SOTU just tweeted that Miami defended the 11th most plays in America in 2017. 989 plays defended.
And predictably, most of the replies are about the defense, its inability to get off the field on 3rd down, and how much the turnovers helped. All valid points. But I look at it a different way......
Yes, the defense finished the year 75th in the country on opponent's 3rd down percentage. They allowed the opposition to convert 39.55% of the time, which is obviously terrible and needs to improve.
But I look at it even more as a byproduct of the offense's ineptitude (but I'm an offensive guy, I pretty much spin everything back to how the offense performs). Looking at it a little closer, yes, the defense defended the 11th most plays in the country. But on that avalanche of plays, they only gave up 4.77 yards per play. That is MUCH better than every single team who faced more plays. As a matter of fact, that number ranked 12th in the country. So take away the turnovers, take away the 3rd down defense, and STILL, every single time the opposition snapped the ball, Miami only gave up 4.77 YPP. Only 11 teams were better.
But the offense didn't help a lick. We know all this, but the numbers are staggering. Miami finished 126th in 3rd down offense. 126th!!! Kent State, Maryland, UTEP, and Charlotte were the only teams worse. So when I see a stat like the one SOTU posted, most people think "Wow the defense needs to be better". And it does, to a point. But to me, the OFFENSE is the root of the problem. When you rank 59th in points per game, 126th on 3rd down, 124th in time of possession....guess what? Your defense is going to face a ton of plays. Not that this is news in any way, but **** the offense needs to be better this year. They really put the defense in so many awful spots last season. And with the diminished depth on the DL, we can't face almost 1000 plays again this season. I wonder if Richt does go with 12 again, if he plays a little bit slower just to limit those breakneck 3 and outs we had last year where we take 16 seconds off the clock and right back onto the field for the defense.