Humorous Misuse of Stats by Tulsa Writer

[knapplc]

Sooners hope Murray is healthy, can exploit Huskers' slipping run defense

By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer

 

NORMAN - It sounds as if Oklahoma will have DeMarco Murray and Jonathan Nelson for Saturday night's Big 12 championship against Nebraska.

 

.... (click the headline if you want to read the parts I snipped) ....

 

Another opportunity awaits Murray if he's healthy Saturday night - Nebraska's defensive strength is against the pass, not the run. Basically, replacing one-man wall Ndamukong Suh hasn't been easy for the Huskers.

 

"You never replace a guy like Suh. There's a reason why he went where he did in the draft," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said Monday. "I think our guys have done a good job. I have a lot of confidence in the guys that have filled in."

 

Maybe. But Suh has left a literal hole in Nebraska's rush defense.

 

Western Kentucky running back Bobby Rainey exploited it for 155 yards in the season opener. OSU's Kendall Hunter rushed for 201 Oct. 23, dropping the Huskers to 79th nationally in run defense.

 

They come into the Big 12 championship ranked 56th, but not without issues. Texas A&M tailback Cyrus Gray rang up 137 yards against them two weeks ago. Two weeks before that, Iowa State's Alexander Robinson and Austen Arnaud combined for 164 rushing yards before succumbing in overtime.

 

 

 

This is a case of using stats to bolster your argument regardless of what they say. Our run defense isn't "slipping," it's actually quite consistent, and overall not too shabby. Our last six opponents have totaled:

 

Team - Yards/Attempts (YPC)

OK State - 212/36 (5.9)

Missouri - 142/34 (4.2)

Iowa St - 157/48 (3.3)

Kansas - 72/34 (2.1)

Texas A&M - 138/41 (3.4)

Colorado - 99/23 (4.3)

 

Thanks in large part to our early games where we were clearly sleepwalking against W. Kentucky and SDSU, and thanks to Kendall Hunter going off on us, we're ranked a mediocre 56th in the country against the run, giving up about 147 yards per game. Still, that's better than the Sooners, who are ranked 63rd in the country, giving up 152 yards/game. Their past six games:

 

Team - Yards/Attempts (YPC)

Missouri - 178/39 (4.6)

Colorado - 76/24 (3.2)

Texas A&M - 157/38 (4.1)

Texas Tech - 182/38 (4.8)

Baylor - 237/38 (6.2)

OK State - 122/23 (5.3)

 

Not exactly a dominating run defense by the Sooners over the second half, and yet Mr. Tulsa sportswriter toots the Sooners' horn, expecting big things from DeMarco Murray, presuming he plays.

 

Only problem is, Oklahoma is facing the Big XII's top rushing offense, including two RBs who'll finish the season with 1,000 yards. We'll see your DeMarco Murray and raise you a Roy Helu, Jr. And the river card is.... Rex Burkhead!

 

I like our chances with Rex and Roy against a defense giving up 4.7 yards per carry over the second half of the season more than I like Murray's chances against our D who've been giving up 3.9 over the same period, against many of the same opponents.

 

Bummer, Sooners.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

The only stat that matters IMO

 

Scoring Defense

 

NU-8th (16.75ppg)

OU-36th (22.08)

[ESPY]

The more one-dimensional we make OU, the better as far as I'm concerned. If we have trouble stopping their run game, it will be that much tougher to stop their passing game b/c we'll be forced to respect what's coming out of the backfield. Just like any other game, we have to stop the run and force them to challenge our tremendous secondary.

[darkhorse85]

The only stat that matters IMO

 

Scoring Defense

 

NU-8th (16.75ppg)

OU-36th (22.08)

 

 

[Spartness]

DeMarco Murray is no question a hammer. He made some important first downs last Saturday by making tough yards after contact. I hope we can hold onto him better than OSU.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

DeMarco Murray is no question a hammer. He made some important first downs last Saturday by making tough yards after contact. I hope we can hold onto him better than OSU.

If DeMarco plays, I'll be looking for that David/Murray match-up to see how it plays out

[CENTEXHUSKER]

Waiting for his article about Laundrymat Jones potential ineffcientcies against the top secondary in the country...