Previous posts this summer:
Football attendance review for The Citadel, SoCon, and FCS in general
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Football practice at The Citadel has begun. It is a little warm out there.
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This stats review is not really meant to be extensive. I just wanted to create a profile, and then comment on a few aspects of it. I am reasonably confident in the accuracy of the statistics; as always, please blame the NCAA for any errors.
Okay, let’s look at this thing:
| North Dakota State | NDSU Opponents | |
| Points per game | 38.1 | 18.6 |
| Points per possession | 3.836 | 1.817 |
| Starting Field Position Average | 32.22 | 26.74 |
| Long scrimmage plays (15+ yard reception/10+ yard rush) | 169 (10.6 per game) | 138 (8.6 per game) |
| Total Turnovers | 6 (5 INT, 1 lost fumble) | 25 (11 INT, 14 recovered fumbles) |
| Expected total turnovers | 13.36 | 23.38 |
| Points off turnovers | 97 | 10 |
| Possessions (kneel-downs excluded) | 159 (9.94 per game) | 164 (10.25 per game) |
| Offensive Plays | 1044 (65.3 per game) | 936 (58.5 per game) |
| Offensive rush play % (sack-adjusted) | 60.73% | 49.89% |
| Yards/rush (sack-adjusted) | 5.07 | 4.79 |
| Yards/pass attempt (sack-adjusted) | 8.46 | 6.19 |
| Pass completion percentage | 71.79% | 61.38% |
| Yards/play | 6.40 | 5.49 |
| 3rd down conversions | 54.46% (110-202) | 43.28% (87-201) |
| 4th down conversions | 68.18% (15-22) | 34.78% (8-23) |
| Red Zone TD% | 77.3% (58-75) | 59.5% (25-42) |
| Punt return average | 11.84 (1 TD) | 11.73 (0 TDs) |
| Net punting | 36.77 yards (2 blocked) | 35.81 yards (1 blocked) |
| Kickoff return average | 25.91 yards (2 TDs) | 21.54 yards (0 TDs) |
| Kickoff touchback percentage | 63.06% | 29.03% |
| Field goals | 15 for 19, long of 54 | 13 for 18, long of 50 |
| Points after touchdowns | 77 for 77 PAT (1-4 going for 2) | 31 for 32 PAT (3-5 going for 2) |
| Time of possession per game | 33:04 | 26:56 |
| TOP/offensive play | 30.41 sec | 27.62 sec |
| Penalties per game | 5.75 (46.75 yards) | 5.56 (50.69 yards) |
| Sacks (defense) | 34 for 247 yards | 20 for 122 yards |
| Defensive forced fumbles | 19 | 3 |
| Defensive 3-and-outs+ | 51 (31.1% of all possessions) | 25 (15.7% of all possessions) |
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It is easy to see how North Dakota State finished 14-2, with one loss by a TD at Colorado and the other a one-point setback in the regular-season finale at South Dakota. A few of the statistical categories are such outliers (in an impressive way) that they merit further discussion.
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We have to start with the turnovers. NDSU only committed six turnovers in 16 games last season, which is remarkable. Primarily because of that incredible ability to hold onto the football, the Bison excelled in other areas as well.
For example, take the field position advantage. Did it help to have a kicker who routinely produced touchbacks on kickoffs? Yes. Was the defense good enough to tilt the field as well? Yes (and we’ll get to that in more detail). However, almost never turning the ball over meant that NDSU rarely put its defense in a bad spot.
Opponents had 164 possessions against the Bison last year. Only eight of those started in NDSU territory. Eight! And three of those came during a bizarre stretch at Murray State, when the Bison punt unit momentarily became unglued (suffering NDSU’s only two blocked kicks of the entire season, plus another misplay). North Dakota State led 52-3 at the time, so it didn’t matter.
There was only one situation last year in which the NDSU defense faced a critical “must stop” drive by an opponent that began in Bison territory. That came in North Dakota State’s playoff opener against a feisty Abilene Christian squad. The Wildcats jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the Fargodome, and then suddenly had the ball on the NDSU 13-yard line after an interception.
North Dakota State’s D responded, holding ACU to one yard on three plays, leading to a field goal. You can almost guess what happened next. NDSU returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, and eventually scored the game’s next 31 points. Momentum, baby.
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I will say that North Dakota State was a bit fortunate with turnover luck. NDSU actually fumbled ten times last season (which isn’t bad), but somehow only lost one of those fumbles. Part of that might have been due to the nature of the fumbles; opponents actually forced just three of them. Conversely, the Bison defense forced 19 fumbles (out of 23 total by opponents), recovering 14.
NDSU’s offense also was a little fortuitous when it came to interceptions, as passes defensed numbers suggest that the Bison probably should have suffered about three more picks. However, that didn’t happen, and on the field that is what counts.
In general NDSU’s passing attack was stellar, leading the nation in offensive pass efficiency. That included finishing second in FCS in completion percentage and in total TD passes; the Bison also averaged 12.81 yards per reception.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that between the efficient passing and a ground game that averaged over five yards per carry (sack-adjusted), NDSU was third nationally in 3rd-down conversion rate and eighth overall in 4th-down conversion rate. Consequently, the Bison also finished fifth in FCS in time of possession per game (with 36 of its 159 drives lasting five minutes or longer).
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I mentioned above that North Dakota State’s defense recovered 14 fumbles (tied for third overall in FCS). The Bison also intercepted 11 passes. Both are solid totals (even in 16 games).
There is another aspect to this worth mentioning. North Dakota State forced a three-and-out on 35 opponent possessions in 2024. You will notice on the table, though, that for the category ‘Defensive 3-and-outs +’, I have the number at 51.
The difference is the “+” part of the equation. Besides the standard three-and-outs, NDSU actually forced a turnover on the first three plays of an opponent’s drive 12 times. There were also four instances when an opponent turned the ball over on downs after just four plays of a possession.
That is what your garden-variety football TV analyst calls “sudden change”, and the Bison profited hugely in those situations.
While opponents only received the ball on the NDSU side of the field to start a drive eight times last season, North Dakota State’s offense began possessions in enemy territory 24 times — and that doesn’t even account for two pick-sixes by the Bison defense, both of which came within the first three plays of an opposing drive.
For the season, NDSU scored 97 points off turnovers; its opponents, just 10.
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So, to sum up: North Dakota State was pretty good last year. There is a decent chance NDSU will be pretty good this season, too.
Less than four weeks to go…
Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: Abilene Christian, Colorado, FCS, Murray State, North Dakota State, South Dakota, The Citadel | Leave a comment »
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