As I said in the other thread, Marshall was #1 in the country in Defensive EPA by game and by play this season. In the entire country.
Additionally, there is an advanced metric called F+, which essentially combines Connelly's SP+ with the FEI rankings. That F+ ranking had the Marshall defense at #10 in the country.
Marshall also went 9-4 last year with one of the worst offenses in the entire country. Their F+ rating on offense was 110th. Admittedly, the schedule was not great. But they did play a few games against some solid teams. Here is how they fared:
Notre Dame (9-4) -- Won, defense gave up 21 points
Troy (12-2) -- Lost, defense gave up 16 points
Coastal Carolina (9-4) -- Won, defense gave up 24 points
James Madison (8-3) -- Won, defense gave up 12 points
They did lose to a bad Bowling Green team, but it was in overtime, they only gave up 28 points in regulation and they won the yardage battle 547 to 377. Marshall had 3 turnovers, BGSU had zero.
The 4 losses were to the aforementioned BGSU, Troy, and Coastal....and they also lost to Louisiana, in a game where the defense gave up 23 points.
Only gave up more than 24 poins one time in 13 games, and it was the OT game to Bowling Green.
#8 in scoring defense
#15 in total defense per game
#10 in total defense per play
#4 in completion percentage allowed
#15 in passing yards per attempt
#9 in passer rating allowed
#12 in rushing yards per game allowed
#6 in yards per carry allowed (sacks are counted as rushing plays in college)
#13 in sacks per game
#1 in the country in 3rd down defense...and not only that, their conversion % allowed in 2022 was the best of any team since Michigan in 2016
#28 in Red Zone TD% allowed
Only allowed 29 redzone trips in 11 games vs FBS teams (Miami allowed 45 in the same number of games, by the way)
By essentially every single number and metric, the 2022 Marshall defense was sensational. Can he come here and do the same?
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