Great work, Landlord of Memorial Stadium!
I've been trying to keep myself occupied while I'm not doing any research work until next Tuesday, so I decided to take the analysis a step further. So far it's really just confirmatory results from the eyeball test, but this information is important, nevertheless.
These analyses were completed using a statistical test called a within groups analysis of variance (ANOVA), which tests if there is a mean difference between quantitative variables. In this case, the variables in question are pass attempts, pass completions, pass attempts against Nebraska, and pass completions against Nebraska. The main comparison is pass completions and pass completions against Nebraska, because that is the measure of efficiency being observed. However, the comparison between pass attempts and pass attempts against Nebraska is also important to try and dispel the notion that our passing defense was great because our rush defense was so terrible that teams just ran more against us, and abandoned the passing game.
That being said, here are the statistical results (so far):
Teams on Nebraska's 2012-13 schedule completed an average of 17.14 passes against the rest of their opponents. However, against Nebraska, teams completed an average of 12.93 passes. A comparison between the two statistics revealed that Nebraska's pass defense significantly reduced the amount of passes the opposing teams completed in comparison to their season averages, F(1, 13) = 28.61, Mse = 4.495, p < .001.
Teams on Nebraska's 2012-13 schedule attempted an average of 29.07 passes against the rest of their opponents. However, against Nebraska, teams attempted an average of 27.14 passes. A comparison between the two statistics revealed that teams did not significantly attempt fewer passes against Nebraska compared to their season averages, F(1, 13) = 1.54, Mse = 16.96, p = .237.
So there you have it, while teams did not attempt fewer passes than Nebraska in 2012, they were less efficient at doing so.
