Texas Football: Inside the Longhorns Advanced Stats

Last season Texas football had their ups and downs, but it goes further than just touchdowns and turnovers. Here is a deeper dive into analytics from 2019.

As we enter the month of July in what has been very eventful 2020, our eyes and ears are starting to perk up towards articles and news relating to what semblance of college football we will have this fall. It’s almost assured that the Texas football program is going to be one of those impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic at the outset of the 2020 season.

States that opened up in the past month have seen a rise in COVID-19 cases, Texas being one of them. With that being said, the revenue college football provides for universities makes me think it is nearly impossible that the season will be cancelled.

Many Texas football players have been on campus training, working out, and getting tested daily. Y’all have seen and read enough about COVID-19, so I will get into what this article is really about: advanced metrics from the 2019 season.

Not that long ago coaches and fans alike were only focused on statistics such as yardage, touchdowns, and sacks. With more capable technology being developed annually the sports world took it upon themselves to start using this technology to their advantage.

Pro Football Focus has become a very popular company that grades out each player on the field for every snap they are out there. Though their system can sometimes be flawed, it provides a different and more in-depth look into what is happening on every play.

Today I won’t be going over Pro Football Focus numbers but instead diving into three different advanced statistical categories that are major factors in the outcome of games yet often are overlooked.

I will provide the statistics from the 2019 season while citing examples of where these numbers helped or hurt Texas. Unless you rank first in a certain category, there is always room for improvement.