Statistically speaking

[aubiefifty 17,488]

al.com

 

Statistically speaking: Adding context to Auburn's Week 1 win

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

9-12 minutes

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A disclaimed should probably be added whenever discussing Auburn’s lopsided season-opening win in Bryan Harsin’s first game as head coach: Yes, it was Akron...

But it’s difficult to deny how impressive the Tigers looked in their 60-10 eviscerations of the Zips. Yes, Akron is projected to be among the worst teams in FBS this season and has just one win in its last 24 games, but Auburn took care of business in Harsin’s debut, which is no small feat considering how some other marquee programs struggled against lesser competition in Week 1 -- and considering how smoothly things went for the Tigers in their first game in new systems on both sides of the ball.

So, let’s add some context to the team’s Week 1 win, shall we?

Auburn’s 60 points were the most the team has ever scored in its first game under a new head coach, easily surpassing the 37-point debut under Gene Chizik in 2009. The Tigers’ 60 points were tied for the fifth-most in a season opener in program history, and they were the most by the team in its first game in the last 50 years. This season, only Buffalo (69 points against FCS opponent Wagner) and Rutgers (61 points against Temple) put more points on the board than Auburn did in its opener. Meanwhile, only two teams -- FIU and Coastal Carolina -- averaged more yards per play than Auburn’s 10.39 against Akron, as the Tigers put up more yards of total offense (613) than any FBS team in Week 1. It was the second-most yards of total offense for Auburn in an opener in program history.

Defensively, Auburn overwhelmed Akron. The Tigers allowed minus-2 rushing yards against the Zips, which marked the fewest surrendered in a game since holding then-No. 1 Florida to minus-36 yards on the ground in 2001. Auburn’s six sacks against Akron also matched the team’s high mark from last season.

Here’s a closer look at where Auburn ranks in the SEC and among FBS teams statistically after its Week 1 win:

RUSHING OFFENSE (SEC rank, FBS rank)

2013: 328.3 (1st, 1st)

2014: 255.5 (2nd, 13th)

2015: 196.4 (5th, 35th)

2016: 271.3 (1st, 6th)

2017: 218.3 (4th, 26th)

2018: 167.5 (10th, 68th)

2019: 199.1 (4th, 33rd)

2020: 162.5 (7th, 67th)

2021: 316.00 (3rd, 11th)

Why: Auburn rushed for 316 yards against Akron, with two players eclipsing the 100-yard mark.

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PASSING OFFENSE

2013: 173.0 (11th, 106th)

2014: 229.5 (7th, 66th)

2015: 173.6 (12th, 110th)

2016: 169.5 (14th, 112th)

2017: 233.4 (5th, 65th)

2018: 222.5 (9th, 74th)

2019: 207.5 (9th, 87th)

2020: 220.3 (10th, 71st)

2021: 297.0 (6th, 29th)

Why: Auburn had 297 passing yards against Akron, including 275 from Bo Nix.

.

PASS EFFICIENCY OFFENSE

2013: 149.63 (6th, 24th)

2014: 156.79 (1st, 8th)

2015: 124.47 (10th, 79th)

2016: 135.17 (6th, 54th)

2017: 153.59 (5th, 13th)

2018: 140.11 (8th, 51st)

2019: 128.35 (9th, 89th)

2020: 122.96 (11th, 89th)

2021: 210.55 (1st, 9th)

Why: Auburn completed 22-of-27 passes, with Bo Nix going 20-of-22 for 275 yards and three touchdowns.

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TOTAL OFFENSE

2013: 501.3 (2nd, 11th)

2014: 485.0 (2nd, 16th)

2015: 370.0 (10th, 94th)

2016: 440.8 (6th, 43rd)

2017: 451.6 (3rd, 26th)

2018: 389.9 (11th, 78th)

2019: 406.5 (6th, 64th)

2020: 382.8 (9th, 77th)

2021: 613.0 (1st, 1st)

Why: Auburn had 613 total yards against Akron.

.

SCORING OFFENSE

2013: 39.5 (2nd, 12th)

2014: 35.5 (4th, 35th)

2015: 27.5 (8th, 75th)

2016: 31.2 (6th, 49th)

2017: 33.9 (4th, 27th)

2018: 30.9 (8th, 47th)

2019: 33.2 (3rd, 28th)

2020: 25.1 (9th, 89th)

2021: 60.0 (1st, 3rd)

Why: Auburn scored 60 points against Akron.

