Just how fast is Justin Fuente's Offense?

By: jobushokie on April 25, 2016, 4:53 PM | 48 comments

After reading this article ranking teams Pace of Play. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/5/15/8586169/hurry-up-offe...

I decided to look into how the teams ended up at the end of the year. I ran the stats on the last 5 games of the season to see what these teams looked like when they were full on, end of season ready.

Game Summary	Avg Plays/Drive	Pts/Drive	Avg Plays/G	Avg Pts/G	Time of Poss	Pace of Play
Baylor	6.2	2.2	86.2	29.6	28.33	00.19.55
Memphis	6.47	2.4	75	25.4	28.02	00.22.3
TCU	5.7	1.6	86.8	30.2	32.33	00.22.37
Oregon	5.5	2.7	72.2	48.6	27.17	00.22.38
Clemson	6.2	2.72	84.6	35	32.58	00.23.34
Houston	6.13	2.6	73.6	27.2	29.45	00.24.14
Virginia Tech	5.6	1.8	75.6	28.4	32.06	00.25.5
UVA	6.3	2.4	73.4	28.2	34.22	00.28.09
Alabama	6.5	2.2	72.6	27.6	36.03	00.29.45
Stanford	6.4	3.6	69.6	37.4	36.25	00.32.3

First off, Baylor is fast. I've never watched a game, but Im thinking I might this year just to see how much faster they are than other teams, a play every 19 seconds...thats pretty crazy. Thats not even taking into consideration how long the actual plays themselves last. And look who on this list landed at number two. The pace of play talk all spring, is not just hype, this offense is definitely faster than any offense that has been in Blacksburg. Now to the second question that Ive heard a lot lately. Will having an up-tempo offense hamper our defense and leave them out to dry?

Drive Summary	FG	Punt	TD	Turnover	Total Drives	% of Drives Ending W/Punts	% of Drives Ending w/Pts	% Drives 3 & Out
Virginia Tech	11	29	12	13	65	45%	35%	34%
TCU	8	33	14	19	74	45%	30%	36%
UVA	9	24	16	10	59	41%	42%	25%
Houston	4	23	20	12	59	39%	41%	29%
Alabama	13	20	12	11	56	36%	45%	27%
Baylor	3	22	20	22	67	33%	34%	31%
Clemson	9	19	21	15	64	30%	47%	23%
Stanford	8	15	21	7	51	29%	57%	16%
Memphis	10	16	15	16	57	28%	44%	25%
Oregon	9	16	29	9	63	25%	60%	16%

Based on last years numbers, I think we can be comfortable in this offense going forward. Even though Memphis was an up-tempo offense, and they play quick between snaps, they were able to sustain long offensive drives. Memphis actually was one of the lowest teams with percent of drives ending in 3 and outs. Unfortunately, our beloved Hokies happen to have been one of the WORST teams in sustaining drives. I think this right here speaks volumes about our offensive perception over the years. We punted the ball A LOT, and we went 3 and out A LOT. No wonder fans used to be disappointed most games, even with the W about our offense. Going through the drive summaries for Virginia Tech paints a boring picture and one, honestly that makes things a little clearer. Going 3 and out on almost 50% of your drives is going to kill any defense. It could also be the reason we lost so many late games the past two years, our defense was probably beat from the lack of rest. Our new offense even though up-tempo, once settled in, will actually be better for our defense.

All in all, maybe this year isnt the year we explode on the scene, maybe we do. But I am certainly happy to see that we are in the hands of someone who has ran an offense successfully in the past. This is no blast on past administration and Loeffler, however, his offensive statistics do not bode well for him, and thats putting it lightly. Needless to say, even if our offense wasnt, or maybe it was, what we expected (hoped) to see in the spring game, sooner than later, we will have an offense that we can have confidence in. The future is bright for the Hokies.

EDIT: Ive attached the drive summaries of both Virginia Tech and Memphis Seasons, if we can have half of this productivity, added with Bud Fosters Defense I think well be in contention. The 3 & Out average doesnt look too different, but if you look game by game, theres a stark difference. Memphis had over 5 games where they had 1 or less 3 and outs, Virginia Tech didnt have a single game less than 2, and those two games were Furman and Tulsa, not the best representations of Virginia Techs game management.

Also to note - 3 & outs included turnovers that happened with 3 or less plays on a drive, I felt it was weird to not count those, because they would be just as detrimental to defenses rest times.

Team	Opponent	FG	Punt	TD	Turnover	3 & Outs	Grand Total	% Scoring Drives	% Punted Drives	% 3&Out
Memphis	Total	23	56	58	28	37	165	49%	23%	22%
	Auburn	1	6		4	5	11	9%	30%	45%
	Bowling Gr	3	4	5		0	12	67%	23%	0%
	Cincy	1	6	6	2	7	15	47%	25%	47%
	Houston	2	4	4	3	5	13	46%	17%	38%
	Kansas	2	2	7	3	4	14	64%	8%	29%
	Missouri St		3	8		0	11	73%	21%	0%
	Navy	2	2	2	5	3	11	36%	16%	27%
	Ole Miss	3	5	4	1	1	13	54%	28%	7%
	SFU	1	8	3	1	4	13	31%	51%	31%
	SMU		3	6	4	1	13	46%	23%	8%
	Temple	4	4		3	4	11	36%	16%	36%
	Tulane	3	3	4	1	0	11	64%	19%	0%
	Tulsa	1	6	9	1	3	17	59%	25%	18%
VT	Total	21	66	41	36	49	164	38%	31%	30%
	BC	4	7	1	2	5	14	36%	54%	36%
	Duke	1	7	3	1	3	12	33%	39%	25%
	ECU		5	4	4	3	13	31%	27%	23%
	Furman		4	5	2	2	11	45%	23%	18%
	GT	2	4	3	3	5	12	42%	22%	42%
	Miami	2	2	2	5	3	11	36%	19%	27%
	NCSt		6	4	1	3	11	36%	4%	27%
	Ohio St	1	6	3	4	3	14	29%	37%	21%
	Pitt	2	5	1	3	5	11	27%	35%	45%
	Purdue	3	5	4	3	4	15	47%	21%	27%
	Tulsa	2	3	6	2	2	13	62%	18%	15%
	UNC	1	4	3	5	5	13	31%	24%	38%
	UVA	3	8	2	1	6	14	36%	45%	43%
Grand Total	Total	44	122	99	64	86	329	43%	27%	26%