clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Week 10 Advanced Stats: The Big 12 Conference

Resurrecting our look into how the Big 12 is shaping up according to FootballOutsiders' advanced statistics.

By pbpope
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

It's been awhile since Mark did this, with good reason. As you know, he's been incredibly busy, and while I'm not quite as busy as he's been, it's not been exactly dead for me lately, either. Regardless, I've decided to try and take a crack at this post to see if we can't take a deeper look at the advanced stats from a conference perspective. I'm going to leave the breakdowns the same as the last post Mark did, just for ease of use. I may look at adding some features in future weeks if it's warranted.

Here are the charts. As always, all numbers are courtesy of the metrics at FootballOutsiders.com. While we don't have a comparison to the past few weeks avaiable, you can look at Week 6 to see how things have changed since then.

Big 12 Conference by F/+
2014 RANKS Oklahoma TCU
 Kansas State
 Baylor
 West Virginia Texas
 Oklahoma State Iowa State Texas Tech Kansas
OVERALL:
F+/ S&P+ /FEI		 6 / 7 / 6
 10 / 12 / 12 15 / 25 / 17
 18 / 16 / 23
 27 / 13 / 32
 62 / 40 / 75
 66 / 64 / 77 74 / 93 / 73
 80 / 82 / 96 110 / 99 / 102
F/+ Special Teams
 8 25 11 28 29 117 14
 39 78 125
FPA 20 6
 16 7 91 103 61 89 113 97

1. Oklahoma Sooners
2. TCU Horned Frogs
3. Kansas State Wildcats
4. Baylor Bears
5. West Virginia Mountaineers
6. Texas Longhorns
7. Oklahoma State Cowboys
8. Iowa St. Cyclones
9. Texas Tech Red Raiders
10. Kansas Jayhawks

Some interesting points to note. The top half of the conference is incredibly strong, with West Virginia coming in at #5 in the Big 12 in Overall F/+ and sitting just outside the Top 25 in overall rankings. After West Virginia, though, the dropoff is... significant. Texas is sixth in the rankings at 62, and Teams 6 through 9 in the Big 12 are within 18 places of each other, with Texas Tech ranking 80th Overall.

Both Baylor's and West Virginia's Special Teams have come a long way since our Advanced Stats Rankings post, while others have held relatively steady. Interestingly, in just a few weeks, West Virginia has plummeted in the Field Position Advantage rankings. In the last post Mark did, they were 46, slightly above average. They are now 93, firmly in the bottom third of all of FBS.

Big 12 Offenses
Offensive Categories
 OU TCU
 KSU
 Baylor
 WVU UT
 OkSt ISU TT KU
F/+ Rk
 5 22
 24 20
 31
 91
 74
 48
 43 122
FEI Rk 6
 29
 20
 21
 43
 103
 77
 34
 39
 122
FD Rk 43
 44 12
 10
 27 104
 82 109
 71 120
AY Rk 20
 22
 11 9
 46
 108
 90
 81
 53
 124
Ex Rk 30
 14
 21
 11
 34 112
 70
 109
 38
 106
Me Rk 75
 98 36
 19
 77
 58
 97
 3
 108
 123
Va Rk 18
 23
 5
 12 40
 96
 97
 60
 68
 125
S&P+ Rk
 5
 14
 30
 22
 15 60
 74
 69 51
 120
Success Rate
 5
 41 23
 42 58
 61
 95
 71
 60
 125
ISOPPP
 26 7
 50
 4
 71
 109 27 123
 20
 89
Std. Downs S&P Rk 5
 29
 48 26
 12
 52
 76
 66 55
 107
Pass. Downs S&P Rk 6 10 31 36 38
 91
 54
 33
 8
 113
Rushing S&P Rk 2 4
 44
 49
 36
 46
 91 41
 35
 118
Passing S&P Rk 7
 33
 34
 20
 13
 76
 44
 48 30
 90

1. OU (6)
2. K-State (20)
3. Baylor (21)
4. TCU (29)
5. ISU (34)
6. TT (39)
7. WVU (43)
8. OkSt (77)
9. UT (103)
10. KU (122)

Oklahoma sits atop the heap with clearly the best offense, at least according to the advanced stats. Mark will likely be doing the Advanced Stats Preview tomorrow, focusing on the OU-Baylor matchup from an Advanced Stats perspective. Somewhat surprising was that Iowa State defies all other convention and checks in at 34 in overall F/+. I suppose that's what happens when you're 3rd in the nation in methodical drives. Also: Oh, Texas.

Baylor continues to be favored in FEI vs. S&P+, a stark difference to last season, where the Bears were always higher in the S&P+ rankings than FEI.

Big 12 Defenses
Defensive Categories
 OU TCU
 KSU
 Baylor
 WVU UT
 OkSt ISU TT KU
F/+ Rk
 25 8
 18 23
 28
 29
 67
 95
 107 56
FEI Rk 38
 7 15
 37
 42
 30
 82
 90 111
 55
FD Rk 33
 18 25 5
 61 32
 41 100
 103 87
AY Rk 20
 28 33 9
 46 24
 57
 120
 106
 75
Ex Rk 41
 94
 7
 60
 59 17
 97
 89
 119
 70
Me Rk 33
 46 83
 13
 18
 92
 32
 128
 60
 40
Va Rk 26 40
 18
 8 45
 31
 68
 122
 111
 69
S&P+ Rk
 17
 18
 21 14
 19 29
 50
 113 109
 63
Success Rate
 15
 22 76
 8 34
 43
 29
 127
 104 35
ISOPPP
 95 90 4
 61 96
 16 105 47 84
 106
Std. Downs S&P Rk 16
 36
 33 39 10
 22 49
 110 98
 14
Pass. Downs S&P Rk 23 16 10 15 21
 17
 33
 65
 101
 95
Rushing S&P Rk 14 18
 11
 28 23
 43
 34 120
 108
 51
Passing S&P Rk 23
 37 32
 28
 9
 7
 49
 66 88
 34

1. TCU (8)
2. K-State (18)
3. Baylor (23)
4. OU (25)
5. WVU (28)
6. UT (29)
7. KU (56)
8. OkSt (67)
9. ISU (95)
10. TT (107)

One thing for sure: the narrative about the Big 12 not playing defense is dead, at least according to the Football Outsiders metrics. Six teams in the Top 30, and Kansas a very respectable 56 in the rankings. But dang, son. Iowa State and Texas Tech are not good on defense (In other news, the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor). Baylor gets killed on explosive drives, largely owing to the fact that when teams throw deep on them, they either get a big gain or 15 yards. That might be slight hyperbole.

There's no doubt about it, though: This weekend features two of the biggest games in the Big 12 from a statistical standpoint, featuring the Top 4 teams on both sides of the ball squaring off against each other. The Kansas State-TCU matchup on Saturday will be a fascinating one to watch, as K-State is #2 in the conference in both rankings, while TCU's offense is #1 and their defense is #4 in the conference. Buckle your seat belts, folks. It's going to be fun.

More From Our Daily Bears