The Rushing Attack: By the Numbers
The struggles of the Wisconsin offensive line early in the 2012 season have been well documented.
It appears that, despite the struggles of the big men up front, the approach of the running game is that of an old-school Badgers’ squad.
Here is a brief, unofficial, look at the direction of Wisconsin’s 43 run plays (not including the two sacks) against Utah State.
|
|
Left |
Center |
Right |
|
Carries |
11 |
24 |
7 |
|
Total Yards |
56 |
83 |
28 |
|
Per Carry |
5.09 |
3.46 |
4.00 |
Though it is an admittedly small sample size, the bulk of the work load for the Badger backs still runs between the tackles, in true, old-school fashion.
Wisconsin only had four rushing plays (excluding the two sacks) that went for tive yardage, Ball was the ball carrier on all four and two of those plays were to the right side.
However, most of Wisconsin’s success against the Aggies came on the edges. The trio of tailbacks averaged over half a yard more, per carry to the right side, than up the middle.
The Badgers had even more success to the left where they averaged over five yards, per touch.
As illustrated below, only two of the three backs saw carries on the edges.
Carries per side
|
|
Left |
Center |
Right |
|
Ball |
10 |
21 |
6 |
|
White |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Gordon |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Montee Ball accounted for the bulk of the yards in every direction, not surprising considering that he saw most of the work on Saturday.
For all intents and purposes, Ball and James White were the only running backs who received carries while lined up in the backfield.
Gordon’s 15 yards to the left came in a package where he was split wide and received the handoff on an end-around.
Yards per side
|
|
Left |
Center |
Right |
|
Ball |
41 |
72 |
25 |
|
White |
0 |
11 |
0 |
|
Gordon |
15 |
0 |
3 |
On carries up the gut, White was slightly more effective than Ball, though white had significantly less touches.
Ball’s production seemed fairly consistent, independent of the direction of the play, this is likely more indicative of the true nature of the offense at this point in the season.
Yards per carry, per side
|
|
Left |
Center |
Right |
|
Ball |
4.1 |
3.65 |
4.17 |
|
White |
0 |
3.67 |
0 |
|
Gordon |
15 |
0 |
3 |
