"If you multiply Tha1 by any integer, you get that integer."  via www.fearthebeard.org

Well, we've taken a look at many teams' stats over the past few weeks.  With the bye week, it seemed prudent to take a moment and actually LOOK at Cal's numbers.  There's been a lot of perception of stats, so let's see what the stats actually are. 

All stats taken from here.

Let's first look at overall team numbers:

                            2008 California Football
                CAL Overall Team Statistics (as of Oct 04, 2008)
                                   All games

TEAM STATISTICS                         CAL          OPP
--------------------------------------------------------
SCORING.......................          197           90
  Points Per Game.............         39.4         18.0
FIRST DOWNS...................          106           86
  Rushing.....................           37           29
  Passing.....................           59           46
  Penalty.....................           10           11
RUSHING YARDAGE...............          900          475
  Yards gained rushing........         1000          660
  Yards lost rushing..........          100          185
  Rushing Attempts............          162          191
  Average Per Rush............          5.6          2.5
  Average Per Game............        180.0         95.0
  TDs Rushing.................            9            7
PASSING YARDAGE...............         1158          978
  Att-Comp-Int................     168-99-4    169-86-10
  Average Per Pass............          6.9          5.8
  Average Per Catch...........         11.7         11.4
  Average Per Game............        231.6        195.6
  TDs Passing.................           12            4
TOTAL OFFENSE.................         2058         1453
  Total Plays.................          330          360
  Average Per Play............          6.2          4.0
  Average Per Game............        411.6        290.6
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards.........       16-379       30-583
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards.........       21-261        7-102
INT RETURNS: #-Yards..........       10-178        4-126
KICK RETURN AVERAGE...........         23.7         19.4
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE...........         12.4         14.6
INT RETURN AVERAGE............         17.8         31.5
FUMBLES-LOST..................          6-3         11-3
PENALTIES-Yards...............       32-266       28-237
  Average Per Game............         53.2         47.4
PUNTS-Yards...................      25-1083      32-1296
  Average Per Punt............         43.3         40.5
  Net punt average............         37.6         31.1
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game.......        28:53        31:07
3RD-DOWN Conversions..........        18/54        24/76
  3rd-Down Pct................          33%          32%
4TH-DOWN Conversions..........          1/3          2/7
  4th-Down Pct................          33%          29%
SACKS BY-Yards................       13-102         7-34
MISC YARDS....................           75            4
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED.............           26           12
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS..........          5-7          2-6
ON-SIDE KICKS.................          0-3          0-0
RED-ZONE SCORES...............    20-23 87%     9-16 56%
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS...........    15-23 65%     7-16 44%
PAT-ATTEMPTS..................   26-26 100%   12-12 100%
ATTENDANCE....................       185228        77433
  Games/Avg Per Game..........      3/61743      2/38716
  Neutral Site Games..........                       0/0

SCORE BY QUARTERS     1st  2nd  3rd  4th    Total
--------------------  ---  ---  ---  ---      ---
CAL.................   55   48   31   63  -   197
Opponents...........   17   21   21   31  -    90

I think many people are sort of down on the team this year.  Especially on the offensive side of the ball.  There are many who make reasonable arguments about this.  Note how amazing our differential is on Scoring.  Wow, we've scored over 100 points than our opponents.  But look at first downs.  Only 20 more first downs than our opponents.  Compare that to see how a lot of our domination hasn't necessarily come from the offensive side of the ball.  Either we're having a ton of huge play scoring drives (which happens occasionally) or our offense is not as responsible for as much scoring as we might like.

Note that many have said our rushing game is better than our passing game.  Hard to disagree with that.  But notice that we have 162 rushing attempts and 168 passing attempts.  Near PERFECT balance.  If that doesn't catch your eye, nothing will. 

Note:  We are averaging 6.2 yards per play!  4.0 given up per play.  I will take that any time. 

We have about the same percentage 3rd down success rate as our opponents (33% to 32%).  But note that we have had 54 3rd down conversion attempts while our opponents have had 76 attempts.  54 in and of itself doesn't really mean anything.  But the fact that our opponents have had so many more, I think, stems from our bend, but don't break defense.

