The Great Senator Blutarsky posted up some really cool Red Zone statistics regarding how well UGA has turned one of our worst offensive categories into what is essentially our best this year.
However, I still feel like the offense is stagnant in lots of areas, so I wanted to do some research about what our drive:score ratio was. Turns out I think I found the reason why we are getting so frustrated lately. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.


Total Offensive Statistics:
24 Touchdowns
10 Field Goals
84 total offensive drives


Percentages:
40.5% of our drives result in points scored
28.5% of our drives result in touchdowns
12% of our drives result in field goals
13% of our points scored on drives have come outside the 20 yard line



So what does this say? Well, since Senator Blutarsky was cool enough to provide us with some pretty impressive Red Zone stats, then I'd say the stats tell us we're not completing drives like we should. 17 of our 24 TD's and 6 of our 10 FG's all have come within the 20 yard line. So that leaves 7 TD's and 4 FG's that have come outside the 20 yard line.

Break it down a little further and it basically boils down to this:

Out of 10 drives we get 4 scores and have 6 times where we give it back to the defense. Remember, it's ok to punt the ball SOMETIME but not more than you score.

I hope the numbers are making sense to all of you out there in "Blog Reader Land,"because I've thought and re-thought about what exactly I'm saying, but in my own twisted mind it basically says that we're not capable of driving the ball down the field consistently. Yes our Red Zone Offense has improved greatly, but with as little field goals as we have, we're not even crossing the 40 yard line in most cases since Coutu is pretty much solid from 30 yards and closer.

Going right along with that, if we're not crossing the 4o or 50 yard line into opposing team's territory, then what types of positions are we putting our Defense in when we have to punt? Last year we didn't give ourselves much of a chance to succeed by always forcing the Defense's backs against the wall. We need to drive deeper into our rival's territory so that if we do punt, it forces our opponents to drive 80+ yards.

In the context of "what this means right now," it says our ability to drive the field is a key in winning against Florida. We have to keep the Gator Offense off the field and wear out their Defense in order to have a fighting chance. Early key to the game: clock management.

Simply put with all the statistics above, if we can't reverse that ratio and score 6 out of every 10 times, we're in trouble. We need longer, more sustained drives and we have to score more than punt. With only 12-13 offensive drives per game, we need to make the most out of every one of them.

Thoughts? Disagreements? I could be completely wrong, but this is what the stats tell me.



Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Labels: College Football, UGA Football