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2012 Nebraska Cornhuskers Football: Statistical Profile

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2011 Schedule & Results

Record: 9-4 | Adj. Record: 7-6 | Final F/+ Rk: 26
Date Opponent Score W-L Adj. Score Adj. W-L
3-Sep UT-Chattanooga 40-7 W 22.1 - 21.9 W
10-Sep Fresno State 42-29 W 28.6 - 27.5 W
17-Sep Washington 51-38 W 29.2 - 29.5 L
24-Sep at Wyoming 38-14 W 31.4 - 24.0 W
1-Oct at Wisconsin 17-48 L 29.0 - 29.4 L
8-Oct Ohio State 34-27 W 32.2 - 29.3 W
22-Oct at Minnesota 41-14 W 29.0 - 29.4 L
29-Oct Michigan State 24-3 W 29.4 - 12.3 W
5-Nov Northwestern 25-28 L 27.2 - 28.8 L
12-Nov at Penn State 17-14 W 28.6 - 27.6 W
19-Nov at Michigan 17-45 L 26.0 - 28.2 L
25-Nov Iowa 20-7 W 26.2 - 21.3 W
2-Jan vs. South Carolina 13-30 L 27.2 - 30.2 L
Category Offense Rk Defense Rk
Points Per Game 29.2 50 23.4 42
Adj. Points Per Game 28.2 51 26.1 37

2012 Schedule & Projection Factors

2012 Schedule
Date Opponent Proj. Rk
1-Sep Southern Miss 46
8-Sep at UCLA 58
15-Sep Arkansas State 87
22-Sep Idaho State NR
29-Sep Wisconsin 18
6-Oct at Ohio State 20
20-Oct at Northwestern 68
27-Oct Michigan 12
3-Nov at Michigan State 19
10-Nov Penn State 37
17-Nov Minnesota 96
23-Nov at Iowa 43
Five-Year F/+ Rk 28
Two-Year Recruiting Rk 17
TO Margin/Adj. TO Margin* -1 / -4.7
TO Luck/Game 1.4
Approx. Ret. Starters (Off. / Def.) 14 (7, 7)
Yds/Pt Margin** -2.0

Offense

Category Yards/
Game Rk
S&P+ Rk Success
Rt. Rk
PPP+ Rk
OVERALL 66 47 62 35
RUSHING 15 48 57 45
PASSING 104 39 65 25
Standard Downs 40 54 35
Passing Downs 65 90 55
Redzone 49 37 62
Q1 Rk 96 1st Down Rk 30
Q2 Rk 65 2nd Down Rk 46
Q3 Rk 17 3rd Down Rk 100
Q4 Rk 28
Adj. Line Yards Rk 68
Adj. Sack Rate Rk 57

Quarterback

Note: players in bold below are 2012 returnees. Players in italics are questionable with injury/suspension.

Player Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals Comp Att Yards Comp
Rate
TD INT Sacks Sack Rate Yards/
Att.
Taylor Martinez 6'1, 200 Jr. *** (5.7) 162 288 2,089 56.3% 13 8 20 6.5% 6.5
Brion Carnes 6'1, 200 So. **** (5.8) 2 2 26 100.0% 0 0 0 0.0% 13.0
Ron Kellogg III 6'1, 215 Jr. NR







Running Back

Player Pos. Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals Rushes Yards Yards/
Carry
Hlt Yds/
Carry
TD Adj.
POE
Rex Burkhead RB 5'11, 210 Sr. **** (5.8) 283 1,356 4.8 1.5 15 +4.5
Taylor Martinez QB 6'1, 200 Jr. *** (5.7) 168 974 5.8 2.7 9 +11.4
Ameer Abdullah RB 5'9, 180 So. *** (5.7) 42 150 3.6 1.2 3 -3.8
Braylon Heard RB 5'11, 180 So. **** (5.9) 25 114 4.6 1.7 1 -1.3
Aaron Green RB 24 105 4.4 0.7 2 +1.7
Austin Jones RB 5'10, 210 Sr. NR





