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Week 1 Five Factors box scores

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By Bill C.
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BYU v LSU Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Week 1 of the college football season technically began about 10 days ago and finally ended last night. But the week’s not officially complete until the Five Factors box scores are up.

Well, they’re up.

Top 5 success rate margins (vs. FBS)

  1. Oklahoma (+40% vs. UTEP)
  2. Clemson (+38% vs. Kent State)
  3. LSU (+33% vs. BYU)
  4. Michigan State (+30% vs. Bowling Green)
  5. Penn State (+26% vs. Akron)

LSU just bullied BYU on Saturday night.

Top 5 yards per play margins (vs. FBS)

  1. Penn State (+6.2 vs. Akron)
  2. Clemson (+6.1 vs. Kent State)
  3. Oklahoma State (+5.8 vs. Tulsa)
  4. Auburn (+5.4 vs. Georgia Southern)
  5. James Madison (+4.9 vs. ECU)

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an FCS team outgaining an FBS team by five yards per play. That says a lot about JMU, which finished in last season’s Sagarin top 40. It might also say a lot about ECU, which was really hoping a boatload of transfers could help the team bounce back after a miserable 2016. So far, it’s an even more miserable 2017.

Top 5 field position margins (vs. FBS)

  1. Kentucky (+26.8 vs. Southern Miss)
  2. Alabama (+21.9 vs. Florida State)
  3. LSU (+15.8 vs. BYU)
  4. Coastal Carolina (+14.9 vs. UMass)
  5. UCF (+14.8 vs. FIU)

Special teams destroyed FSU on Saturday night in Atlanta.

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

  1. Penn State (+5.0 vs. Akron)
  2. Wisconsin (+4.5 vs. Utah State)
  3. Auburn (+4.1 vs. Georgia Southern)
  4. Purdue (+4.0 vs. Louisville)
  5. LSU (+3.9 vs. BYU)

Purdue had some good fumbles luck against Louisville, which helped the Boilermakers stay close, but they also finished their scoring chances infinitely better than the Cardinals.

Top 5 turnovers luck margins (vs. FBS)

  1. Tennessee State (+3.4* vs. Georgia State)
  2. Liberty (+3.2 vs. Baylor)
  3. Washington (+2.5 vs. Rutgers)
  4. Florida (+2.2 vs. Michigan)
  5. James Madison (+2.1 vs. ECU)

Translation: Tennessee State had a turnover margin that was +3.4 ahead of where national averages suggest it should have been. As each turnover is worth approximately five points, that means GSU had to deal with about 17 points’ worth of bad turnovers luck.

Perhaps not surprisingly, two of the bigger upsets of the week lead off this category. It takes a lot to create a big upset sometimes.

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