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SACKS ALLOWED

2013: 18 sacks, 1.29 per game (3rd, 22nd)

2014: 15 sacks, 1.15 per game (3rd, 15th)

2015: 19 sacks, 1.46 per game (4th, 33rd)

2016: 19 sacks, 1.46 per game (3rd, 27th)

2017: 36 sacks, 2.57 per game (10th, 100th)

2018: 23 sacks, 1.77 per game (6th, 39th)

2019: 18, 1.38 per game (4th, 18th)

2020: 20, 1.82 per game (6th, 41st)

2021: 0, 0.00 per game (1st, 1st)

Why: Auburn did not allow a sack against Akron.

.

THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS

2013: 46.5 percent (4th, 24th)

2014: 52.5 percent (1st, 2nd)

2015: 41.3 percent (6th, 49th)

2016: 41.8 percent (4th, 53rd)

2017: 45.5 percent (3rd, 15th)

2018: 36.9 percent (11th, 90th)

2019: 40.5 percent (6th, 60th)

2020: 44.9 percent (6th, 32nd)

2021: 66.7 percent (2nd, 2nd)

Why: Auburn converted 4-of-6 third-down attempts against Akron.

.

RED ZONE OFFENSE

2013: 88.5 percent (2nd, 21st)

2014: 87.9 percent (4th, 31st)

2015: 90.2 percent (2nd, 13th)

2016: 85.5 percent (5th, 52nd)

2017: 88.1 percent (6th, 36th)

2018: 81.1 percent (11th, 88th)

2019: 90.4 percent (3rd, 21st)

2020: 85.0 percent (6th, 50th)

2021: 100.0 percent (1st, 2nd)

Why: Auburn was 4-for-4 in the red zone with four touchdowns.

.

RUSHING DEFENSE

2013: 162.1 (10th, 62nd)

2014: 168.8 (10th, 67th)

2015: 182.7 (11th, 81st)

2016: 132.8 (3rd, 27th)

2017: 137.0 (5th, 35th)

2018: 135.9 (6th, 32nd)

2019: 123.2 (4th, 25th)

2020: 163.4 (8th, 62nd)

2021: -3.0 (1st, 2nd)

Why: Auburn held Akron to minus-3 yards rushing, which was the fewest allowed by the program since 2001.

.

PASSING DEFENSE

2013: 258.6 (13th, 100th)

2014: 230.1 (12th, 68th)

2015: 222.5 (11th, 63rd)

2016: 229.2 (9th, 67th)

2017: 182.4 (5th, 18th)

2018: 219.5 (7th, 58th)

2019: 213.8 (8th, 47th)

2020: 242.6 (4th, 79th)

2021: 191.0 (8th, 53rd)

Why: Auburn limited Akron to 191 yards passing.

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PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE

2013: 126.88 (9th, 63rd)

2014: 124.19 (10th, 52nd)

2015: 116.99 (8th, 31st)

2016: 116.83 (4th, 22nd)

2017: 113.84 (4th, 19th)

2018: 118.12 (6th, 31st)

2019: 120.71 (9th, 32nd)

2020: 139.34 (7th, 75th)

2021: 153.13 (13th, 98th)

Why: Akron completed 22-of-27 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.

.

TOTAL DEFENSE

2013: 420.7 (12th, 86th)

2014: 398.8 (9th, 64th)

2015: 405.2 (13th, 71st)

2016: 361.9 (5th, 28th)

2017: 319.4 (5th, 14th)

2018: 355.4 (8th, 38th)

2019: 337.0 (7th, 28th)

2020: 406.0 (6th, 63rd)

2021: 188.0 (4th, 10th)

Why: Auburn’s defense allowed just 188 total yards against Akron.

.

SCORING DEFENSE

2013: 24.7 (9th, 48th)

2014: 26.7 (10th, 62nd)

2015: 26.0 (11th, 54th)

2016: 17.1 (4th, 7th)

2017: 18.5 (3rd, 12th)

2018: 19.2 (4th, 14th)

2019: 19.5 (6th, 17th)

2020: 24.7 (4th, 38th)

2021: 10.0 (4th, 21st)

Why: Auburn held Akron to 10 points.

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SACKS

2013: 32 sacks, 2.29 per game (4th, 46th)

2014: 21 sacks, 1.62 per game (11th, 95th)

2015: 19 sacks, 1.46 per game (13th, 104th)

2016: 25 sacks, 1.92 per game (8th, 75th)

2017: 37 sacks, 2.64 per game (5th, 25th)

2018: 38, 2.92 per game (3rd, 16th)

2019: 28 sacks, 2.15 per game (9th, 64th)

2020: 26 sacks, 2.36 per game (6th, 53rd)

2021: 6 sacks, 6.0 per game (2nd, 3rd)

Why: Auburn recorded six sacks against Akron.