Receiving Corps

Player Pos. Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals Targets Catches Yards Catch Rate Target
Rate
%SD Adj. Yds/
Target
Kenny Bell WR-X 6'1, 180 So. *** (5.7) 58 32 461 55.2% 21.2% 63.8% 5.8
Brandon Kinnie WR-X 42 22 257 52.4% 15.3% 47.6% 4.9
Quincy Enunwa WR-Z 6'2, 210 Jr. *** (5.7) 37 21 293 56.8% 13.5% 48.6% 6.2
Rex Burkhead RB 5'11, 210 Sr. **** (5.8) 26 21 177 80.8% 9.5% 23.1% 6.4
Kyler Reed TE 6'3, 230 Sr. *** (5.6) 24 15 257 62.5% 8.8% 62.5% 9.6
Jamal Turner WR-A 6'1, 180 So. **** (5.8) 24 15 243 62.5% 8.8% 45.8% 8.8
Ben Cotton TE 6'6, 255 Sr. *** (5.7) 22 14 189 63.6% 8.0% 59.1% 7.9
Tim Marlowe WR-A 5'10, 175 Sr. ** (5.1) 22 12 113 54.5% 8.0% 27.3% 4.3
Khiry Cooper WR-Z


8 4 60 50.0% 2.9% 50.0% 3.1
Tyler Legate FB


5 4 21 80.0% 1.8% 80.0% 7.1
Jordan Westerkamp WR 6'2, 195 Fr. **** (5.8)






Offensive Line

Player Pos. Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals Career Starts/Honors/Notes
Mike Caputo C 26 career starts, 2011 2nd All-Big Ten
Marcel Jones RT 23 career starts
Jeremiah Sirles LT 6'6, 320 Jr. *** (5.7) 14 career starts
Yoshi Hardrick LT 13 career starts
Spencer Long RG 6'4, 305 Jr. NR 13 career starts
Andrew Rodriguez LG 6'6, 325 Jr. **** (5.8) 8 career starts
Seung Hoon Choi LG 6'2, 290 Sr. NR 5 career starts
Tyler Moore RT 6'6, 290 So. **** (5.9) 4 career starts
Cole Pensick C 6'2, 275 Jr. *** (5.5)
Brent Qvale RG 6'7, 320 Jr. *** (5.5)
Brandon Thompson RG 6'6, 300 Sr. *** (5.5)
Ryan Klachko OL 6'4, 300 RSFr. **** (5.8)
Ryne Reeves OL 6'3, 295 RSFr. **** (5.8)
Zach Sterup OL 6'8, 295 RSFr. **** (5.8)
Paul Thurston OL 6'5, 274 Fr. **** (5.8)

Defense

Category Yards/
Game Rk
S&P+ Rk Success
Rt. Rk
PPP+ Rk
OVERALL 37 19 20 18
RUSHING 64 29 39 28
PASSING 18 15 14 19
Standard Downs 42 36 43
Passing Downs 14 10 19
Redzone 13 15 16
Q1 Rk 24 1st Down Rk 54
Q2 Rk 9 2nd Down Rk 4
Q3 Rk 47 3rd Down Rk 38
Q4 Rk 70
Adj. Line Yards Rk 49
Adj. Sack Rate Rk 71

Defensive Line

Name Pos Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals GP Tackles % of Team TFL Sacks Int PBU FF FR
Cameron Meredith DE 6'4, 260 Sr. *** (5.7) 13 42.5 6.1% 6 5 1 1
Lance Thorell DB 13 31.0 4.5% 1 1 2
Baker Steinkuhler DT 6'6, 290 Sr. ***** (6.1) 13 29.5 4.3% 5 2 2
Eric Martin DE 6'2, 260 Sr. *** (5.7) 12 16.5 2.4% 4 2.5 1
Jared Crick DT 5 14.5 2.1% 3 1 1
Terrence Moore DT 13 13.0 1.9% 2 1 1
Jason Ankrah DE 6'4, 265 Jr. **** (5.8) 12 11.5 1.7% 3 1
Josh Williams DE


