranked total offense as a sign that Iowa is extremely deficient.

But they are 58th in Football Outsiders Offensive Efficiency metric (essentially middle of the pack), and 52nd in pts/game. All of that while starting 2 freshman and a sophomore on the OL for most of the year, breaking in a brand new RB coach and OL coach, and working in 2 true freshman WR. Very reasonable to expect continued improvement from this bunch.

Some of that is due to the short fields the defense and special teams has been providing.