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TOP - The Irrelevant Stat

JSWNBBY

JSWNBBY

Well-known member
I'm born again Stitt.

I'm fully converted.

All I here fron the Bizon is win the TOP "battle" and win the game. Control the clock, run the ball and win.

I used to believe the same thing. And then this guy Stitt came along and started saying that TOP didn't matter. That it was the number of plays.

In all of the Griz victories they lost the TOP "battle" even the blow out wins.

So what stat ends up being the most important? I don't really know, but in the book of Stitt it's not TOP.
 
JSWNBBY said:
I'm born again Stitt.

I'm fully converted.

All I here fron the Bizon is win the TOP "battle" and win the game. Control the clock, run the ball and win.

I used to believe the same thing. And then this guy Stitt came along and started saying that TOP didn't matter. That it was the number of plays.

In all of the Griz victories they lost the TOP "battle" even the blow out wins.

So what stat ends up being the most important? I don't really know, but in the book of Stitt it's not TOP.
Click to expand...

Glad you came around...the most overrated stat in football...
Points is most important!
Pflugrad could've given two shits about top as well...or Read.
 
stubbins said:
JSWNBBY said:
I'm born again Stitt.

I'm fully converted.

All I here fron the Bizon is win the TOP "battle" and win the game. Control the clock, run the ball and win.

I used to believe the same thing. And then this guy Stitt came along and started saying that TOP didn't matter. That it was the number of plays.

In all of the Griz victories they lost the TOP "battle" even the blow out wins.

So what stat ends up being the most important? I don't really know, but in the book of Stitt it's not TOP.
Click to expand...

Glad you came around...the most overrated stat in football...
Points is most important!
Pflugrad could've given two shits about top as well...or Read.
Click to expand...

Technically true but it's the other factors that flow from dominating TOP that matter i.e. Limiting scoring opportunities for high powered offenses, controlling tempo, tired defenses etc....TOP is just one STAT but you couple that with a dominant defense, a dominant running game and a turnover or two and you got potentially a very powerful advantage. This Griz/Bison game will be a classic clash of styles al la Bills v Giants in the 1990 Super Bowl. Who's ever successful at imposing their will on the other team will win this game but I am sure that is pretty obvious to the majority of you....
 
TOP without # of plays does not matter! The only time you burn energy in during a game is during the actual play. The rest of the time you are just standing around. This is an over simplification, but makes sense. It comes down to actual # of plays ran!
 
JSWNBBY said:
I'm born again Stitt.

I'm fully converted.

All I here fron the Bizon is win the TOP "battle" and win the game. Control the clock, run the ball and win.

I used to believe the same thing. And then this guy Stitt came along and started saying that TOP didn't matter. That it was the number of plays.

In all of the Griz victories they lost the TOP "battle" even the blow out wins.

So what stat ends up being the most important? I don't really know, but in the book of Stitt it's not TOP.
Click to expand...

I've found the the stat that ends up being most important 100% of the time is points scored. It's the ONLY statistics that works 100% of the time--you score more points than your opponent and you're going to win.
 
grizfanfb said:
TOP without # of plays does not matter! The only time you burn energy in during a game is during the actual play. The rest of the time you are just standing around. This is an over simplification, but makes sense. It comes down to actual # of plays ran!
Click to expand...
I like "stats" and what they offer in terms of comparisons between strategies and athletes, but TOP isn't one that consistently correlates well with anything in particular.
 
We probably lost the TOP in 95/96 and look what happened. If I remember scoring time was about a 1:25. Maybe back in my Woody Hayes day it meant something until we played the teams from the west coast and ---then I don't want to talk about it.
 
Hey, being the best (or one of the best) TOP teams worked for 4 consecutive titles. I'll take that over Bob's 7-4.

That said, the intersection of TOP with style of play is what can make TOP an important stat, or not. If you are a physical running team, you want TOP, and TOP is critical. If you are a fast paced finesse offense, TOP is not a key factor for you.
 
