We all know that Boise State's 59-0 win over New Mexico State was a complete and utter domination. But how completely and utterly? We all know that Jarvis Hodge and Michael Coughlin had career days against the Aggies. But just how good were they?
These are the questions that BIFFF seeks to answer via the enlightening medium of game charting. Join me after the jump for a look at some advanced statistics and game notes that you can't get anywhere else. Conclusion: Boise State is good and New Mexico State is less so. Stats never lie!
The Bronco Institute of Football Facts and Figures (BIFFF)seeks to add context and numbers to Boise State statistics. Some of it is math, much of it is game charting, and the rest is pie charts.
The BIFFF Box Score
You can learn a lot from ESPN's box score, or you can learn everything you ever wanted to know plus stuff you didn't by reading the BIFFF box score.
| Statistics |  |  |
Explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final Score | 59 | 0 | |
| Swing Points | 7 | 0 | Points on defense, special teams or drives < 25 yds |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 | |
| Total Yards | 608 | 208 | |
| Net Yards | 543 | 147 | Yards on offense minus penalties |
| Wasted Yards | 109 | 208 | Yards on non-scoring drives (including penalties) |
| Yds on Scoring Drives | 470 | 0 | Yards on scoring drives (including penalties) |
| Passing Yards | 309 | 90 | |
| Completions | 18 | 8 | |
| Attempts | 24 | 22 | |
| Yds per Attempt | 12.9 | 4.1 | |
| Rushing Yards | 299 | 118 | |
| Attempts | 39 | 41 | |
| Average | 7.7 | 2.9 | |
| Penalty Yards | 65 | 61 | |
| Penalties | 7 | 5 | |
| Average | 9.3 | 12.2 | |
| Plays | 63 | 63 | |
| Yds per Play | 9.7 | 3.3 | |
| Run:Pass Ratio | 39:24 |
39:24 | |
| Negative Plays | 2 | 5 | Plays that gained negative yardage |
| Third Down Conversion Pct | 33% | 35% | |
| Conversions | 3 | 6 | |
| Attempts | 9 | 17 | |
| Avg Yards to go | 5.3 | 7.4 | |
| Avg Field Position | BSU 39 | NMSU 25 | Average starting field position |
Notable:
- Even though the numbers are extremely lopsided, it's almost surprising that New Mexico State didn't ever score. They averaged 3.3 yards per play, which is not terrible. They converted more than one-third of their 3rd downs, which was a better rate than Boise State. Dick Tomey was right. They were only one or two plays away from breaking this thing wide open.
- Wasted yards is a very depressing stat when you get shut out. All of New Mexico State's yards were wasted, by definition.
- From the Boise State Is Good On Offense Dept., there's this: The Broncos averaged more than 12 yards per passing attempt (attempt!) and more than seven yards per rush. They gained, on average, nearly 10 yards per play.
- NMSU only had five plays that went for negative yardage. Seemed like more, didn't it?
- Jeron Johnson was not credited with a forced fumble on NMSU's fumbled option. I disagree with that, so I'm giving him a forced fumble.
- Also, the Matt Christian fumble on the sack was credited to Michael Atkinson, but it looked like Tyrone Crawford may have been the one to knock it out. And Atkinson, like he said afterward, was not the one who recovered the loose ball. Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe did. But don't worry. Atkinson did force a fumble from Tanner Rust later in the game, and that one wasn't mentioned at all in the play-by-play. Box score justice!
- I found this entirely too amusing. Jarvis Hodge had a four-yard carry the play before his 54-yard TD run. Don't remember it? That's because it was never aired as WAC TV was late coming back from commercial, and it was never mentioned because WAC TV is terrible.
The five most interesting stats from Boise State versus New Mexico State
Marcus Allen was not a factor whatsoever
Allen came into the game averaging 108 yards of total offense each week. He had three catches for 46 yards against Boise State. He was Rodgers'd minus the concussion.
New Mexico State's rushing numbers could have looked a lot worse
Two Aggie carries netted nearly a third of their total team rushing yards (37 yards on 2 carries). Take away those two, and NMSU has 81 yards on 39 carries, for a robust 2.1 yards per.
By contrast, take away Boise State's two best runs of the night (Jarvis Hodge's 54-yard TD and Doug Martin's 36-yard carry), and BSU has 209 yards on 37 carries - and a 5.7 yard average.
Jarvis Hodge and Michael Coughlin each had as many broken tackles as New Mexico State had as a team
Hodge broke a tackle on his touchdown run and a tackle on an earlier series. Coughlin broke two tackles on one play. And then there's New Mexico State who juked Derrell Acrey and Josh Borgman one time each and that was all.
Boise State did not need to blitz New Mexico State very often
The Broncos blitzed a total of five times all night long against the Aggies - three blitzes in the first half, when the game was in doubt (relatively speaking) and two times late in the game presumably to let the backups of the backups have a little fun.
The New Mexico State defense had a very hard time getting to Boise State quarterbacks
Boise State quarterbacks dropped back for passes 24 times. Total hits: one. Total hurries: one.
(Note: the reason for the discrepancy in total pass attempts was that the one of the pressures came on a roughing the passer penalty, which goes down in the scoresheet as NO PLAY.)
Your turn
What do you think of these stats? Did you make it through that table alive? Even more impressed at the domination of Boise State's defense? Share your thoughts in the comments.