I’m going to put these up for now, but I’m working on a data set regarding YBC – yards before contact – that occurred in a sample set of games in 2022 and 2024. To do so, I tried to find two games, one in each season, where we had close to the same yards per carry in the games box score and teams who had similar Defensive Yards Per Play from the two seasons.
The results for the games?
2022 – Georgia versus Auburn
2024 – Georgia versus Clemson
I’ll post the stats later today. For each run play outside of sacks, I’ll attempt to chart how many yards were gained on the ground prior to first contact alongside the total yards achieved on the play in total.
As you watch, if you have the time, note the play of the offensive line, the personnel sets (11, 12, 13 sets), as well as the TEs and WRs on the plays between the two games. I think that, without even revealing the data yet, it’s painfully obvious to see the difference in all of the above.
The good news – both games are lovely wins against people in orange.
The bad news – the issues go well beyond the offensive line play.
Enjoy or cry, depending on your mindset.
Thanks for doing this one. I had about 10 mins the other day to look for YBC and YAC stats and couldn’t find anything. Is going to be telling to see season-long stats across lets say a 7-8 year span.