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THIRD-DOWN DEFENSE

2013: 33.0 percent (1st, 13th)

2014: 36.0 percent (4th, 29th)

2015: 44.9 percent (13th, 109th)

2016: 34.8 percent (4th, 25th)

2017: 32.9 percent (3rd, 20th)

2018: 34.7 percent (6th, 30th)

2019: 29.9 percent (2nd, 8th)

2020: 50.3 percent (14th, 121st)

2021: 40.0 percent (3rd, 14th)

Why: Auburn held Akron to 2-of-5 on third-down conversions.

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RED ZONE DEFENSE

2013: 73.1 percent (2nd, 10th)

2014: 74.1 percent (4th, 13th)

2015: 75.5 percent (5th, 15th)

2016: 74.4 percent (3rd, 11th)

2017: 83.3 percent (6th, 64th)

2018: 82.9 percent (9th, 64th)

2019: 71.8 percent (2nd, 8th)

2020: 76.3 percent (3rd, 27th)

2021: 100.0 percent (7th, 62nd)

Why: Akron scored on both its trips inside the red zone against Auburn, with one touchdown and one field goal.

.

NET PUNTING

2013: 40.54 (2nd, 9th)

2014: 37.44 (12th, 67th)

2015: 37.58 (7th, 54th)

2016: 39.90 (5th, 21st)

2017: 35.61 (14th, 115th)

2018: 41.91 (2nd, 5th)

2019: 38.50 (9th, 63rd)

2020: 38.70 (9th, 64th)

2021: 31.0 (11th, 114th)

Why: Auburn punted two times for a net average of 31 yards per attempt against Akron.

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KICK RETURNS

2013: 23.40 (5th, 27th)

2014: 20.03 (11th, 82nd)

2015: 27.94 (2nd, 4th)

2016: 19.04 (12th, 100th)

2017: 23.22 (3rd, 25th)

2018: 21.52 (6th, 48th)

2019: 20.50 (7th, 67th)

2020: 21.96 (6th, 43rd)

2021: 20.33 (6th, 42nd)

Why: Donovan Kaufman had three kick returns totaling 61 yards, with a long of 30.

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KICK RETURN DEFENSE

2013: 25.79 (14th, 121st)

2014: 21.73 (9th, 84th)

2015: 21.17 (12th, 61st)

2016: 18.00 (1st, 13th)

2017: 27.20 (14th, 129th)

2018: 19.44 (3rd, 39th)

2019: 22.30 (11th, 96th)

2020: 26.67 (13th, 121st)

2021: 15.33 (4th, 48th)

Why: Akron returned three of Auburn’s 10 kickoffs, totaling 46 yards on those returns.

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PUNT RETURNS

2013: 11.78 (2nd, 22nd)

2014: 17.82 yards per return (1st, 4th)

2015: 11.93 yards per return (7th, 28th)

2016: 10.69 (5th, 24th)

2017: 8.52 (8th, 51st)

2018: 10.75 (6th, 39th)

2019: 12.83 (4th, 18th)

2020: 9.11 (6th, 44th)

2021: 15.0 (2nd, 16th)

Why: Auburn returned two punts against Akron totaling 30 yards.

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PUNT RETURN DEFENSE

2013: 7.0 (8th, 51st)

2014: 7.79 (10th, 72nd)

2015: 12.43 (11th, 110th)

2016: 3.17 (1st, 8th)

2017: 11.43 (14th, 108th)

2018: 3.36 (3rd, 9th)

2019: 17.29 (14th, 130th)

2020: 2.75 (3rd, 17th)

2021: 1.0 (10th, 66th)

Why: Auburn gave up one 1-yard punt return.

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TURNOVER MARGIN

2013: even, 0.0 per game (9th, 61st)

2014: plus-seven, 0.54 per game (4th, 27th)

2015: plus-two, 0.15 per game (8th, 51st)

2016: plus-three, plus-0.23 per game (6th, 42nd)

2017: minus-one, 0.07 per game (7th, 71st)

2018: plus-nine, 0.69 (3rd, 16th)

2019: plus-six, 0.46 per game (3rd, 27th)

2020: plus-four, 0.36 per game (6th, 38th)

2021: zero, 0.0 per game (7th, 60th)

Why: Auburn did not force a turnover against Akron.

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PENALTY YARDS PER GAME

2013: 40.64 (7th 30th)

2014: 68.92 (14th, 112th)

2015: 46.38 (7th, 34th)

2016: 36.54 (1st, 6th)

2017: 38.36 (2nd, 13th)

2018: 56.69 (9th, 75th)

2019: 55.23 (10th, 74th)

2020: 49.82 (7th, 56th)

2021: 25.0 (3rd, 15th)

Why: Auburn committed three penalties totaling 25 yards against Akron.

[Hank2020 3,233]

Great start to season. Please continually!!

[AuburnTiger4Life 2,225]

 

[aucanucktiger 1,812]

Forgot about holding #1 Gators to -36 rushing yards in 2001. That was nice.

