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Errors in Nebraska Cornhusker Playcalling : College Football Stats at cfbstats.com permit Playcall Analysis showing Husker Coaching to be Faulty

By Andis Kaulins

As an alumnus of the University of Nebraska and of Stanford University, we continue to be great fans of the Stanford football resurgence under head coach Jim Harbaugh and we remain very strong critics of Husker offensive playcalling which we regard to be one of the keys to the mediocrity of the current Cornhusker season. The Nebraska team is far better than its record but is being hampered 1) by greatly improvable offensive coordination and 2) by an undisciplined coaching staff and team marked too much by Bo Pelini temper tantrums and tirades rather than by reasoned decisionmaking and good football play. As Pelini is quoted as saying: "From my standpoint, I?ve got to be smarter".

We can second that wholeheartedly. The following statistical analysis is intended to help the NU coaching staff to get their act together.

Playcalling at the Huskers own 1 to 20-yard line

Rushing in that zone - NU ranks 25th in the nation, averaging 6.28 yards for 32 plays
but, ... Nebraska leads the nation in the number of passes intercepted by the opposing defense in that zone - there have been 5 interceptions on only 28 pass attempts. By contrast, the Huskers have thrown nearly 300 passes outside of that zone and have had only 3 of those intercepted.

Nebraska has completed 19 of 28 passes (i.e. 5 interceptions and only 4 incompletions in this zone) between their own 1 and 20-yard line, but Nebraska throws too short into the danger zone having gained only 177 yards through those passes, which ranks it only 79th in the nation in terms of passing yardage gained in that zone. In that same zone, Texas Tech has completed 33 of 45 passes with NO interceptions and 530 yards gained, so that the Red Raiders are throwing for longer gainers and to defensive areas with less danger of interception, plus for much more yardage. This is a clear coaching error on the part of the Huskers, not a lack of talent by the NU quarterback or receivers. The Huskers are not spreading out the defenders deep enough and are playing into the hands of opposing defenses with their ineffectual playcalling in this zone, where the playcalling is substantially different than in the next zone....

Playcalling at the Huskers own 21 to 40-yard line

Rushing in that zone the Huskers rank 49th in the nation on average gain of 4.85 yards for 93 rushing plays.
Passing in that zone the Huskers rank 1st in the nation with 1084 yards gained - on 93 passing plays, more than 100 yards more than the 2nd placed team. This is an incredible statistic given the Huskers dismal 5-4 record thus far this season. Nebraska should be crushing the opposition offensively and filling the air with footballs, but it is not doing so, so where is the problem?

The general problem for the Nebraska offense is found in analyzing what the Huskers do once they get closer to scoring territory, where the playcalling becomes more and more conservative as the rushes and passes get shorter and shorter. This is all a function of defective overly timid playcalling, not of the lack of capability of the players.

Playcalling between the 40-yard lines

Rushing in that zone the Huskers rank 75th on an average gain of 4.05 yards for 73 plays.
Passing in that zone the Huskers rank only 5oth in the nation with only 603 yards gained - on 85 passing plays. Except for poor playcalling, there is no reason why the Huskers should have gained 400 yards less passing between the 40-yard lines than in the previous zone. The difference in playcalling to other teams is that high-powered offensive teams like Texas Tech, Tulsa and Oklahoma put their passing game into high gear in this part of the playing field, whereas the Huskers playcalling at midfield is timid and ineffective. They could be up there with the top teams, but they are too afraid to try.

Playcalling between the opponents 39 to 21-yard lines

Rushing in that zone the Huskers rank 63rd on an average gain of 4.11 yards for 55 plays
Passing in that zone the Huskers rank 24th in the nation, but with only 472 yards gained on 62 passing plays.

Playcalling at the opponents 20-yard line to 1-yard line (Red Zone)

The Huskers are 10th in rushing in that zone on an average gain of 3.77 yards for 60 plays
and
7th passing in that zone with 251 yards on 39 passes - so why in the red zone are the Huskers running 3 running plays for every 2 passing plays if their passing is so effective??

Put into perspective, the stats tell us that the Nebraska passing attack, when the Huskers are between their own 21 and 40 yard lines, is the best in the nation. Moreover, in spite of absurd playcalling favoring the run 3 to 2 in the red zone, the Huskers still rank in the top 10 in the nation in red zone performance.

There is thus not the slightest excuse this season for the Huskers dismal 5-4 record, except the fact that the playcalling in certain yardage segments of the playing field is faulty, and needs to be corrected to coincide with those areas of the playing field where the stats indicate that this team is much better than what the coaching staff is doing with it.

Full post as published by LawPundit on November 06, 2008 (boomark / email).