Herd said:
Hey, being the best (or one of the best) TOP teams worked for 4 consecutive titles. I'll take that over Bob's 7-4.

That said, the intersection of TOP with style of play is what can make TOP an important stat, or not. If you are a physical running team, you want TOP, and TOP is critical. If you are a fast paced finesse offense, TOP is not a key factor for you.
Click to expand...

If you are a physical running team you will, by definition, win TOP. The clock doesn't stop on short running plays. It really ain't rocket science....although maybe it is for bison fans....
 
Let's just take a look, shall we? Playoff teams bolded...

MFVC top TOP in 2015:

1. N. Dakota State 11 399:48 36:20
2. Youngstown State 11 353:31 32:08
3. S. Dakota State 12 381:56 31:49
4. South Dakota 11 337:32 30:41
5. Northern Iowa 12 363:02 30:15
6. Illinois State 11 324:21 29:29
7. Indiana State 11 313:52 28:32
8. Southern Illinois 11 312:32 28:24
9. Western Illinois 12 338:07 28:10
10. Missouri State 11 294:54 26:48

MFVC Turnover Leaders in 2015:

1. Northern Iowa 12 12 15 27 5 10 15 +12 1.00
2. Illinois State 11 10 10 20 5 7 12 +8 0.73
3. Western Illinois 12 11 17 28 8 13 21 +7 0.58
4. S. Dakota State 12 6 10 16 2 9 11 +5 0.42
5. Indiana State 11 7 11 18 4 10 14 +4 0.36
6. South Dakota 11 9 11 20 13 7 20 +0 0.00
N. Dakota State 11 7 8 15 11 4 15 +0 0.00
8. Youngstown State 11 4 8 12 7 7 14 -2 -0.18
9. Missouri State 11 7 6 13 9 12 21 -8 -0.73
10. Southern Illinois 11 9 5 14 14 11 25 -11 -1.00

Big Sky TOP Leaders in 2015:

1. UC Davis 11 380:49 34:37
2. Cal Poly 11 358:46 32:36
3. Portland State 11 351:52 31:59
4. North Dakota 11 350:55 31:54
5. Weber State 11 350:13 31:50
6. Montana State 11 343:28 31:13
Sacramento State 11 343:24 31:13
8. Northern Arizona 11 323:11 29:22
9. Eastern Washington 11 308:19 28:01
10. Idaho State 11 297:02 27:00
11. Montana 12 319:33 26:37
12. Southern Utah 11 288:06 26:11
13. Northern Colorado 11 271:16 24:39

Big Sky Turnover Margin Leaders in 2015:

1. Southern Utah 11 10 19 29 2 6 8 +21 1.91
2. Portland State 11 10 18 28 7 5 12 +16 1.45
3. Montana 12 14 12 26 11 11 22 +4 0.33
4. Sacramento State 11 5 8 13 5 8 13 +0 0.00
5. Northern Arizona 11 4 10 14 8 7 15 -1 -0.09
North Dakota 11 10 6 16 12 5 17 -1 -0.09
Northern Colorado 11 9 7 16 5 12 17 -1 -0.09
8. Montana State 11 10 3 13 4 11 15 -2 -0.18
9. UC Davis 11 8 3 11 8 8 16 -5 -0.45
Weber State 11 6 8 14 5 14 19 -5 -0.45
11. Cal Poly 11 5 7 12 15 3 18 -6 -0.55
12. Eastern Washington 11 10 7 17 12 12 24 -7 -0.64
13. Idaho State 11 7 8 15 11 19 30 -15 -1.36

Hmmm....notice a trend here?

TOP don't mean shit.
 
AZGrizFan said:
Let's just take a look, shall we? Playoff teams bolded...

