BCS Watch: final edition 2011

The 2011 season has ended, and it seems like most people are saying, "Good riddance, this season was full of (BW)." Let us not forget, Bronco fans, that even though BSU could have accomplished so much more in a just world, they still produced 12 wins and have averaged MORE than 12 per year since Chris Petersen has been head coach. We as a fanbase are spoiled rotten, and we cannot forget that what BSU has done in its 15 years as a I-A/FBS school is not supposed to happen in college football. It is literally unprecedented. I hope we've all learned to appreciate these good times for Bronco football. Plus, as anyone in the football program would tell you, we wouldn't be lamenting what could have been had BSU taken care of business against TCU. OK, enough babbling.

I took a real long time to write this post because I was researching a concept I made up, which I call "complete performances." This concept is a reflection on a team's ability to play offense and defense well. (I realize "complete performances" is a misnomer, since it doesn't take special teams into account, but I couldn't think of a better term.) Basically, if your team's defense holds an opponent's offense below their season average in points AND yards, and your offense exceeds the opposing defense's average in points AND yards allowed, that is a complete performance

I was curious to see how the top teams did in this category, and much number-crunching ensued.

Keep in mind, a complete performance does not imply a dominating win, or even any kind of win. Stanford had a complete performance against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl and lost. On the other hand, you can have a dominating win without a complete performance. USC beat UCLA 50-0, but allowed the Bruins' offense to surpass their season average in yards gained. Still, I feel that a lot of people give strength-of-schedule too much weight when ranking teams, since teams cannot help which teams they must play, and "complete performances" gives us a good idea of how well a given team plays with the schedule they face.

Here are the top 12 teams in the FBS, with some simple points of comparison. This list covers both AP and Coaches' Poll top 10s. OOC stands for out-of-conference. ~ denotes a win over an FCS school.

Alabama (BCS champ)

Record and final rankings: 12-1, #1 AP, #1 Coaches

Opponents lost to: LSU

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 89-65 (.578), ooc~ 30-21 (.588)

Notable wins: Arkansas, LSU (BCS CG)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 7~

OFFENSE: 34.8 ppg (20th), 429.6 ypg (31st)

DEFENSE: 8.2 ppg (1st), 183.6 ypg (1st)

Complete performances: 11 of 13

LSU (SEC champ)

Record and final rankings: 13-1, #2 AP, #2 Coaches

Opponents lost to: Alabama (BCS CG)

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 101-64 (.612), ooc 34-16 (.680)

Notable wins: Oregon, W. Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia (conf. CG)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 9

OFFENSE: 35.7 ppg (17th), 355.1 ypg (86th)

DEFENSE: 11.3 ppg (2nd), 261.5 ypg (2nd)

Complete performances: 7 of 14

Oklahoma State (B12/Fiesta Bowl champ)

Record and final rankings: 12-1, #3 AP, #3 Coaches

Opponents lost to: Iowa St.

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 92-61 (.601), ooc 32-19 (.627)

Notable wins: Baylor, Kansas St., Oklahoma, Stanford (Fiesta)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 9

OFFENSE: 48.7 ppg (2nd), 545.8 ypg (3rd)

DEFENSE: 26.8 ppg (t-61st), 456.8 ypg (107th)

Complete performances: 6 of 13

Oregon (P12/Rose Bowl champ)

Record and final rankings: 12-2, #4 AP, #4 Coaches

Opponents lost to: LSU, USC

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 71-72 (.497), ooc~ 20-18 (.526)

Notable wins: Stanford, UCLA (conf. CG), Wisconsin (Rose)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 6

OFFENSE: 46.1 ppg (3rd), 522.8 ypg (4th)

DEFENSE: 24.6 ppg (52nd), 390.1 ypg (67th)

Complete performances: 4 of 14

Arkansas (Cotton Bowl champ)

Record and final rankings: 11-2, #5 AP, #5 Coaches

Opponents lost to: Alabama, LSU

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 62-75 (.453), ooc~ 23-38 (.377)

Notable wins: S. Carolina, Kansas St. (Cotton)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 5

OFFENSE: 36.8 ppg (15th), 438.1 ypg (29th)

DEFENSE: 22.2 ppg (t-33rd), 362.8 ypg (47th)

Complete performances: 3 of 13

USC

Record and final ranking: 10-2, #6 AP

Opponents lost to: Arizona St., Stanford

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 63-66 (.488), ooc 16-21 (.432)

Notable wins: Oregon

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 5

OFFENSE: 35.8 ppg (16th), 456.8 ypg (21st)

DEFENSE: 23.6 ppg (45th), 374.8 ypg (54th)

Complete performances: 3 of 12

Stanford

Record and final rankings: 11-2, #7 AP, #7 Coaches

Opponents lost to: Oregon, Oklahoma St.

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 54-78 (.409), ooc 16-21 (.432)

Notable wins: USC

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 4

OFFENSE: 43.2 ppg (7th), 489.3 ypg (8th)

DEFENSE: 21.9 ppg (30th), 341.6 ypg (28th)

Complete performances: 9 of 13

BSU (Las Vegas Bowl champ)

Record and final rankings: 12-1, #8 AP, #6 Coaches

Opponents lost to: TCU

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 73-81 (.474), ooc 44-35 (.557)

Notable wins: Georgia, Arizona St. (Las Vegas)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 7

OFFENSE: 44.2 ppg (5th), 481.3 ypg (t-9th)

DEFENSE: 18.7 ppg (12th), 320.8 ypg (16th)

Complete performances: 9 of 13

S. Carolina (Capital One Bowl champ)

Record and final rankings: 11-2, #9 AP, #8 Coaches

Opponents lost to: Auburn, Arkansas

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 73-66 (.525), ooc~ 33-29 (.532)

Notable wins: Georgia, Clemson, Nebraska (Cap One)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 5

OFFENSE: 30.1 ppg (t-42nd), 373.5 ypg (74th)

DEFENSE: 18.4 ppg (11th), 267.7 ypg (3rd)

Complete performances: 4 of 13

Wisconsin (B10 champ)

Record and final rankings: 11-3, #10 AP, #11 Coaches

Opponents lost to: Michigan St., Ohio St., Oregon

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 69-70 (.496), ooc~ 22-27 (.449)

Notable wins: N. Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan St. (conf. CG)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 7~

OFFENSE: 44.1 ppg (6th), 469.9 ypg (14th)

DEFENSE: 19 ppg (13th), 316.3 ypg (15th)

Complete performances: 7 of 14

Michigan St. (Outback Bowl champ)

Record and final rankings: 11-3, #11 AP, #10 Coaches

Opponents lost to: Notre Dame, Nebraska, Wisconsin

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 65-74 (.468), ooc~ 20-29 (.408)

Notable wins: Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia (Outback)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 5~

OFFENSE: 31 ppg (37th), 390.4 ypg (56th)

DEFENSE: 18.4 ppg (10th), 277.4 ypg (6th)

Complete performances: 9 of 14

Michigan (Sugar Bowl champ)

Record and final rankings: 11-2, #12 AP, #9 Coaches

Opponents lost to: Michigan St., Iowa

Combined record of opposing teams defeated: 78-64 (.549), ooc 40-25 (.615 pct.)

Notable wins: Nebraska, Virginia Tech (Sugar)

Number of wins against teams with winning records: 7

OFFENSE: 33.3 ppg (t-26th), 404.7 (42nd)

DEFENSE: 17.4 ppg (6th), 322.2 ypg (17th)

Complete performances: 6 of 13