Groundhog Day arrives at a fitting time on the college football calendar. As Punxsutawney Phil searches for his shadow, college football coaches can peek their heads out of the ground for the first time since the summer. Recruiting moves from the front burner to the back, but spring football is still weeks away, so coaches have an (albeit brief) opportunity to catch their breath, reacquaint themselves with family, and think about what they want their new team to be. And part of that is poking their head out to see what everyone else is doing.
And that's where we come in.
Each February, we published this article as a public service to shine a light on who's getting it done at each level and to crown a statistical champion across the sport*.
If I'm a defensive coach, I might place a call to Lake Forest, Ill., to see what the Lake Forest Foresters (fantastic name) are doing on defense. Opposing passers hoisted 294 passes, completing 136 (46.3 percent) for 1,297 yards (4.41 per) with five touchdowns against 18 interceptions. Those numbers were more than 10 percent better than the next-best divisional champion.
If I'm an offensive coach, I might make a trip to Naperville, Ill. Head coach Brad Spencer's North Central Cardinals led the entire NCAA in yards per play, yards per carry, and passing efficiency. Eight hundred ninety-three snaps resulted in 8,513 yards and 117 touchdowns.
Matter of fact, if I'm a defensive coach, I might fly into O'Hare, drop by Lake Forest for some film study, then make the hour drive over to Naperville to ask/demand that North Central stop doing everything it's doing on offense, then fly home.
* NAIA stats were not included. Blame their glitchy stats page, not me.
Total Offense
FBS: LSU -- 543.5 yards per game
FCS: Western Carolina -- 504.1
D2: Central Missouri -- 593.8
D3: North Central (Ill.) -- 567.5
Yards Per Play
FBS: LSU -- 8.4
FCS: Montana State -- 7.88
D2: Colorado School of Mines/Central Missouri -- 7.41
D3: North Central (Ill.) -- 9.53
Rushing Offense
FBS: Liberty -- 293.3 yards per game
FCS: Montana State -- 291.0
D2: Harding (Ark.) -- 410.7
D3: North Central (Ill.) -- 330.1
Yards Per Carry
FBS: LSU -- 6.18
FCS: Montana State -- 7.28
D2: Harding (Ark.) -- 6.94
D3: North Central (Ill.) -- 7.85
Passing Offense
FBS: Oregon -- 346.9 yards per game
FCS: Idaho State -- 330.1
D2: Central Missouri -- 417.9
D3: Illinois College -- 381.9
Passing Efficiency
FBS: LSU -- 192.54
FCS: South Dakota State -- 174.26
D2: Harding (Ark.) -- 204.04
D3: North Central (Ill.) -- 249.02
Scoring Offense
FBS: LSU -- 45.5 points per game
FCS: Davidson -- 40.0
D2: Central Missouri -- 49.4
D3: North Central (Ill.) -- 58.6
Third Downs
FBS: Georgia -- 55.2 percent
FCS: South Dakota State -- 53.5
D2: Harding (Ark.) -- 57.6
D3: Randolph-Macon (Ga.) -- 59.5
Red Zone Touchdown Percentage
FBS: Oregon State -- 78.6
FCS: Portland State -- 82.9
D2: Eastern New Mexico -- 83.3
D3: Merchant Marine (N.Y.) -- 83.3
Total Defense
FBS: Michigan -- 247.0 yards per game
FCS: South Dakota State -- 257.2
D2: Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) -- 224.2
D3: Lake Forest (Ill.) -- 191.1
Yards Per Play Defense
FBS: Iowa -- 4.08
FCS: Florida A&M -- 4.18
D2: Benedict (S.C.) -- 3.92
D3: Lake Forest (Ill.) -- 3.21
Rushing Defense
FBS: Penn State -- 75.5 yards per game
FCS: Albany -- 87.6
D2: Virginia Union -- 51.7
D3: Wartburg (Iowa) -- 49.1
Yards Per Carry Allowed
FBS: Penn State -- 2.26
FCS: Princeton -- 2.73
D2: Virginia Union -- 1.72
D3: Mount Union (Ohio) -- 1.72
Passing Efficiency Defense
FBS: Notre Dame -- 97.09
FCS: Florida A&M -- 102.48
D2: Frostburg State (Md.) -- 87.31
D3: Lake Forest (Ill.) -- 76.68
Scoring Defense
FBS: Michigan -- 10.4 points per game
FCS: South Dakota State -- 9.3
D2: Benedict (S.C.) -- 10.7
D3: Lake Forest (Ill.) -- 5.6
Third Down Defense
FBS: Georgia -- 25.7 percent
FCS: Merrimack -- 22.8
D2: Bentley (Mass.) -- 19.8
D3: Lake Forest (Ill.) -- 18.9
Red Zone Defense Touchdown Percentage
FBS: UCLA -- 35.9
FCS: Northwestern State -- 29.6
D2: West Alabama -- 28.6
D3: Lake Forest (Ill.) -- 22.2
Sacks Per Game
FBS: Penn State -- 3.77
FCS: Montana State -- 3.42
D2: Benedict (S.C.) -- 4.08
D3: Mount Union (Ohio) -- 4.08
Turnover Margin
FBS: Michigan -- 1.27 per game
FCS: Eastern Illinois -- 1.36
D2: Quincy (Ill.) -- 1.73
D3: Trinity (Conn.) -- 2.00
Penalties
FBS: Air Force/Minnesota/Michigan -- 3.0 per game
FCS: Harvard -- 3.4
D2: Minnesota State-Moorhead -- 3.18
D2: Plymouth State (N.H.) -- 2.5
Time of Possession
FBS: Utah -- 34:04
FCS: Youngstown State -- 35:06
D2: Harding (Ark.) -- 35:33
D3: Susquehanna (Pa.) -- 35:42