Here's a few that stood out to me:
Offense - Finished 4th in total offense (391.5 yards/game, behind osu, psu & md), but 12th(!) in points/game (23.4). Converting only 36.5% of third downs didn't help (10th in B1G).
Being horrendous in the red zone (again) really stands out - 35 trips, 30 scores (pretty good!), but only 18 touchdowns (that's really, really bad!). We need to find a way to score touchdowns, especially when we're not getting them on explosive plays.
It's been said a lot on here, but I have to reiterate the need to rely a lot less (50%) on quarterback runs and again find a way to push the ball down the field.
the offensive stats don't look too bad in a vacuum, but watching the last 2 years has been maddening due mostly to massive inconsistency & tendency to turn the ball over way too much.
Defense - Finished 7th in total defense. that's fine. definitely the best phase for the second year in a row, albeit an average one.
Pass D - 10th in completion percentage allowed (63.1%), only 13 sacks (9th in B1G) an 5 picks (T7th). I think our pass defense improved, and I also think teams that lose as much as we do usually put up good pass D stats simply due to lack of necessity by opposing offenses. we need to be more opportunistic.
Rush D - allowed the 4th most rush TDs (15(!)) in the conference and only recovered 5 fumbles (10th in B1G). 4.2 ypc on the 3rd most rush attempts defended is also.... not great. but, again, I think there's some game script noise there.
we also allowed opponents to convert 40.5% of 3rd downs (10th in B1G) and 65% of 4th downs (12th in B1G).
good news, though not sure how repeatable it is - D was good in the red zone. 30 scores in 35 tries (meh), but only 18 touchdowns allowed. that's really good, especially when we're not creating negative plays, not getting penalties called on opponents and not forcing turnovers.
Misc - We finished 11th in the league in penalties (59 accepted for 60.6 yards/game), while our opponents had 39 accepted penalties for 44.6 yards/game, 9th in the conference. 20 more penalties than our opponents over an 8 game season is a lot.
in summary - we're pretty good on offense between the 20s but among the worst nationally scoring TDs inside the red zone and turning the ball over. defense is basically the exact opposite - horrible at getting off the field, but able to minimize the damage in the red zone.
100% of our focus this offseason should be on efficiency, specifically in the red zone on offense and on 3rd down on defense. those are stats that portend winning, and that's where we're the worst.
Offense - Finished 4th in total offense (391.5 yards/game, behind osu, psu & md), but 12th(!) in points/game (23.4). Converting only 36.5% of third downs didn't help (10th in B1G).
Being horrendous in the red zone (again) really stands out - 35 trips, 30 scores (pretty good!), but only 18 touchdowns (that's really, really bad!). We need to find a way to score touchdowns, especially when we're not getting them on explosive plays.
It's been said a lot on here, but I have to reiterate the need to rely a lot less (50%) on quarterback runs and again find a way to push the ball down the field.
the offensive stats don't look too bad in a vacuum, but watching the last 2 years has been maddening due mostly to massive inconsistency & tendency to turn the ball over way too much.
Defense - Finished 7th in total defense. that's fine. definitely the best phase for the second year in a row, albeit an average one.
Pass D - 10th in completion percentage allowed (63.1%), only 13 sacks (9th in B1G) an 5 picks (T7th). I think our pass defense improved, and I also think teams that lose as much as we do usually put up good pass D stats simply due to lack of necessity by opposing offenses. we need to be more opportunistic.
Rush D - allowed the 4th most rush TDs (15(!)) in the conference and only recovered 5 fumbles (10th in B1G). 4.2 ypc on the 3rd most rush attempts defended is also.... not great. but, again, I think there's some game script noise there.
we also allowed opponents to convert 40.5% of 3rd downs (10th in B1G) and 65% of 4th downs (12th in B1G).
good news, though not sure how repeatable it is - D was good in the red zone. 30 scores in 35 tries (meh), but only 18 touchdowns allowed. that's really good, especially when we're not creating negative plays, not getting penalties called on opponents and not forcing turnovers.
Misc - We finished 11th in the league in penalties (59 accepted for 60.6 yards/game), while our opponents had 39 accepted penalties for 44.6 yards/game, 9th in the conference. 20 more penalties than our opponents over an 8 game season is a lot.
in summary - we're pretty good on offense between the 20s but among the worst nationally scoring TDs inside the red zone and turning the ball over. defense is basically the exact opposite - horrible at getting off the field, but able to minimize the damage in the red zone.
100% of our focus this offseason should be on efficiency, specifically in the red zone on offense and on 3rd down on defense. those are stats that portend winning, and that's where we're the worst.