MFVC top TOP in 2015:

1. N. Dakota State 11 399:48 36:20
2. Youngstown State 11 353:31 32:08
3. S. Dakota State 12 381:56 31:49
4. South Dakota 11 337:32 30:41
5. Northern Iowa 12 363:02 30:15
6. Illinois State 11 324:21 29:29
7. Indiana State 11 313:52 28:32
8. Southern Illinois 11 312:32 28:24
9. Western Illinois 12 338:07 28:10
10. Missouri State 11 294:54 26:48

MFVC Turnover Leaders in 2015:

1. Northern Iowa 12 12 15 27 5 10 15 +12 1.00
2. Illinois State 11 10 10 20 5 7 12 +8 0.73
3. Western Illinois 12 11 17 28 8 13 21 +7 0.58
4. S. Dakota State 12 6 10 16 2 9 11 +5 0.42
5. Indiana State 11 7 11 18 4 10 14 +4 0.36
6. South Dakota 11 9 11 20 13 7 20 +0 0.00
N. Dakota State 11 7 8 15 11 4 15 +0 0.00
8. Youngstown State 11 4 8 12 7 7 14 -2 -0.18
9. Missouri State 11 7 6 13 9 12 21 -8 -0.73
10. Southern Illinois 11 9 5 14 14 11 25 -11 -1.00

Big Sky TOP Leaders in 2015:

1. UC Davis 11 380:49 34:37
2. Cal Poly 11 358:46 32:36
3. Portland State 11 351:52 31:59
4. North Dakota 11 350:55 31:54
5. Weber State 11 350:13 31:50
6. Montana State 11 343:28 31:13
Sacramento State 11 343:24 31:13
8. Northern Arizona 11 323:11 29:22
9. Eastern Washington 11 308:19 28:01
10. Idaho State 11 297:02 27:00
11. Montana 12 319:33 26:37
12. Southern Utah 11 288:06 26:11
13. Northern Colorado 11 271:16 24:39

Big Sky Turnover Margin Leaders in 2015:

1. Southern Utah 11 10 19 29 2 6 8 +21 1.91
2. Portland State 11 10 18 28 7 5 12 +16 1.45
3. Montana 12 14 12 26 11 11 22 +4 0.33
4. Sacramento State 11 5 8 13 5 8 13 +0 0.00
5. Northern Arizona 11 4 10 14 8 7 15 -1 -0.09
North Dakota 11 10 6 16 12 5 17 -1 -0.09
Northern Colorado 11 9 7 16 5 12 17 -1 -0.09
8. Montana State 11 10 3 13 4 11 15 -2 -0.18
9. UC Davis 11 8 3 11 8 8 16 -5 -0.45
Weber State 11 6 8 14 5 14 19 -5 -0.45
11. Cal Poly 11 5 7 12 15 3 18 -6 -0.55
12. Eastern Washington 11 10 7 17 12 12 24 -7 -0.64
13. Idaho State 11 7 8 15 11 19 30 -15 -1.36

Hmmm....notice a trend here?

TOP don't mean shit.
Click to expand...

TOP wins championships, not playoff spots.
 
The actual number is irrelevant, but what the number represents can be hugely important. I would be curious what a full statistical analysis would reveal across a broad section of teams (TOP : winning %). A high TOP is an indication of an offense that can move the sticks 10 yards at a time. A team that can do that can usually find its way to the end zone, or close enough to score 3. The effects of doing that successfully are limiting the opponents possessions making every possession more critical, demoralizing the opposing defense, etc.

However, that is only one side of the ball. If you have a ground control offense, but a crummy defense that can't stop the opposing offense, then TOP can almost become a liability. NDSU has traditionally had excellent defenses, which is why the ground control offense has been so successful for them.

Someone mentioned that the team that can impose their will is the team that will win. Oregon is an example of a team over the past few years that has been able to impose their will with almost complete disregard for TOP. Its a matter of execution.

If the Griz can score early and often, I like their chances. NDSU can have the ball all they want, if they can't score, or stop the Griz from scoring, then the Griz win (again). Execute your game plan, make them play your game, and advance to the quarter finals. Lets go 3-0 against the MVC this year!
 
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