Here are the national rankings for Houston vs. Penn State from the NCAA:
table.tableizer-table {border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;} .tableizer-table td {padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc;} .tableizer-table th {background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold;}
| NCAA Stats Comparison | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category: | Penn St. | Houston | Delta |
| Rushing | 54 | 62 | 8 |
| Passing Offense | 96 | 1 | -95 |
| Total Offense | 94 | 1 | -93 |
| Scoring Offense | 110 | 1 | -109 |
| Rushing Defense | 48 | 77 | 29 |
| Turnovers Gained | 28 | 16 | -12 |
| Passes Had Intercepted | 35 | 9 | -26 |
| Pass Defense | 5 | 48 | 43 |
| Net Punting | 78 | 60 | -18 |
| Punt Returns | 77 | 9 | -68 |
| Kickoff Returns | 32 | 55 | 23 |
| Turnover Margin | 32 | 8 | -24 |
| Fumbles Recovered | 29 | 52 | 23 |
| Passes Intercepted | 24 | 5 | -19 |
| Fumbles Lost | 92 | 42 | -50 |
| Turnovers Lost | 65 | 11 | -54 |
| Passing Efficiency | 112 | 3 | -109 |
| Pass Efficiency Defense | 5 | 24 | 19 |
| Total Defense | 10 | 64 | 54 |
| Scoring Defense | 5 | 41 | 36 |
| Fewest Penalties Per Game | 29 | 64 | 35 |
| Fewest Yards Penalized Per Game | 30 | 58 | 28 |
| Punt Return Yardage Defense | 66 | 74 | 8 |
| Kickoff Return Yardage Defense | 63 | 60 | -3 |
| Offense Third-down Efficiency | 95 | 6 | -89 |
| Offense Fourth-down Efficiency | 27 | 39 | 12 |
| Defense Third-down Efficiency | 52 | 47 | -5 |
| Defense Fourth-down Efficiency | 32 | 47 | 15 |
| Tackles for Loss | 30 | 4 | -26 |
| Offense Tackles for Loss | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Pass Sacks | 26 | 35 | 9 |
| Pass Sacks Allowed | 16 | 33 | 17 |
| Time of Possession | 55 | 115 | 60 |
| First Downs | 89 | 2 | -87 |
| First Downs Allowed | 19 | 64 | 45 |
| Red Zone Efficiency | 91 | 39 | -52 |
| Red Zone Efficiency – Defense | 119 | 2 | -117 |
| Average NCAA Rank: | 50.59 | 34.68 | -15.92 |
| Weighted Avg. Rank: | 54.08 | 32.5 | -21.58 |
Here is Houston’s schedule for 2011:
table.tableizer-table {border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;} .tableizer-table td {padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc;} .tableizer-table th {background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold;}
| 2011 | Houston | Cougars | Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Opp. Record |
| Sept. 3 | UCLA | W 38-34 | 1-0 (0-0) | 6-7 * |
| Sept. 10 | at North Texas | W 48-23 | 2-0 (0-0) | 5-7 |
| Sept. 17 | at La Tech | W 35-34 | 3-0 (0-0) | 8-4 * |
| Sept. 24 | GEORGIA STATE | W 56-0 | 4-0 (0-0) | 3-8 |
| Sept. 29 | at UTEP | W 49-42 | 5-0 (1-0) | 5-7 |
| Oct. 8 | EAST CAROLINA | W 56-3 | 6-0 (2-0) | 5-7 |
| Oct. 22 | MARSHALL | W 63-28 | 7-0 (3-0) | 6-6 * |
| Oct. 27 | RICE | W 73-34 | 8-0 (4-0) | 4-8 |
| Nov. 5 | at UAB | W 56-13 | 9-0 (5-0) | 3-9 |
| Nov. 10 | at Tulane | W 73-17 | 10-0 (6-0) | 2-11 |
| Nov. 19 | SMU | W 37-7 | 11-0 (7-0) | 7-5 * |
| Nov. 25 | at Tulsa | W 48-16 | 12-0 (8-0) | 8-4 * |
| Dec. 3 | SOUTHERN MISS | L 49-28 | 12-1 (8-1) | 11-2 * |
| *=bowl |
While Houston’s national NCAA rankings are impressive (34.68 ranks 6th in the country–PSU’s 50.59 ranks 37th), I am kind of underwhelmed by their schedule. Southern Miss (21st in the BCS) is the only ranked team they have played. By contrast, Penn State played nine bowl bound opponents and the Owls have already won their bowl impressively, beating Wyoming 37-15. Five oppoennts play in January.
Houston’s offensive numbers are impressive–their defense is meh. But how good is that offense? If you look at the defenses (Georgia Southern not included) they have faced, the best defense was Southern Miss at 31, with an average NCAA ranking of 80 among all the Division 1A teams they faced.
To be fair, I compared the offenses that Penn State’s defense has faced to date. The best was Wisconsin at 15th in the country, with an overall average ranking of 66, not including Indiana State.
Penn State may be without starting QB Matt McGloin. It is not clear whether Drake and McGloin will face punishment for their altercation, but McGloin will need to be medically cleared to play. Paul Jones might be eligible if his GPA cooperates. Bolden apparently will not suffer any team punishment for a prank gone awry, where he stole a $2.00 bottle of Gatorade and then returned it to the store. What? No tattoo??? Don’t these kids today even know how to get into trouble?
The unknown quantity of coaching may play a factor. Does Bradley have the job or not? Honestly, rumors aside, he will not be the coach next season. Rumors are flying that Larry Johnson, Sr. could be headed to Columbus to head up a defense for Urban Renewal. Regardless of the outcome of the changes, the situation has to be a dsitraction both for the players and the coaches.
Penn State is currently a 5-6 point underdog. Take McGloin out of the equation and add a coaching staff that is working on finding jobs elsewhere, and it doesn’t add up to a Penn State victory. Unless of course, the Cougar offense is really over-rated.
Even though this isn’t a Joe Paterno-coached team anymore, it would be really nice to send his last team out on a positive note.
But that won’t happen unless Houston has a problem.
The Lion's Den 