Daily Blog - Tuesday June 23rd

In 2007 I added the individual stats updated weekly for each team on the website. I find this very useful on a weekly basis as you can see who the team leaders have been each week as the season unfolds. This is available in the individual teams pages. CLICK HERE.

Last year we updated the Starts lost during the course of the year and kept a running tally for all the teams. Utah led the NCAA in starts lost in 2007 and rebounded to finish #2 in the country in 2008. Last year Oklahoma St only had 2 starts lost all year due to injury and Tulsa had just 5. On the flip side Wisconsin had 48 lost to injury, UCLA had 44 and Georgia had 44. Wisconsin was a preseason #13 team that finished unranked at 7-6 while UCLA suffered through a 4-8 year. Georgia was the preseason #1 team in the country and wound up outside the top 10. Here is a Georgia’s starts lost page for last year CLICK HERE and each teams pages are updated weekly so you can tell at a glance which teams are the healthiest and which are the most beat up teams in the NCAA.

After 2008 was complete I devised a power ratings system which lets me analyze at what level each team played during a game. I talked about this new power ratings system in my blog on June 19th. Today I will look at the Top 15 performances of the 2008 season picked out by my computer. Going over the top 20 it seems like a very legitimate list. Keep in mind this takes into account the yards rushing, yards passing, points scored, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed and points allowed and factors them in against the opponent played and even factors in the site the game was played at. In my earlier blog I noted that a Top 10 performance was 97.08 and that to be a top team performance it had to be one of the top 126 games.

2008’s Top Individual game performances

1. USC 125.13 level in 44-10 win over Oregon.
The Ducks finished the year #10 in the final polls but were not only blown out by 34 (the biggest loss by a final Top 10 team all year) they were mauled statistically with USC having a 598-239 yard edge.

2. Florida 119.08 level in 56-6 win over South Carolina
This game was close after one quarter and SC was ranked #24 at the time. Florida beat a ranked team by FIFTY and had a 519-173 yard edge

3. Oklahoma 118.25 level in 65-21 win over Texas Tech.
Texas Tech came in #2 in the country and a perfect 11-0. OU had a 625-406 yard edge and Tech’s 406 yards offense was the only thing keeping this from being rated higher on the list.

4. Texas Tech 117.7 level in 56-20 win over Oklahoma St.
Oklahoma St was 8-1 and #8 and only lost to Texas by 4 on the road two weeks prior. Texas Tech rolled to a 629-368 yard edge and the score was indicative of the game.

5. Oklahoma 114.95 level in 62-21 win over Missouri
It was the Big 12 title game and Missouri’s chance to turn a disappointing season into a Big 12 title and a BCS bowl. They came in ranked #19 but left losing by 41 and being out gained 627-354.

6. USC 114.95 level in 38-3 win over Notre Dame
My power ratings also take into account garbage yards gained at the end of a meaningless game and take them out of the equation. USC “only” won 38-3 but ND did not get a single FD until the LAST play of the 3Q. For the game USC had a 449-91 yard edge.

7. Missouri 114.68 level in 69-17 win over Nevada
The previous week the Wolfpack held Graham Harrell under 50% passing for the only time in his career. This one was no contest and Missouri had a 651-362 yard edge with Nevada getting some late yards that I took out of the equation.

8. Iowa 114.13 level in 55-0 win over Minnesota
The Gophers came in 7-4 but were walloped with Iowa having a 483-134 yard edge. This was the best true road game of the year as it took place in the final game of the Metrodome.

9. USC 113.58 level in 52-7 win over Virginia
This one did not rate as high with my computer after the game was over but kept gaining as Virginia won 4 or their last 8 games. USC had a 558-187 yard edge and the Cavs got some late garbage yards.

10. Texas Tech 112.75 level in 39-33 win over Texas
Texas Tech was in control of this game but needed the late TD pass to WR Crabtree to escape. They dealt Texas their only loss of the year but what moved it up to the top ten was the yards. They had a 579-374 yard edge over the team that finished #4 in the country.

11. Mississippi at 112.48 level in 45-0 win over Miss St.
This was the best defensive performance of the year. I did a weekly segment on CBS College Sports and had Ole Miss as my defense of the week and Miss St’s 37 TOTAL yards offense was the lowest of the year for any 1A school. Yes, Ole Miss had a 461-37 yard edge!

12. Florida at 112.48 level in 45-15 win over Florida St.
Florida St came in #23 in the country and this one was not close. Florida rolled with a 502-242 yard edge vs an FSU team that finished 9-4 and #21.

13. Oklahoma at 112.2 level in 35-10 win over TCU
TCU may have been the best non BCS team in the country last year and their D allowed just 218 ypg. OU had a 436-314 yard edge and won by 25 at home.

14. Florida at 112.2 level in 24-14 win over Oklahoma
This was the national title game and the Sooners came in averaging 62.3 ppg in their final 6 games including three ranked teams. Florida had a 480-363 yard edge in the double digit win.

15. USC at 111.65 level in 35-3 win over Ohio State
The Buckeyes came in #5 in the polls but USC rolled to the 32 point win and had a 348-207 yard edge.

There you have the top 15 performances of the 2008 season. My site will list ALL the games for 2009 each week and award a top weekly award. Keep in mind these numbers will adjust as the season goes on and I will have an average grade for each team as well as a median grade and update those weekly.

Do you have a game from 2008 that you thought was dominant that did not make the list. You Can email Debbie@philsteele.com your game and we will send you back what level the winner played at and where it ranked in 2008!

72 DAYS UNTIL THE FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME!!