Post by BearDownMU on Oct 4, 2016 14:42:56 GMT -5
Just based on my own "eye test", I've said for years we always seem to look stout against the run. There have obviously been a couple of painful occasions where a team has broken off a monster run because of a lapse or someone being in the wrong place, but I think for the most part we get into the right spots and tackle well. Just because I was curious, I crunched the numbers a bit.
What made me think of this is how good Derrick Craine, Chattanooga's primary RB, has looked so far this year. And we will need to deal with him on Saturday. But, looking an "traditional offenses" (in other words, excluding our two triple option opponents because that clearly can skew the numbers, our opponents have carried the ball 73 times for 183 yards. 2.5 yards per carry. That is really good.
And, not to get into too much "shoulda, coulda, woulda". But if you eliminate the anomaly (Tyler Renew's 70 yard run on the 2nd play from scrimmage in The Citadel game), we held them to 192 yards on 51 carries for the remainder of that game. A 3.76 yard per carry average. Also pretty darn good against a TO team. And considerable better than their current season average of 5.4 yards per carry.
Craine is currently averaging 6.7 yards per carry and 104 yards per game. 520 yards on 78 attempts. Really stout. However, his worst game came against Furman, who has a really good defense.
Chatt's QB will also run it a fair amount. He has 230 yards on 49 carries this year. Just about 35 yards per game average.
Point being, I've always like our run defense. And it's going to be important to limit Craine and Bennefield this weekend to keep them off schedule.
What made me think of this is how good Derrick Craine, Chattanooga's primary RB, has looked so far this year. And we will need to deal with him on Saturday. But, looking an "traditional offenses" (in other words, excluding our two triple option opponents because that clearly can skew the numbers, our opponents have carried the ball 73 times for 183 yards. 2.5 yards per carry. That is really good.
And, not to get into too much "shoulda, coulda, woulda". But if you eliminate the anomaly (Tyler Renew's 70 yard run on the 2nd play from scrimmage in The Citadel game), we held them to 192 yards on 51 carries for the remainder of that game. A 3.76 yard per carry average. Also pretty darn good against a TO team. And considerable better than their current season average of 5.4 yards per carry.
Craine is currently averaging 6.7 yards per carry and 104 yards per game. 520 yards on 78 attempts. Really stout. However, his worst game came against Furman, who has a really good defense.
Chatt's QB will also run it a fair amount. He has 230 yards on 49 carries this year. Just about 35 yards per game average.
Point being, I've always like our run defense. And it's going to be important to limit Craine and Bennefield this weekend to keep them off schedule.