:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/22002503/20121110_jla_an2_1037.0.jpg)
With the questionable performance by our offense the last few games, I thought I would go back and look at how the Mazzone offenses have fared in the last few years. I didn't go as far back as his SEC days, but just his two years with ASU and the 21 games with UCLA so far.
Now, it's not entirely fair to look at the offenses' numbers in a vacuum, but 46 games represent a reasonable sample size. I broke it down in the table below:
| W | L | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | 3rd Down % | plays | TDs | TOs | 1st H pts | 2nd H pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 26 | 20 | 287 | 162 | 40% | 75 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 17.9 | 15.8 |
| OOC | 10 | 4 | 315 | 194 | 40% | 77 | 4.5 | 1.7 | 17.9 | 20.9 |
| Pac-12 | 16 | 16 | 274 | 148 | 40% | 74 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 17.9 | 13.7 |
| Arizona | 2 | 1 | 352 | 164 | 51% | 91 | 4.7 | 0.3 | 23.0 | 18.0 |
| Cal | 1 | 3 | 276 | 119 | 42% | 71 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 15.5 | 11.8 |
| Oregon | 0 | 3 | 247 | 199 | 42% | 84 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 18.3 | 5.7 |
| Oregon State | 1 | 2 | 278 | 114 | 22% | 74 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 15.0 | 12.7 |
| Stanford | 0 | 4 | 197 | 135 | 33% | 64 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 7.8 | 8.3 |
| Southern Cal | 2 | 1 | 246 | 152 | 40% | 73 | 4.3 | 1 | 17.3 | 20.7 |
| Utah | 3 | 0 | 242 | 144 | 46% | 76 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
I broke this down another way, breaking the seasons into halves, both overall and within the conference schedule.
| W | L | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | 3rd Down % | plays | TDs | TOs | 1st H pts | 2nd H pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st 6 games | 17 | 7 | 296 | 178 | 42% | 77 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 18.0 | 17.4 |
| Rest of season | 9 | 13 | 277 | 145 | 39% | 73 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 17.8 | 14.2 |
| Pac-12 | ||||||||||
| 1st 4 | 8 | 8 | 258 | 137 | 39% | 75 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 15.1 | 12.1 |
| last 5 | 8 | 8 | 291 | 159 | 41% | 74 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 20.7 | 15.3 |
At first glance, it may seem difficult to discern a particular trend, as there is in fact quite a bit of consistency generally. But I do see a few interesting nuggets that I think are worth pointing out.
1. Scoring in the 2nd Half drops off in conference play
This is not surprising, given that ASU played quite a few cupcakes in their nonconference slate. Still, compared to the OOC games, scoring drops off by a full touchdown in the second half when Mazzone's offenses get into the conference schedule. I have no way of knowing if that is the case for all the other teams. Well, I have a way, but it would take too long to find out. To a degree, most teams play a softer out of conference schedule, and conference opponents always know each other better.
2. Scoring in the 2nd Half drops off mid-season
Again, this is related to the conference slate. But you can see that the record of 9-13 in the second part of the season is much worse than for the first 6 games. Hopefully this goes up to 16-13 after this year. Counterintuitively, scoring all around goes up during the last 5 games of the season.
3. Some teams have Mazzone's number
You can see here that Oregon, Stanford and Cal (and even Oregon State to a degree) have Mazzone's number. Oregon has been destroying Mazzone in the second half of games and Stanford has just been generally stout. What could be worrisome is that Mazzone is 0-3 against Clancy Pendergast, the ex-Cal DC. Why is that worrisome? Because Pendergast is now the Southern Cal DC. There would be no excuse for losing to Southern Cal this year, so Noel better start getting on top of his game.
In summary, Mazzone's offense gets "figured out" in conference play where opponents seem to adjust in the second half much better, and certain teams/coordinators have an easier time stopping him. Perhaps some of you can see other trends, so fire away.