Week 9 college football Five Factors box scores

This week’s Five Factors box scores are up! Check out all the results here. Week 6’s superior performances in each category are below.

Top 5 success rate margins (vs. FBS)

1. Ohio (+40% vs. Ball State)
2. Utah State (+34% vs. New Mexico)
3. Oklahoma (+33% vs. Kansas State)
4. Utah (+32% vs. UCLA)
5. Notre Dame (+27% vs. Navy)

A week after an unimpressive win over Wyoming, USU surged back to 21st in S&P+ with some cruel dominance of New Mexico.

Top 5 yards per play margins (vs. FBS)

1. Oklahoma (+5.7 vs. Kansas State)
2. WVU (+4.5 vs. Baylor)
3. North Texas (+4.4 vs. Rice)
4. Clemson (+3.5 vs. FSU)
5. Utah State (+3.4 vs. New Mexico)

Goodness, OU was unmerciful. The Sooners very much solidified their No. 3 S&P+ ranking.

Top 5 field position margins (vs. FBS)

1. Clemson (+20.3 yards per possession vs. FSU)
2. Toledo (+18.4 vs. WMU)
3. Ohio (+18.4 vs. Ball State)
4. Fresno State (+16.5 vs. Hawaii)
5. Utah (+16.2 vs. UCLA)

That’s some hefty field-tilting there, Clemson.

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

1. Mississippi State (+5.1 vs. Texas A&M)
2. Troy (+3.5 vs. South Alabama)
3. Texas State (+3.4 vs. NMSU)
4. Utah State (+3.4 vs. New Mexico)
5. UAB (+3.4 vs. UTEP)

Texas A&M created seven scoring opportunities to Mississippi State’s four but managed to lose by 15. That’s hard to do.

Top 5 turnovers luck margins (vs. FBS)

1. Georgia Southern (+4.0 vs. Appalachian State)
2. MTSU (+3.0 vs. ODU)
3. Cal (+2.5 vs. Washington)
4. Georgia (+2.2 vs. Florida)
5. Utah State (+2.2 vs. New Mexico)

Translation: Cal had a turnover margin that was +2.5 ahead of where national averages suggest it should have been. As each turnover is worth approximately five points, that means the Golden Bears enjoyed about a 12 or 13-point boost thanks to turnovers luck. Made quite the difference in a two-point win (and explains why Washington only fell one spot in S&P+ despite the loss).