2011 Defensive Alignments
by Bill C. on Jan 5, 2012 9:05 PM EST
in Data Sharing
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PrintSo I'm trying begin to differentiate between the statistical profiles of different defensive alignments; what are the statistical tendencies (in terms of footprint, not quality) of a 3-4 versus a 4-3? That sort of thing. But before I can begin to go down this road, I need to figure out the base defense for each FBS team. Below is the list I compiled. Please let me know if corrections need to be made.
(And yeah, some teams' use of hybrids purposefully blur the line between one base and another. Such is life.)
| Defense | Base | Defense | Base | Defense | Base |
| Air Force | 3-4 | Iowa State | 4-3 | Rice | 4-3 |
| Akron | 4-3 | Kansas | 3-4 | Rutgers | 4-3 |
| Alabama | 3-4 | Kansas State | 4-3 | San Diego State | 3-3-5 |
| Arizona | 4-3 | Kent State | 4-3 | San Jose State | 4-3 |
| Arizona State | 4-3 | Kentucky | 4-3 | SMU | 3-4 |
| Arkansas | 4-3 | Louisiana Tech | 4-3 | South Carolina | 4-3 |
| Arkansas State | 4-3 | Louisville | 4-3 | South Florida | 4-3 |
| Army | 3-4 | LSU | 4-3 | Southern Miss | 4-3 |
| Auburn | 4-3 | Marshall | 4-3 | Stanford | 3-4 |
| Ball State | 4-3 | Maryland | 4-3 | Syracuse | 4-3 |
| Baylor | 4-2-5 | Memphis | 4-3 | TCU | 4-2-5 |
| Boise State | 4-2-5 | Miami-FL | 4-3 | Temple | 4-3 |
| Boston College | 4-3 | Miami-OH | 4-3 | Tennessee | 4-3 |
| Bowling Green | 4-3 | Michigan | 4-3 | Texas | 4-3 |
| Buffalo | 3-4 | Michigan State | 4-3 | Texas A&M | 3-4 |
| BYU | 3-4 | Middle Tennessee | 4-3 | Texas Tech | 4-2-5 |
| California | 3-4 | Minnesota | 4-3 | Toledo | 4-3 |
| Central Florida | 4-3 | Mississippi State | 4-3 | Troy | 4-3 |
| Central Michigan | 4-3 | Missouri | 4-3 | Tulane | 4-3 |
| Cincinnati | 4-3 | Navy | 3-4 | Tulsa | 4-3 |
| Clemson | 4-3 | N.C. State | 4-3 | UAB | 4-3 |
| Colorado | 4-3 | Nebraska | 4-3 | UCLA | 4-3 |
| Colorado State | 4-3 | Nevada | 4-3 | UL-Lafayette | 4-3 |
| Connecticut | 4-3 | New Mexico | 4-2-5 | UL-Monroe | 3-3-5 |
| Duke | 4-3 | New Mexico State | 4-3 | UNLV | 4-3 |
| East Carolina | 3-4 | North Carolina | 4-3 | USC | 4-3 |
| Eastern Michigan | 4-3 | North Texas | 4-3 | Utah | 4-3 |
| Florida | 4-3 | Northern Illinois | 4-3 | Utah State | 3-4 |
| Florida Atlantic | 3-4 | Northwestern | 4-3 | UTEP | 4-3 |
| Florida International | 4-3 | Notre Dame | 3-4 | Vanderbilt | 4-3 |
| Florida State | 4-3 | Ohio | 4-3 | Virginia | 4-3 |
| Fresno State | 4-3 | Ohio State | 4-3 | Virginia Tech | 4-3 |
| Georgia | 3-4 | Oklahoma | 4-3 | Wake Forest | 3-4 |
| Georgia Tech | 3-4 | Oklahoma State | 4-3 | Washington | 4-3 |
| Hawaii | 4-3 | Ole Miss | 4-3 | Washington State | 4-3 |
| Houston | 3-4 | Oregon | 4-3 | West Virginia | 3-3-5 |
| Idaho | 4-3 | Oregon State | 4-3 | Western Kentucky | 4-3 |
| Illinois | 4-3 | Penn State | 4-3 | Western Michigan | 4-2-5 |
| Indiana | 4-3 | Pittsburgh | 3-4 | Wisconsin | 4-3 |
| Iowa | 4-3 | Purdue | 4-3 | Wyoming | 4-3 |
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Yes Clemsons base is 4-3 vs pro personnel
But in truth if you counted snaps youd say we are 4-2-5
by DrB on Jan 5, 2012 9:20 PM EST via mobile reply actions
What is the threshold for determining the alignment? 51% of the time?
What are you glorifying with your life?
i've been curious about this for some time
particularly in light of how different defenses require different types of players.
here’s a pie chart i whipped up to give an idea of the proportion teams are using the different base schemes.
Remember the Rose Bowl: The Story of the Alabama Crimson Tide & the Grandaddy of Them All
why?
A wise polish man once said: If you don't look out for #1, you get a hand full of #2
by PalmAireNole on Jan 9, 2012 11:43 AM EST up reply actions
I would have expect more 3-4 than that
given that it’s typically DL that is generally the most difficult position to fill up with talent.
Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts. - R. Feynman
South Carolina runs a 4-2-5
Their hybrid Spur was 2nd team All-American at safety.
"Lattimore, as the kids can say, can ball, and sometimes does it to the extent one might say [he] is out of control in his balling." - Spencer Hall
by GwinnettGamecock on Jan 7, 2012 1:19 AM EST reply actions
You may now switch the defensive alignments for Arizon and West Virginia....
Jeff Casteel’s 3-3-5 is going to the desert to be with RichRod. The two most talked about replacements for him at WVU both work in the 4-3.
2012 Orange Bowl Champs: "I haven’t seen a Tiger take a beating like that since Elin grabbed her 9-iron."
I like the thought process behind this, buuuuttt...
… I’m not sure the data you’re going to glean from it is going to be all that accurate or useful. Multiple fronts are becoming more and more common, and it can get really hairy talking about the substantive difference between, say, a 4-3 that runs a lot of nickel and a 4-2-5 or a base 3-4 and a 3-3-5 stack. It’s the equivalent of calling Oregon and West Virginia both “spread” teams- it’s true, but not real helpful in understanding what they’re trying to do.
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