Note also our Red Zone efficiency.  86% total for us with a 65% TD rate.  Our opponents have had 56% total with a 44% TD rate.  I am no statistician.  Somebody else will have to look at various other teams to find solid comparisons here.  86% total with a 65% TD rate doesn't mean much in and of itself, but compare it to what Cal has given up and it looks impressive.

We are also averaging over 60K a game.  I'm not sure what out max attendance is off the top of my head, but that sounds good to me!

Rushing Stats:

RUSHING         GP  Att Gain Loss  Net   Avg  TD Long Avg/G
-----------------------------------------------------------
Best, Jahvid     4   59  443   22  421   7.1   4   86 105.2
Vereen, Shane    5   62  387   15  372   6.0   2   81  74.4
Slocum, Tracy    5   11   59    4   55   5.0   1   21  11.0
Geurts, Peter    2    6   45    1   44   7.3   0   27  22.0

Riley, Kevin     4   11   48   33   15   1.4   1   27   3.8
Ross, Jeremy     5    4   16    8    8   2.0   0   13   1.6
Ta'ufo'ou, Will  5    1    1    0    1   1.0   0    1   0.2
Mansion, Brock   1    1    1    0    1   1.0   1    1   1.0
Longshore, Nate  5    1    0    4   -4  -4.0   0    0  -0.8
TEAM             4    6    0   13  -13  -2.2   0    0  -3.2
Total..........  5  162 1000  100  900   5.6   9   86 180.0
Opponents......  5  191  660  185  475   2.5   7   38  95.0

This chart came out poorly.  Those who complain Will T is being criminally underused might note that he apparently only has 1 rush attempt.  Total.  Jeremy Ross has more!  Peter Geurts has more!  We'll also see Will T in the receiving later, but with no attempt at editorializing here, he is not getting a lot of rushing attempts.  California Pete notes that this might be common to Tedford offenses, the lack of rush attempts for FBs.  If he has any further insight into the matter, we'd love to hear it!

I forget what Marshawn's average was in 2004.  Was it 8+ a carry?  I forget.  Best averaging 7.1, well, that's sick.  To be fair, much of those average probably stems from his amazing WSU game, but that's also counter balanced by the disappointing Maryland game.  Vereen is averaging 6.0, which is HARDLY anything to sneeze at.  And I often sneeze at things, so that's important that I wouldn't sneeze in this specific situation. 

As long as Best stays healthy, there are no real worries here.  Our two main backs averaging 6+ a carry?  I will take that!  To the bank!  Were there to be any still working.

Passing is obviously a key area of concern:

PASSING         GP   Effic Cmp-Att-Int   Pct  Yds  TD Lng Avg/G
---------------------------------------------------------------
Riley, Kevin     4  132.88  62-109-1    56.9  735   7  42 183.8

Longshore, Nate  5  150.36   36-54-3    66.7  413   5  50  82.6
Mansion, Brock   1   92.00    1-2-0     50.0   10   0  10  10.0
TEAM             4    0.00    0-2-0      0.0    0   0   0   0.0
Vereen, Shane    5    0.00    0-1-0      0.0    0   0   0   0.0
Total..........  5  135.64  99-168-4    58.9 1158  12  50 231.6
Opponents......  5   95.47  86-169-10   50.9  978   4  63 195.6

I never fully understand math (basic or otherwise) and so the college QB efficiency rating confuses me.  All I know is 150>132.  Nate has a MUCH higher completion rate, albeit about half the attempts.  That might even out with more attempts, not sure. Nate has nearly thrown as many TDs in half the attempts as Riley, but, of course, 3x as many picks (in half the attempts).

It doesnt say it here, but I did the math on yards per completion and yards per pass.

Longshore:  11.4 per completion, 7.6 per pass

Riley:  11.8 per completion, 6.7

So, unless I suck at math (which is likely) while Riley is averaging more per completion, he is averaging less per pass. Not sure what to make of that, to be honest.  Just the facts, ma'am!

