Running Back Success Rates vs. Kentucky

by Nico2.0 on Oct 6, 2009 5:06 PM CDT in Football Comment 6 comments

Rbrrbsr_medium

You know the drill, but for those of you that might be tuning in for the first time, an individual carry is considered successful if:

1st down: gains 40% of yardage needed
2nd down: gains 60% of yardage needed
3rd & 4th down: gains 100% of yardage needed

We didn't hit Kentucky with our normal assault of four backs getting multiple carries. Upchurch got a carry and McElroy did a QB sneak and Maze took a handoff, but otherwise, it was Ingram and Richardson doing the work on the ground. First up, Mark Ingram:

vs Kentucky / 10.3.09	Rushing				Receiving
	Rush	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Mark Ingram	22	140	6.4	2	1	6	6	0

They way we sliced through Kentucky's defense on the opening drive, I thought it was going to be a track meet all day and that we would run at will and easily rack up well over 200 yards. It didn't quite pan out like that as Kentucky's defense stiffened quite a bit in the first half and made things tough on us at times. We did crack the 200 yard mark, but wouldn't have done so without PJ Fitzgerald's run off of a fake FG attempt. Anyway, onto Ingram specifically. He was put in some pretty tough spots in the first half where success was almost impossible on a running play (2nd and 10 yards or more for four of his carries....only one of which was a success.) Ingram and co. turned things up quite a bit in the 2nd half and the numbers improved dramatically. Glad to see that the offense can get better as the game goes along. Nice to see us still busting off some big runs. Ingram had five carries of 10 yards or more (two of which went for touchdowns.)

Next up, Trent Richardson:

vs Kentucky / 10.3.09	Rushing				Receiving
	Rush	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Trent Richardson	13	24	1.8	0	1	9	9	0

Richardson didn't exactly have a stellar day carrying the ball. Out of 14 carries, his longest was five yards and over a third of his carries went for 0 yards or lost yardage. Many of his carries came in the fourth quarter when we were thoroughly in "kill the clock" mode, so some of it can be explained away by everyone knowing what we were going to do. That being said, it still wouldn't have been a memorable performance even with those carries eliminated. The good news though is that Ingram was on, and with us having multiple quality backs, one is likely to always be on.

Now onto Roy Upchurch:

vs Kentucky / 10.3.09	Rushing				Receiving
	Rush	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Roy Upchurch	1	13	13	0	2	0	0	0

Upchurch only had one carry: He gained 13 yards on a 3rd & 6 situation for a success.

Greg McElroy had a successful QB sneak and Marquis Maze gained 3 yards on a 1st & 10 for an unsuccessful attempt.

Our rate for the team overall was 41%, which is a dramatic improvement over the 23% rate we turned in against Arkansas.

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So we ran the ball on 1st and 10 twice in the first half. Once was on the first or second play of the game, the other was the near safety when we were backed up at our own 2 or 3. We did however run the ball 5 times when penalties or lost yardage left us needing more than 10. I wonder if Kentucky was showing something on Defense on first downs that caused McElroy to repeatedly check to a pass, because I just can’t see why McElwayne would call the game like that.

by zeke2029 on Oct 6, 2009 7:41 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Would really like

to see Upchurch get a few more carries. I do think he is a bit different from Ingram and Richardson who to me seem very similar. The thing I think that is different about Upchurch is that he seems to hit the hole faster and harder. Ingram and Richardson look for the hole while Upchurch runs to where the hole is supposed to be. If it isn’t there he is done, but if there is the slightest crease he will hit it.

I know he is still recovering but if he is finally 100% I’d sure like him to carry it 6-7 times a game.

I hate the NCAA more than UT & AU combined. At least with UT & AU you got a fighting chance.

by 5026 on Oct 6, 2009 8:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Me too...

… I want to see more of him, and I do think we eventually will. He had seven carries against Virginia Tech, and four early against FIU before going out with the high ankle sprain. I think generally our staff would probably like to get him 5-10 touches per game in whatever capacity they can (running and passing).

Really, though, the high ankle sprain has limited everything the past few weeks. He missed the entire North Texas game, and against Arkansas and Kentucky he was basically turned into a limited duty third down back. He’s our best back in pass protection, and our best receiver out of the backfield, so we are wanting to use him in that capacity as much as possible.

I imagine he will see an expanded role in the next few weeks. High ankle sprains have long healing processes, and it just takes a pretty good while to get back to 100%. Honestly, it surprised me a bit that he has played as much as he has. When we first got the news on his ankle, I was afraid he could miss several weeks. I imagine he’s still less than 100%, but improving, the next few weeks, and after the bye week he should be basically 100%.

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman

by outsidethesidelines on Oct 7, 2009 12:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs