Statistical Review: Virginia Tech #59

Oh, Logan Thomas. In 454 pass attempts he added 4.3 points. That's less than Jordan Wynn, who retired mid-season, less than 98 skill-position players averaged per game over at least 10 games, less than Johnny Manziel in 11 different games, less than Manziel's backup Jameill Showers, and even less than Manziel on this one play.

He completed 51% of his passes and averaged less than 7 yards per pass. He was twice as likely to gain no yards as he was to gain 10 or more yards. He threw interceptions on 3.7% of passes, twice as often as Everett Golson and four times more often than AJ McCarron and Colby Cameron. Most troubling is that Thomas was only 1.4 points per game better in Virginia Tech's wins than in losses. By way of comparison, Manziel was 30 points per game better in wins than in losses. At quarterback, Thomas wasn't a difference maker.

What was the difference maker? Tech allowed 27 or more points in every loss and 23 or fewer points in every win. The defense was solid, not spectacular, across the board, except they were mediocre at preventing explosive plays and didn't force enough turnovers. They forced turnovers on only one in nine possessions. They were in the bottom quarter nationally in yards per kick and punt return allowed. Consequently, they were below average in starting field position on offense and defense. Not exactly Beamer ball.

-------------------- 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.