Statistical Review: Houston #92

Two [football programs], both alike in [going through a coaching change],
In fair [Texas], where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star [quarterbacks] take their [game to the NFL];

Program A gets a new coaching staff and loses its quarterback to the NFL. They follow up a 13 win season with 5 wins in 2012. In ONE game three different quarterbacks throw two interceptions each.

Program B gets a new coaching staff and loses its quarterback to the NFL. They go 11-2 after losing 6 games in 2011. Their new quarterback throws only 9 picks all season . . . and wins the Heisman.

Yeah, if I were a Houston fan I'd hate A&M, too.

At this point it shouldn't surprise you that Houston suffered at the hand of the turnover. They added 15 fumbles lost to their 20 interceptions. But the defense forced 31 turnovers, so Houston actually had a better turnover margin than Texas A&M.

Outside of the turnovers, the Houston offense was typical. They averaged 32 points per game (a far cry from 49 a year ago), but needed almost 16 possessions per game, the most nationally, to score those points. The offense was also plagued by bad starting field position, more than 72 yards from the opponents' end zone (even though the defense forced two and a half turnovers per game).

The defense was fairly typical. They were fairly bad at defending the run. But they were among the worst in the country at getting stops on third down. But the real story of the Houston Cougar 2012 season is turnovers. The defense forced five or more in three games and at least two in nine of 12. The offense, on the other had, turned the ball over 15 times total in two games and 10 more times in another three games combined. These games are not being decided by yards per carry.

The Statistical Review breaks down teams along a number of performance categories, everything from red zone scoring to field goal percentage, and compares that performance against the rest of the FBS. All 124 teams will be reviewed from 124 to 1 by the hybrid rankings. You can find short descriptions of the stats used in the table below.