RE: **** Southern Miss @ Marshall live game thread ****
Here is a statistical breakdown (based off of stats from NCAA website):
Southern Miss:
Passing Offense- 14th 338 yds/gm
Rushing Offense- 60th 176 yds/gm
Total Offense- 13th 514 yds/gm
Scoring Offense- 15th 40 pts/gm
Rushing D- 103rd 202 yds/gm
Passing Eff. D- 92nd 134
Total D- 106th 444 yds/gm
Scoring D- 87th 28 pts/gm
Red Zone D- 25th 74%
Marshall:
Passing Offense- 91st 196 yds/gm
Rushing Offense- 94th 155 yds/gm
Total Offense- 103rd 351 yds/gm
Scoring Offense- 51st 32 pts/gm
Rushing D- 90th 188 yds/gm
Passing Eff. D- 4th 86
Total D- 43rd 348 yds/gm
Scoring D- 31st 19pts/gm
Red Zone D- 109th 92%
The question really becomes is our offense as good as we think it is and/or is Marshall's D as good as they believe it is? If you look at the ranks of the teams each has played, the answer to both questions may be - not necessarily.
Southern Miss & Marshall's Opponents Rankings:
Passing Off:
Southern Miss- #26, #28, #29, #89
Marshall- #57, #61, #113, #119
Rushing Off:
Southern Miss- #30, #42, #81, #93
Marshall- #68, #80, #88, #96
Total Off:
Southern Miss- #21, #25, #40, #96
Marshall- #70, #85, #118, #124
Scoring Off:
Southern Miss- #36, #53, #64, #122
Marshall- #70, #74, #117, #123
Rushing Def:
Southern Miss- #12, #84, #114, #119
Marshall- #9, #45, #98, #106
Pass Eff. Def:
Southern Miss- #69, #97, #125, #127
Marshall- #11, #36, #76, #83
Total Def:
Southern Miss- #69, #101, #125, #127
Marshall- #6, #45, #80, #96
Scoring Def:
Southern Miss- #23, #65, #124, #127
Marshall- #27, #72, #94, #99
Based on this information, it would appear that Marshall's defensive stats are skewed because they have played average to poor offensive teams. We will be by far the best offense they have faced this season, thus far.
At the same time, the same presumption could be made about our offensive stats. We have played average to poor defenses this year.
This game comes down to which side can exploit the others weakness the most. It will be strength vs. strength and weakness vs. weakness.
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