13 10.0 1.4% 1
Chase Rome DT 6'3, 295 So. **** (5.8) 10 8.5 1.2% 1 1 1
Thaddeus Randle DT 6'1, 300 Jr. *** (5.7) 6 6.0 0.9% 1 1
Joseph Carter DT 6'5, 250 Sr. *** (5.7) 10 5.5 0.8%
Jay Guy DT 6'1, 290 So. *** (5.6)
Todd Peat, Jr. DT 6'3, 305 RSFr. **** (5.8)
Greg McMullen DE 6'5, 255 Fr. **** (5.8)

Linebackers

Name Pos Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals GP Tackles % of Team TFL Sacks Int PBU FF FR
Lavonte David WILL 13 99.0 14.3% 13 5.5 2 2 3 2
Will Compton MIKE 6'2, 230 Sr. **** (5.8) 13 60.5 8.7% 7 0.5 1
Sean Fisher BUCK 6'6, 235 Sr. *** (5.7) 10 15.5 2.2% 3
Alonzo Whaley BUCK 6'1, 235 Sr. *** (5.6) 13 8.5 1.2% 2
Graham Stoddard BUCK 6'2, 235 Sr. NR 13 8.5 1.2% 1
Jim Ebke WILL 13 6.5 0.9%
Mathew May WILL 12 6.5 0.9% 1
Trevor Roach MIKE 6'2, 235 So. NR 5 4.5 0.6% 2
Zaire Anderson WILL 6'1, 220 Jr. **** (5.8)
David Santos LB 6'0, 220 RSFr. **** (5.8)

Secondary

Name Pos Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Rivals GP Tackles % of Team TFL Sacks Int PBU FF FR
Daimion Stafford S 6'1, 210 Sr. **** (5.8) 13 63.0 9.1% 3 0.5 10 1
Austin Cassidy S 13 50.0 7.2% 2 4 1
Andrew Green CB 6'0, 190 Jr. *** (5.7) 13 38.5 5.5% 2 1 8
Alfonzo Dennard CB 10 28.5 4.1% 6
P.J. Smith S 6'2, 210 Sr. *** (5.7) 11 27.0 3.9% 1 1
Ciante Evans S 5'11, 185 Jr. *** (5.7) 13 25.0 3.6% 1 3
Justin Blatchford DB 6'1, 200 Sr. NR 13 9.5 1.4% 1
Corey Cooper S 11 8.5 1.2%
Stanley Jean-Baptiste CB 6'3, 220 Jr. NR 9 7.0 1.0% 1 1
Harvey Jackson S 6'2, 205 So. *** (5.6) 12 7.0 1.0%
Dijon Washington CB 13 4.5 0.6%
Courtney Osborne S 6'3, 200 Jr. *** (5.5) 5 4.0 0.6%
Mohammed Seisay CB 6'2, 200 Jr. **** (5.9)
Braylon Heard CB 5'11, 185 So. **** (5.9)
Alonzo Moore DB 6'2, 170 Fr. **** (5.8)

Special Teams

Punter Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Punts Avg TB FC I20 FC/I20
Ratio
Brett Maher 6'0, 185 Sr. 59 44.5 3 9 25 57.6%
Kicker Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Kickoffs Avg TB TB%
Brett Maher 6'0, 185 Sr. 72 67.4 20 27.8%
Mauro Bondi 6'0, 190 So. 4 66.8 0 0.0%
Place-Kicker Ht, Wt 2012
Year
PAT FG
(0-39)
Pct FG
(40+)
Pct
Brett Maher 6'0, 185 Sr. 43-44 12-13 92.3% 7-10 70.0%
Mauro Bondi 6'0, 190 So. 1-1 0-0 N/A 0-0 N/A
Returner Pos. Ht, Wt 2012
Year
Returns Avg. TD
Ameer Abdullah KR 5'9, 180 So. 26 29.3 1
Tim Marlowe KR 5'10, 175 Sr. 10 19.5 0
Ameer Abdullah PR 5'9, 180 So. 15 7.1 0
Tim Marlowe PR 5'10, 175 Sr. 2 6.5 0
Category Rk
Special Teams F/+ 14
Net Punting 27
Net Kickoffs 30
Touchback Pct 21
Field Goal Pct 17
Kick Returns Avg 6
Punt Returns Avg 76

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Glossary

Adj. Line Yards: A line measure derived from the formula found here. The idea is to divvy credit for a given rush between both the runner and the blockers.

