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Week 5 Five Factors box scores

Five Factors stats from each game of the college football season’s fifth week.

By Bill C.
NCAA Football: Iowa at Michigan State Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

This week’s Five Factors box scores are up! Check out all the results here. Week 5’s superior performances in each category are below.

Top 5 success rate margins (vs. FBS)

  1. Oregon (+29% vs. Cal)
  2. Pitt (+27% vs. Rice)
  3. Alabama (+26% vs. Ole Miss)
  4. Ohio State (+26% vs. Rutgers)
  5. Navy (+21% vs. Tulsa)

I would say Oregon responded pretty well to the surprising loss to Arizona State. Posting a success rate over 50 percent (54) and holding your opponent under 30 percent (25) will win you just about every game you play.

Top 5 yards per play margins (vs. FBS)

  1. Ohio State (+6.2 vs. Rutgers)
  2. New Mexico (+5.3 vs. Air Force)
  3. Auburn (+4.9 vs. Mississippi State)
  4. Alabama (+3.6 vs. Ole Miss)
  5. WMU (+3.2 vs. Ball State)

Better wake up quickly, Mississippi State.

Top 5 field position margins (vs. FBS)

  1. WMU (+29.7 vs. Ball State)
  2. Arkansas (+19.1 vs. NMSU)
  3. Alabama (+17.3 vs. Ole Miss)
  4. Michigan State (+16.7 vs. Iowa)
  5. Boston College (+16.4 vs. CMU)

On a per-play basis, Michigan State and Iowa was virtually dead even. They had a nearly identical success rate and struggled at an almost equal level to turn scoring chances into points. But thanks to a drastic field position edge, Sparty created two more chances. That was enough to win by seven.

Top 5 points per scoring opportunity margins (vs. FBS)

  1. Ohio State (+7.0 vs. Rutgers)
  2. Georgia (+5.9 vs. Tennessee)
  3. Alabama (+4.9 vs. Ole Miss)
  4. UNLV (+4.1 vs. SJSU)
  5. Nebraska (+4.1 vs. Illinois)

It’s hard to create three scoring chances and still get shut out. Congrats, Rutgers.

Top 5 turnovers luck margins (vs. FBS)

  1. Utah State (+4.1 vs. BYU)
  2. SDSU (+2.8 vs. NIU)
  3. Georgia (+2.6 vs. Tennessee)
  4. Mississippi State (+2.4 vs. Auburn)
  5. Florida State (+2.2 vs. Wake Forest)

Translation: Utah State had a turnover margin that was +4.1 ahead of where national averages suggest it should have been. As each turnover is worth approximately five points, that means BYU suffered about 20-21 points’ worth of bad turnovers luck. In a 16-point loss.

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