The receivers, young, inexperience, and all:

RECEIVING       GP  No.  Yds   Avg  TD Long Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------
Morrah, Cameron  5   15  194  12.9   4   50  38.8
Vereen, Shane    5   15   95   6.3   0   15  19.0
CUNNINGHAM, L.   5   14  223  15.9   1   29  44.6
Best, Jahvid     4   14  157  11.2   0   42  39.2

Boateng, Nyan    5   12  170  14.2   2   34  34.0
Young, Sean      5    8  112  14.0   1   42  22.4
Calvin, Michael  4    8  103  12.9   0   23  25.8
Smith, Zach      8    4   33   8.2   1   10   4.1
Ta'ufo'ou, Will  5    3   10   3.3   1    5   2.0
Slocum, Tracy    5    2    0   0.0   0    2   0.0

Verran Tucker    2    1   29  29.0   0   29  14.5
Ross, Jeremy     5    1   14  14.0   1   14   2.8
Tucker           1    1   10  10.0   1   10  10.0
Jones, Marvin    3    1    8   8.0   0    8   2.7
Total..........  5   99 1158  11.7  12   50 231.6
Opponents......  5   86  978  11.4   4   63 195.6

No surprise here.    Morrah leads the pack in receptions.  Interesting, however, how Vereen is right below him.  I don't think any of us expected that!  But if you note his average per game, its 19.0 as compared to 38.8 for Morrah, 44.6 for Cunningham or 39.2 for Best.  So, that is probably a lot of little dink and dunk passes to the flat that weren't as successful for whatever reasons. 

This is really what you'd expect from the type of team we have here,  a lot of guys with about the same stats.  Not 1 guy who is above and beyond better than any of the others.  Cunningham's average per game is quite a bit higher, showing that he perhaps been the most consistent.  I am honestly shocked at Boateng's numbers.  Not that they are bad per se, but I thought he was higher up in the action.  Averaging 10 yards per game less than Cunningham and 5th on the team in receptions. 

Clearly, nobody has proven themselves as a receiver on the level of DeSean or even The Hawks.  That's not really surprising to anybody, is it?

PUNT RETURNS     No.  Yds   Avg TD Long
---------------------------------------
THOMPSON, S.      12  164  13.7  1   73
Young, Sean        7   31   4.4  0   15
Johnson, Brett     1    5   5.0  0    0
KENDRICKS. M.      1   26  26.0  0    0
NNABUIFE, B.       0   35   0.0  2   30
Total..........   21  261  12.4  3   73
Opponents......    7  102  14.6  0   32

Not much here, except SydQuan is a GOD.  But we knew that already.

KICK RETURNS     No.  Yds   Avg TD Long
---------------------------------------
Best, Jahvid       9  284  31.6  0   54

Hagan, Darian      3   68  22.7  0   28
Slocum, Tracy      2    8   4.0  0    8
Glover, Drew       1    4   4.0  0    4
Bishop, Devin      1   15  15.0  0   15
Total..........   16  379  23.7  0   54
Opponents......   30  583  19.4  0   68

Jahvid kicking butt.  I wonder if they'll use him on kick returns anymore with the elbow and all.  I predict no.  He's too valuable.  Use Hagan or Slocum.

