Big Ten Stats Exam: Winners, Losers and Statistical Oddities

As sports fans, statistics inform us in our quest to better understand our teams and the games we watch. Stats are how we argue yearly awards and judge careers. Stats give us the records we as fans cherish and the quantitative evidence which we need to build larger narratives.

However, stats can also be fun. Here's a look at some of the best and worst that the NCAA statistic website has to offer.

The Worst

Minnesota's inability on the field translates to the numbers as well. Of the 21 statistical categories in which the Big Ten teams are ranked in the NCAA statistic page's conference report, Minnesota is last in almost half of them (sacks, turnover margin, turnovers forced, total offense, scoring offense, scoring defense, interceptions, pass efficiency, fumbles recovered and pass-efficiency defense).  

The highest Minnesota ranks in any category is a tie for fifth place in fumbles lost (four) and a lone fifth-place ranking for net punting.

No matter how you look at it, Minnesota is terrible, and there isn't a statistical argument to say otherwise.

The Best

Meanwhile, Wisconsin's offensive dominance is even more impressive than its first-place ranking in all seven offensive categories. Observe:

The Badgers are first in turnovers lost with just three—two interceptions and one fumble—twice as good as the next school on the list (Northwestern with six turnovers).

Wisconsin leads the league in total offense by almost 75 yards per game. The Badgers average 523 yards per game, and Michigan is the next closest school with 451. The third place team, Illinois, is 99 yards per game behind the Badgers. Why does Wisconsin have such a huge lead in yards per game? The Badgers' per-play average is 7.8 yards, a full yard better than the next closest team, and two yards better than the bottom two-thirds of the conference.

Wisconsin's scoring average of 50 PPG is 13 points better than the next closest team because the Badgers have scored 42 touchdowns—14 more than the two teams tied for second place, Illinois and Michigan.

Wisconsin's huge lead in pass-efficiency rating (197.43 to Illinois' second-ranked 156.67) is actually drug down by the garbage-time minutes of Wisconsin's backup. Starter Russell Wilson leads the nation in pass efficiency with a rating of 210.93.

Despite leading the Big Ten in pass yards per game with 265, Wisconsin has attempted fewer passes (141) than all but two teams in the conference—Nebraska (132) and Ohio State (138).

On the other side of the ball, Michigan State is nearly as statistically dominant as Wisconsin. Michigan State is first defensively in all three yards-allowed metrics (rush, pass and total), as well as pass-efficiency defense.

The Spartans are holding other teams to just 67 yards on the ground and have only allowed three rushing touchdowns in six games. This is good enough to put Michigan State nearly a half-yard ahead of any other team in average of rush yards allowed per carry—2.25 YPC to 2.70 YPC for second-place Illinois.

Passing against Michigan State is an even tougher proposition. So far, the Spartans are allowing opposing teams to complete just 47 percent of their passes at 4.4 yards per attempt.

It is easy for Michigan State to hold such low yards-allowed averages with a defense that ranks second in both sacks and tackles for loss. In fact, Michigan State's 224 total negative yards on TFLs is only four yards behind Illinois, which has played one more game than Michigan State this season.

Needless to say, when these two teams meet this weekend, something has to give.

Oddities

—Ohio State's defense is allowing almost the exact same amount of yards per play that the Buckeye offense gains: 4.84 yards per play on offense to 4.82 yards allowed per play on defense.

—Michigan, after three years of having terrible turnover luck, is not only first in fumbles recovered with 12 in seven games, but is second in fumbles lost with just two. These kinds of numbers are unsustainable in the long run.

—Want something else to criticize Ron Zook for? His team is either last or second to last in all three special-teams categories. The Illini are averaging just 16 yards per kickoff return, almost two yards behind Michigan and four yards behind the upper two-thirds of the conference.

The punting game isn't any better. Illinois has the lowest punt average (36.6 yards) and the second-worst net punting rating. It isn't much better when the Zookers receive punts. Illinois is averaging just 2.5 yards per return on 14 attempts. It would take Wisconsin only two average punt returns (19.9 YPR) to surpass Illinois' total punt-return yards for the year (34). Ladies and gentlemen, Ron Zook.

—Wisconsin has allowed three field goals and kicked three field goals this year.  However, this doesn't have as much to do with Wisconsin's first-place rank in both scoring offense and defense as does the fact that the Badgers have scored six times as many touchdowns (42) as they have allowed (7).

—Indiana's defense allows nearly as many yards per play (6.0) as the passing offense generates on average with each pass attempt (6.3).

—Michigan has thrown twice as many interceptions than any team in the Big Ten, with the exceptions of Indiana, Penn State and Minnesota, who each have six interceptions. The Wolverines are throwing nearly one interception for every touchdown (10 INTs and 12 TDs). Also, despite throwing by far the most interceptions in the conference, Michigan has the fourth-fewest pass completions with just 75.

—Both schools from Indiana have a 0.0 turnover margin.

—Illinois has nearly as many sacks per game (3.7) as Nebraska has tackles for loss per game (3.8)—the lowest TFL average in the conference.

Individual Notes

—Wisconsin has three players in the Top 100 in the nation in all-purpose running yards: Montee Ball (34th, 139 YPG), James White (69th, 117 YPG) and Jared Abbredaris (87th, 110 YPG). Six Big Ten teams don't even have one player in the Top 100.

—Michigan State's Isaiah Lewis has three interceptions on the season, two of which were returned for touchdowns. His three interceptions are as many as Minnesota has as a team.

—Besides having the best statistical quarterback in the conference, the Badgers also have the worst. Backup Joe Brennan is just 3-for-11 this year for 12 yards and one interception.

—Four Big Ten quarterbacks that have started at one time or another are completing less than half their passes: MarQueis Gray (48 percent), Joe Bauserman (46 percent), Rob Bolden (44 percent) and Max Shortell (49 percent).

—Denard Robinson leads the conference in scoring with 120 points. The next highest Michigan player is Vincent Smith at 19th with 30. Those are the only two Michigan players in the Top 40 for scoring.

—Michigan State's BJ Cunningham is second in the conference in receiving yards per game with 103 and receptions with 42, but he is tied for 13th in the conference with just two touchdowns. Conversely, Ohio State's Jake Stoneburner averages just 21 yards per game with only 12 catches all season, but half of those 12 receptions have been for touchdowns.

—Four of the Top ten leaders in rush yards per game (there are two players tied at tenth) are quarterbacks, and the conference is still led by Denard Robinson's 119 yards per game—ten yards per game ahead of second-place Montee Ball.

—Wisconsin has two linebackers that rank in the Top 30 nationally in tackles: Chris Borland and Mike Taylor both average over nine tackles a game.

—Illinois' Whitney Mercilus, who leads the nation with 1.43 sacks per game, has a better average than three Big Ten teams (Purdue, Indiana and Minnesota). Mercilus also leads the Big Ten in tackles for loss (1.86) and forced fumbles (five).