1/5/2024 0 Comments College football kickoff![]() In short, a kickoff is either a success for the kicking team or the returning team, depending on whether it crosses the 25 or not. * Success rates, as they pertain to special teams, are discussed and defined here. Let’s stretch that sample out a little bit and compare 2018’s first six weeks to all of 2015-17.Ĭollege football kickoffs, 2015-18 Season In that initial post, I compared 2018’s first week to 2017’s full-season data. A few weeks later, the numbers have shifted a hair but not much. I took a look at kickoffs data after the first week of the season and didn’t see any massive changes in field position despite more fair catches and touchbacks. Teams are returning kickoffs a little bit less, and field position isn’t changing much. Is this a thing? Are teams not taking advantage of this enough? Looking at the data, there has indeed been a shift under the new touchback rule, but by no means a massive one. That same Saturday, Clemson lost 20 yards of free field position in a narrow win over Syracuse, Michigan lost 17 in a narrow win over Northwestern, and Kansas State lost 28 in a five-point loss to Texas. That’s 27 yards of lost field position in a game that PSU lost by one point. ![]() My eyes were telling me people weren’t using the new rule enough.įor instance, in Week 5’s marquee game, Ohio State at Penn State, the host Nittany Lions started drives at their 21-, 18-, and 9-yard lines after kickoffs. The NCAA designed the rule to limit the number of kick returns, because they are believed to be maybe the most dangerous play type in football. In a few select college football games in recent weeks, I’ve found myself wanting to yell at the TV because a kick returner didn’t take advantage of the new touchback rule, which allows you to call fair catch anywhere inside the 25 and take a touchback out to the 25. Sometimes your eyes tell you one thing, and the data tells you another.
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