In the entire realm of college football statistics (and there's a whole lot of them), only one stat exists that truly holds no bias to scheme.
That stat? Points per possession. It's easily the most underrated, and underutilized stat (at least by the mainstream media), yet most valuable stat to a lot of coaches and coordinators...by a wide margin. At the end of the day, they want to know how efficient they're being with each possession and no stat shows that - on both sides of the ball - like points per possession.
Whether you're looking at the offensive side of the ball and Navy's ball control triple option or Baylor's explosive no huddle, or the defensive side of things and a 4-3, 3-4, or 3-3-5 scheme, points per possession don't discriminate.
Yesterday, Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer did his part to explain how the stat is a major part of evaluating defenses, and the same can easily be said for offenses.
There are a number of stats based websites out there, but Brian Fremeau has the best run down - bar none - of what he calls "points per drive" at BCFToys.com. Fremeau's stats exclude all "first-half clock kills, and end of game garbage drives and scores," and what's left is the cleanest look at points per quality possession that one could possibly ask for.
Fremeau breaks down both offensive and defensive points per drive, and then compiles them into NPD with is "the difference between points scored per offensive drive (OPD) and points allowed per opponents offensive drive (DPD).
Top ten OFFENSES in POINTS PER OFFENSIVE DRIVE
(Combined record: 69-15 - .821)
- Baylor (7-0) - 4.34
- Bowling Green (7-2) - 3.72
- Stanford (8-1) - 3.60
- Western Kentucky (7-2) - 3.59
- Navy (6-1) - 3.47
- Oklahoma (8-1) - 3.32
- North Carolina (6-1)- 3.27
- TCU (7-1) - 3.26
- Texas Tech (5-5) - 3.19
- LSU (7-1) - 3.18
National mid-point: #64 - Troy (2.10)
Bottom 10 OFFENSES in POINTS PER OFFENSIVE DRIVE
128. Boston College (1-7) - .48
127. Kent State (2-6) - .69
126. Vanderbilt (2-6) - .86
125. Charlotte (1-7) - .90
124. Central Florida (0-9) - .91
123. Hawaii (1-8) - 1.00
122. Missouri (3-5) - 1.04
121. Tulane (1-7) - 1.09
120. Kansas (0-8) - 1.10
119. North Texas (1-7) - 1.11
Top ten DEFENSES in POINTS PER OPPONENTS OFFENSIVE DRIVE
(Combined record 71-16 - .816)
- Michigan (7-2) - .84
- Alabama (8-1) - .98
- Clemson (8-0) - 1.02
- Ohio State (9-0) - 1.04
- Boston College (1-7) - 1.10
- Wisconsin (8-2) - 1.10
- Marshall (7-2) - 1.10
- Florida (8-1) - 1.19
- Toledo (7-1) - 1.25
- Iowa (8-0) - 1.25
National mid-point: #64 Western Kentucky (2.12)
Bottom 10 DEFENSES in POINTS PER OPPONENTS OFFENSIVE DRIVE
128. Kansas (0-8) - 3.84
127. Eastern Michigan (1-9) - 3.72
126. Texas State (1-6) - 3.48
125. North Texas (1-7) - 3.35
124. SMU (1-7) - 3.30
123. Rutgers (2-6) - 3.30
122. Fresno State (1-7) - 3.24
121. New Mexico State (2-7) - 3.23
120. Rice (3-5) - 3.2
119. Wyoming (1-8) - 3.2
Net points per drive, taking into account the offensive plays per drive (OPD) and the opponents offensive plays per drive (DPD), were then compiled. Below is a screen shot of the top 10.
Head here to see the entire in depth look from Fremeau.