Adj. Pace: Part of the offensive footprint, this takes into account both the number of plays a team attempts and the type of play. Since passes, on average, take up less time (thanks to the fact that 30-50 percent of them are incomplete and stop the clock), pass-heavy offenses are prone to run more plays, therefore limiting the effectiveness of a general plays-per-game measure. Adj. Pace takes a team's run-pass ratio into account.

Adj. POE: An opponent-adjusted "Points Over Expected" measure for running backs that looks both at what a runner gained and what would have been expected given the opponents involved. For more information, start here.

Adj. Points: A look at how a team would have performed in a given week if playing a perfectly average team, with a somewhat average number of breaks and turnovers. The idea for the measure is simple: what if everybody in the country played exactly the same opponent every single week? Who would have done the best? It is an attempt to look at offensive and defensive consistency without getting sidetracked by easy or difficult schedules. And yes, with adjusted score you can allow a negative number of points. For more, start here.

Adj. Record: See Adj. Points.

Adj. Sack Rate: An opponent-adjusted measure of sack rates.

Adj. Score: See Adj. Points.

Adj. TO Margin: What a team's turnover margin would have been if they had recovered exactly 50 percent of all the fumbles that occurred in their games. If there is a huge difference between TO Margin and Adj. TO Margin (in other words, if fumbles, dropped interceptions, or other unlucky bounces were the main source of a good/bad TO margin), that suggests that a team's luck was particularly good or bad and might even out the next season.

Adj. Yards Per Target: A look at a receiver's total receiving yards divided by the number of times he was targeted. Slight adjustments are made for the percentage of times a receiver was targeted on standard ("%SD") and passing downs. Players targeted more on passing downs are likely to have a lower overall per-target average, since passing is more difficult on passing downs.

Bend-Don't-Break: Part of the defensive footprint, this is a comparison of a team's Def. Success Rate (efficiency) to its Def. PPP (explosiveness). The higher the number, the higher percentage of a team's overall S&P was made up by success rate, i.e. the more willing a team was to sacrifice efficiency to prevent big plays. (The lower the number, the more likely a team was to take aggressive risks.)

Covariance: Covariance is a statistical tool that provides a measure of the strength of the correlation between two or more sets of random variates. For these purposes, it is used to compare a team's performance (using opponent-adjusted Adj. Score) to the quality of the opponent at hand. Some teams play their best games against their worst opponents, and some teams do the opposite. This measure is used for both the offensive and defensive footprint. For more, go here.

Go After the Ball: Part of the defensive footprint, this looks at a team's forced fumbles, interceptions and passes broken up. In other words, it looks at their ability to go after the ball. The higher the number, the more they got their hands on the football.

Highlight Yards: The portion of a given run that is credit only to the running back; after a certain number of yards, the line has done its job, and most of the rest of the run will be determined by the running back himself. For more information, start here.

Need for Blitzes: Part of the defensive footprint, this compares a team's standard downs sack rate to its passing downs sack rate. The lower the number, the more they were able to generate pressure on standard downs, and the less need for blitzes.

Turnovers Luck: Presented in Points Per Game fashion, Turnovers Luck looks at the difference between a team's Turnover and Adj. TO Margins and, using the average point value of a turnover (~5.0 points), projects how many points a team gained or lost per game last season.

Yards Per Point: A measure long tracked by Phil Steele as a means of looking at teams that were a little too efficient or inefficient the previous season. A positive YPP Margin means a team's offense was less efficient than opponents' offenses, and to the extent that luck was involved, their luck might even out the next year.