                       |--------Tackles--------| |-Sacks-| |---Pass Def---| |-Fumbles-| Blkd
DEFENSIVE LEADERS   GP Solo  Ast Total   TFL/Yds   No-Yds  Int-Yds BrUp QBH Rcv-Yds  FF Kick Saf
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7  Felder, Anthony   5   15   22    37   3.5-12   0.5-3       .       .   1    .      1    .   .
18 MOHAMED, M.       5   10   18    28   1.5-4       .        .       .   1    .      .    .   .
26 Hagan, Darian     5   20    7    27   2.0-3       .       1-0      5   .   1-0     1    .   .
1  WILLIAMS, W.      5    9   18    27   2.5-7       .        .       2   .    .      .    .   .
56 Follett, Zack     5   15   11    26   7.5-50   3.0-34      .       1   2   1-0     2    .   .
5  THOMPSON, S.      5   18    7    25   2.0-17   2.0-17     3-108    8   .    .      .    .   .
9  Young, Eddie      5    7   15    22   0.5-3    0.5-3       .       .   .    .      .    .   .
44 Alualu, Tyson     5    8   13    21   3.0-17   1.5-10      .       .   3    .      .    .   .
29 Ezeff, Marcus     5   10   10    20   1.0-1       .        .       2   .    .      .    .   .
25 Johnson, Brett    5    7   10    17      .        .       2-62     .   .    .      1    1   .
97 Jordan, Cameron   4    7    8    15   4.0-10   2.0-7      1-3      .   1    .      1    .   .
2  Hicks, Bernard    3    8    6    14      .        .       1-0      .   .    .      .    .   .
17 Conte, Chris      5    7    5    12      .        .       1-0      2   .    .      .    .   .
76 Hill, Derrick     5    1   10    11      .        .        .       1   .    .      .    .   .
94 Davis, Rulon      4    4    6    10   2.5-13   1.5-9       .       1   2    .      1    1   .
10 Bishop, Devin     5    4    5     9   0.5-1       .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
30 KENDRICKS. M.     5    6    3     9   1.0-10   1.0-10      .       .   .    .      .    1   .
0C Holt, D.J.        3    5    2     7   1.0-1       .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
57 Browner, Keith    5    2    5     7   1.5-10   1.0-9       .       2   .   1-0     .    .   .
43 JOHNSON, Ch.      5    3    3     6      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
37 Mullins, Robert   3    2    3     5      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
95 Owusu, Ernest     2    1    3     4      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
20 Brooks, Jesse     4    3    1     4      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
31 Tyndall, John     4    1    2     3      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
11 Cattouse, Sean    4    2    1     3      .        .       1-5      2   .    .      .    .   .
98 Kane, Mika        5    1    1     2      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
15 NNABUIFE, B.      5    1    1     2      .        .        .       1   .    .      .    .   .
42 McIntyre, Shea    4    2    .     2      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
27 Amadi, Charles    4    1    1     2      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
4  Best, Jahvid      4    2    .     2      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
4D Smith, Zach       8    1    .     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
6  Longshore, Nate   5    1    .     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
77 COSTANZO, M.      4    .    1     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
0H Campbell, D.J.    3    1    .     1      .        .        .       .   .    .      .    .   .
   Total..........   5  185  198   383    34-159   13-102   10-178   27  10   3-0     7    3   .
   Opponents......   5  184  161   345    30-87     7-34     4-126   16   6   3-0     5    1   .

Every now and then I see a stat and I remember when it, in specific, occurred.  For example, Jahvid Best's 2 solo tackles.  I remember when 1 of those was!  And I remember when Nate Longshore's 1 solo tackle was, too.  Triple Los Sigh.

But besides those two examples, what else do we have.  Felder is leading the team in tackles.  A LB.  That's good!  Last year, DeCoud, a defensive back, led the team in tackles.  No good!   Then, we have Mohamed, who I thought was a DB, but is listed here as a LB.  So, I'm confused.  Syd'Quan doesn't have a lot of tackles compared to some, coming in 6th overall, but is 2nd in solo tackles with 18.  Only 2 behind Hagan.  And 3 more than the next set of people.  I've always been impressed with Syd'Quan's tackling ability, so that makes sense. 

It's all DBs and LBs on top for tackles, which makes sense in a 3-4, I would think.  As far as sacks are concerned, the LBs and DBs seem to be doing well there, too.  Although, to be fair, each of the big name DLine guys (Jordan, Alualu, and Davis) aren't doing bad, either.

Note Follett is bringing the PAIN TRAIN a lot, because he leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss.  And Syd'Quan has 3 ints for 108 total return yards.  I think 2 of those ints came in the Wazzu game, but I could be wrong.  Note that Syd'Quan leads the team with 8 pass break ups.  That doesn't sound like a large number, but given how few teams throw at him and then how few balls actually make it to their intended target, that seems like a goodly number.  Hagan has 5, which is no less impressive.  Well, OK, it's 3 less impressive! 

So, I tried to just point out interesting numbers here.  Sift through the data and minimize the editorializing.  Is there something that jumps out at you?  Is there a stat here that surprised or shocked you?  Let's discuss!