We come to the end of our Turf Battle overview of the past two seasons, giving you the numbers on short-field drive starts from 2012 and 2013.
If you missed them, here are Friday’s numbers on teams from the Pac-12 and the SEC, and Saturday’s numbers on teams from the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten. We conclude this series with a look at the independents and the two conferences outside the “power five” that made the biggest impact during the Bowl Championship Series era.
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NOTE: In 2012, stats were tabulated including end-of-game possessions with a lead. In 2013, seeing the lack of value in those possessions, they were dropped from Turf Battle’s tabulations. You will notice the decline in the number of recorded short-field drive starts in 2013. This is a product of the shift in stat-keeping, not an on-field trend. Several possessions were lopped off as a result of the procedural adjustment.
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THE AMERICAN — TURF BATTLE STATS AND RANKINGS, 2012 AND 2013
2012 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES WITH TEAM RANKINGS ATTACHED
2012 BIG EAST SEASON, BEFORE THE TRANSITION TO THE AMERICAN
1. Rutgers, 26
2. Tie — Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, 24
4. Syracuse, 22
5. Temple, 21
6. Louisville, 17
7. Connecticut, 16
8. South Florida, 13
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2012 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS
1. Pittsburgh, 105
2. Cincinnati, 100 — The Bearcats’ total of 196 short-field points over the past two seasons puts them at the head of the class in The American (and what used to be called the Big East). Head coach Tommy Tuberville, pictured in the cover photo above, hopes this trend of accumulating short-field points will continue in 2014.
3. Tie — Louisville and Syracuse, 75
5. Tie — Rutgers and Temple, 68
7. South Florida, 54
8. Connecticut, 40
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2013 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES
2013 AAC SEASON
1. UCF, 25
2. Tie — Houston and Rutgers, 23
4. Cincinnati, 20
5. South Florida, 17
6. Louisville, 14
7. Tie — Memphis and SMU, 13
9. Temple, 11
10. Connecticut, 8
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2013 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS
1. Rutgers, 100
2. Tie — Cincinnati and Houston, 96
4. UCF, 81
5. Louisville, 65
6. Temple, 63
7. Memphis, 54
8. SMU, 37
9. South Florida, 26
10. Connecticut, 20
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MOUNTAIN WEST TURF BATTLE STATS AND RANKINGS, 2012 AND 2013
2012 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES
1. Boise State, 38 (second in the country in 2012 behind Kansas State, which had 40 short-field drives over the course of the regular season)
2. Fresno State, 32
3. Hawaii, 28
4. San Diego State, 21
5. Nevada, 18
6. Wyoming, 17
7. New Mexico, 15
8. UNLV, 12
9. Colorado State, 10
10. Air Force, 9
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2012 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS
1. Fresno State, 139 (fifth in the nation among teams surveyed)
2. Boise State, 134
3. San Diego State, 97
4. Hawaii, 68
5. Nevada, 66
6. New Mexico, 63
7. Colorado State, 56
8. Wyoming, 45
9. UNLV, 34
10. Air Force, 28
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UNLV coach Bobby Hauck might have noticed that his team scored 45 more short-field points in 2013 compared to 2012. That’s one of many reasons the Rebels reached a bowl game and completed one of the better turnarounds in the FBS last year.
2013 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES
1. Utah State, 31
2. Boise State, 25
3. UNLV, 23
4. San Diego State, 19
5. Tie — Fresno State and Hawaii, 18
7. Colorado State, 14
8. New Mexico, 13
9. Wyoming, 11
10. Air Force, 8
11. Tie — Nevada and San Jose State, 7
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2013 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS
1. Boise State, 101
2. Utah State, 95
3. Fresno State, 80
4. UNLV, 79
5. Colorado State, 63
6. New Mexico, 58
7. San Diego State, 54
8. Wyoming, 42
9. Hawaii, 38
10. Nevada, 35
11. Air Force, 31
12. San Jose State, 23
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INDEPENDENTS — TURF BATTLE STATS AND RANKINGS, 2012 AND 2013
2012 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES
1. Notre Dame, 20
2. BYU, 17
3. Army, 13
4. Navy, 10
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2012 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS
1. BYU, 62
2. Notre Dame, 46
3. Army, 30
4. Navy, 14
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2013 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES
1. BYU, 19
2. Navy, 9
3. Tie — Army and Notre Dame, 8
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2013 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS
1. BYU, 65
2. Notre Dame, 31
3. Navy, 27
4. Army, 24