[Beaker 2,457]

"pretty solid"

[EastAl_Tiger 228]

So......you don't need 4-5 games to find out who can do what in game situations?

[JDUBB4AU 5,138]

Good start . Let’s keep it up 

[AuburnTiger4Life 2,225]

 

[oracle79 3,569]

On 9/8/2021 at 11:17 AM, aubiefifty said:

2021: 0, 0.00 per game (1st, 1st)

Why: Auburn did not allow a sack against Akron.

 

On 9/8/2021 at 11:17 AM, aubiefifty said:

2021: 100.0 percent (1st, 2nd)

Why: Auburn was 4-for-4 in the red zone with four touchdowns.

 

On 9/8/2021 at 11:17 AM, aubiefifty said:

2021: 6 sacks, 6.0 per game (2nd, 3rd)

Why: Auburn recorded six sacks against Akron.

 

On 9/8/2021 at 11:17 AM, aubiefifty said:

2021: 40.0 percent (3rd, 14th)

Why: Auburn held Akron to 2-of-5 on third-down conversions.

These were the most encouraging to me compared to previous years.

[tsande07 271]

5 hours ago, AuburnTiger4Life said:

 

Interesting, didn't realize Miami generated 35 pressures against the Alabama OLine.

[AUGoo 2,671]

3 hours ago, tsande07 said:

Interesting, didn't realize Miami generated 35 pressures against the Alabama OLine.

That's encouraging.

[marsbold 70]

On 9/8/2021 at 11:17 AM, aubiefifty said:

RED ZONE OFFENSE

2021: 100.0 percent (1st, 2nd)

Why: Auburn was 4-for-4 in the red zone with four touchdowns.

Seems like a mistake. Would like to know how someone did better than 100% so that we could do it in the future & move into first place!

Realizing that 100% can't be beat, one explanation may be another team hit 100% and was put in first because they had larger sample size (ex - 5 for 5 in the red zone). Otherwise, not sure why this would not be 1st place nationally in addition to in SEC.

Doesn't really matter. This just stood out to me as a potential mistake or something I'm not understanding.
 

[steeleagle 2,945]

19 hours ago, tsande07 said:

Interesting, didn't realize Miami generated 35 pressures against the Alabama OLine.

Didn't seem to matter. Their QB is going to be more productive than Jones, if he keeps up this type of QBing..

 

[AUpreacherman22 3,908]

6 hours ago, marsbold said:

Seems like a mistake. Would like to know how someone did better than 100% so that we could do it in the future & move into first place!

Me too.  
Remember the 09 bowl game when we scored like 3 times on the same drive.   Maybe someone did that this week.  😂😂😂

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,841]

That 2014 offense is still so remarkable. If they could finish in the end zone, it would easily be the best overall offense we’ve had 

[cbo 8,113]

12 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

That 2014 offense is still so remarkable. If they could finish in the end zone, it would easily be the best overall offense we’ve had 

That Iron Bowl was incredible and so frustrating. If not for the red zone woes, could have hung 60 on them. Saban would have malfunctioned and returned to his home planet. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,841]

2 hours ago, cbo said:

That Iron Bowl was incredible and so frustrating. If not for the red zone woes, could have hung 60 on them. Saban would have malfunctioned and returned to his home planet. 

Two straight Alabama wins…would’ve been paradigm shifting 

that season is the most disappointing of his tenure I think. There’s just so many ifs. 

[WarNole 141]

Thanks for the stats.  Looking forward to this weeks results.

[cbo 8,113]

1 hour ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Two straight Alabama wins…would’ve been paradigm shifting 

that season is the most disappointing of his tenure I think. There’s just so many ifs. 

Very well said. So close to another special season, but ended up setting the tone for mediocrity. 

I'm not sure if Gus could have sustained the success, but it would have shifted the program into a different gear. 

[gr82be 14,575]

20 minutes ago, cbo said:

I'm not sure if Gus could have sustained the success

Pretty sure '15 happens with or without '14 turning out differently. The JSU game was the real beginning of the end. 

The most impressive thing about the Akron game to me was the lack of mental mistakes. That is the sign of a prepared and disciplined team. They were focused on 1-0. It's encouraging and if they can continue that we can beat a team or two that we aren't supposed to this season. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,841]

3 hours ago, cbo said:

Very well said. So close to another special season, but ended up setting the tone for mediocrity. 

I'm not sure if Gus could have sustained the success, but it would have shifted the program into a different gear. 

I think our D was too butt without Lawson to really do any differently than Bama did vs OSU (they were a buzz saw) but if you get some championship by some miracle, I think Gus might’ve been even more Teflon. Two straight natty/CFP appearances, and 2010 in his back pocket? I think we would’ve been stuck with him until he had a 2012 type season