conspectus
\ kən-ˈspek-təs \
noun
1: a usually brief survey or summary (as of an extensive subject) often providing an overall view
Each week, Greg Brandt and/or Brad McDaniel will write a conspectus from the week of football that was.
Who’s the Best Group of 5 Team?
After suffering a second loss on the season, it appears that UCF is no longer in the driver’s seat for the G5’s automatic bid into a New Year Six Bowl. Who’s leading the charge now that the Knights have played themselves out of a major bowl game?
Memphis: 6-1
The lone blemish on the Tigers’ resume was a controversial 2 point loss on the road to Temple. They’ve been one of the most dominant G5 teams all season, with an average margin of victory at nearly 19 points per game. Memphis still has two monster regular-season games against SMU and Cincinnati, with both looking to have a significant impact on who gets the G5 automatic bid.
SMU: 7-0
SMU is coming off a dominating victory over Temple. The Mustangs rolled in as a 7.5 point favorite but ended up blowing out the Owls by 24 points. Outside of Temple, no other team that SMU has beaten is above .500 on the season. Shane Buchele, the Texas transfer, has carried this team on his back. Completing 65% of his passes for 8.5 yards per attempt and 18 TDs to just 6 INTs. SMU still has tough games against Houston, Memphis, Navy, and Tulane.
Boise State: 6-1
The Broncos are coming off an embarrassing loss to BYU. BYU is fresh off back-to-back losses against Toledo and USF. Boise State was without tFR QB Hank Bachmeier, and it showed offensively. They struggled until they were able to score two late TDs in the fourth quarter after getting down by 18 points. After the loss to BYU, it will be tough for the Broncos to overcome that in the committee’s eyes.
Cincinnati: 6-1
Cincinnati has looked excellent outside of it’s 42-0 loss to Ohio State. Cincinnati is facing the downside of their schedule after this past weekend. Their next three opponents are a combined 7-14 to this point. Then they finish off the season with Temple and Memphis. The final weekend of the regular season has the potential to pair 10-1 Cincinnati and 10-1 Memphis. That game will have a considerable say-so in the G5 automatic bid.
App. State: 6-0
The Mountaineers have been very impressive against a weak schedule. They have only faced one team currently over .500 right now. Outside of a trip to South Carolina, all remaining games are very winnable. That will be an exciting matchup, and if App. State can knock off the Gamecocks that could potentially throw them in the driver’s seat for the automatic bid with two wins against P5 schools in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Havoc Rating:
Havoc Rate is calculated by tallying the total number of tackles for loss, passes defended (interceptions and breakups), and forced fumbles and dividing it by total plays. – FootballOutsiders.Com
Wreaking havoc on an offense can be a major decider in a close game. Let’s take a look at who’s been causing the most havoc after eight weeks. You will see many of the top-ranked teams in the nation.
The teams that make up the top 10 are a combined 60-10 on the season! That’s nearly an 86% winning percentage. Other top teams come in at LSU (16), Oklahoma (25), and Alabama (42).
Most Explosive Offenses:
Any offensive play over 20 yards is counted. Explosive play rate is the percentage of plays over 20 yards for an offense.
Oklahoma is currently just running away with the explosive play rate. Nearly 4% better than any other team in the nation. If your wondering where other top-ranked teams in the country come in on the list Penn State (39), Oregon (58), Georgia (73), Texas (89), and Wisconsin (114). A lot of top teams have lacked an explosive element to their offense.
Who’s Played the Toughest Schedule so Far?
I’ve taken an old school approach of determining the strength of schedule to this point of the season and breaking out the old BCS formula, as explained below.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE AS EXPLAINED BY THE BCS ORGANIZATION
The third component will be the team’s strength of schedule. This component is calculated by determining the cumulative won/loss records of the team’s opponents and the cumulative won/loss records of the teams’ opponents’ opponents. The formula shall be weighted two-third (66 2/3%) for the opponent’s record and one-third (33 1/3%) for the opponents’ opponents record.
Teams that make up the top 10 toughest schedules are a combined 26-42 on the season.
Now, how do the big boys stack up after eight weeks?
As you can see, undefeated teams like Clemson, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Minnesota all rank outside the 115 in the strength of schedule. G5 powers like App. State and SMU rank outside the top 110 to this point. LSU is the highest-ranked undefeated team coming in at 41st while the next undefeated squad comes in at 61st in Ohio State.
The One Injury We Didn’t Want to See
Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa suffered a high-ankle sprain against Tennessee. It’s the same injury that he battled through last year, even though he wasn’t the same player. He’ll miss this week’s game versus Arkansas, then Alabama has a bye week before a clash with LSU on November 9th. Tua told teammates he’d be ready for LSU and Nick Saban is projecting that as well, but there’s no way to tell right now since Tua hasn’t put any weight on the injured ankle yet.
