In-Depth Statistical Comparison- Gopers vs Kansas

[Go Gophers Rah]

Attached is a table showing how our Offense compares to their Defense, how their Offense compares to our Defense and special teams matchups. If anyone can tell me how to put this in columns, it would be easier to read).

Here are some noteworthy stats:
#8 KU Passing Offense versus #88 Gopher Passing Defense (ouch)
#57 Gophers passing yards versus #113 KU Pass Defense
#118 KU yards per kickoff return versus #12 Gopher Kickoff Defense (of course when you don't kick off very often...)
#25 sacking Gophers versus #92 KU in Sacks Allowed

After going through the stats, I am feeling far better about our chances. Sure Kansas has an awesome passing game, but look at the pass defense rankings of some of their opponents: #117 Mizzou, #116 Louisiana Tech, #115 Iowa State, #109 Texas, #105 K-State, #99 Oklahoma and #91 Texas Tech.

I think that they will have a few more rushing yards than us and will get 100+ more passing yards than us. But I think we will get into their backfield a fair amount and could cause some mistakes on their part. In the end, if we are to win, we will have to play a very good game and win the turnover and special teams battles.

I'm putting th e whole list of stats in a quote box so that ads won't mess it up:

Bold = differential of 60 or more
U of M KU Winner
Minn O vs KU D #91 (322 ypg) #94 (402.2 ypg) U of M
Minn Scoring O vs KU Scoring D #81 (23.4 ppg) #87 (29.5 ppg) U of M
UM Rushing O vs KU rushing D #104 (106 ypg) #33 (126.7 ypg) KU
UM Passing O vs KU Passing D #57 (216 ypg) #113 (276 ypg) U of M
UM Sacks Allowed vs KU Sacks #85 (27) #47 (25) KU
UM RZ Off vs KU RZ Def #18 (89%) #46 (80%) U of M
UM 3rd Down % vs KU 3rd Down Def#90 (35.5%) #81 (41.8%) KU
UM Ints Allowed vs KU Ints #21 (8) #32 (15) U of M
UM TFL allowed vs KU TFL #52 (5.6 ypg) #34 (6.3 ypg) KU

KU O vs Minn D #74 (378 ypg) #23 (431 ypg) KU
KU Scoring O vs Minn Scoring D #49 (23.3 ppg) #27 (32.7 ppg) KU
KU Rushing O vs Minn Rushing D #71 (147 ypg) #80 (129 ypg) U of M
KU Passing O vs Minn Passing D #8 (302 ypg) #88 (232 ypg) KU
KU Sacks Allowed vs Minn Sacks #25 #92 U of M
KU RZ Off vs Minn RZ Def #62 (82%) #36 (85%) KU
KU 3rd Down % vs UM 3rd Down Def #54 (38%) #11 (50%) KU
KU Ints Allowed vs UM Ints #62 (12) #42 (14) U of M
KU TFL allowed vs UM TFL #22 #84 U of M

UM KO returns vs KU KO Def #22 (23.5 ypr) #55 (20.7 ypr) U of M
UM Punt Ret vs KU Punt Def #42 (10.24 ypr) #86 (10.9 ypr) U of M
KU KO returns vs UM KO Def #118 (17.4 ypr) #12 (18.4 ypr) U of M
KU Punt Ret vs UM Punt Def #22 (12 ypr) #57 (8.5 ypr) KU
Net Punting #43 (36.2 ypk) #95 (33 ypk) U of M

Turnover Margin #12 (+12) #46 (+3) U of M

 

[MinnMarchDTF]

Nice stats! I think it will be a good matchup. But it just depends on which Minnesota and Kansas team shows up. If the gophers play like they did against Illinois, we got a good shot. If they play like they did against Mizzou, we will be in for a tough game.

 

[strokemonster]

Thanks for the good post, Go Gophers. The stats are somewhat better than I thought they'd
be. It would be fun to go out with a win to get ready for next season.

 

[grunkiejr]

Big XII QB's/Defenses

Looking at the rankings of the pass defenses (#117 Mizzou, #115 Iowa State, #109 Texas, #105 K-State, #99 Oklahoma and #91 Texas Tech) brings about a chicken/egg question. Are the QB's in the conference really that good or are the defenses that bad? It is particularly interesting that TX, TT, and OU are all in this list even though they didn't have to play themselves and Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma State do not appear on the list despite having to play against 3 Heisman QB candidates. I guess getting a big lead makes the other team throw the ball but that is crazy.

 

[KU4LIFE]

If you saw the BIG XII play at all this year you would know why the pass D looks so bad. You spread the field and throw it around on almost every down like the BIG XII and you would have a difficult time maintaining a good pass D % also. Plus the talent on Offense in the BIG XII is insane. Just look at some of the athletes, especially in the South and you tell me why a offense might be so explosive.

 

[pinkmartini]

GOOD JOB

Now you know why I'm willing to bet a Kansas rancher.

 

[grunkiejr]

If you saw the BIG XII play at all this year you would know why the pass D looks so bad. You spread the field and throw it around on almost every down like the BIG XII and you would have a difficult time maintaining a good pass D % also. Plus the talent on Offense in the BIG XII is insane. Just look at some of the athletes, especially in the South and you tell me why a offense might be so explosive.

I realize that the players are talented and I'm willing to call the Big XII the best conference in the league but there is no reason that top 10 teams like OU and Texas should be on the list. That is just bad defense...Texas would be #1 and playing in the championship if their freshman safety could catch a slowly falling tipped ball that went right between his hands.