NCAA Stats

Have you seen the NCAA�s statistics board? It�s really nicely done. Each team�s stats are linked both to other teams in its conference and to the national leaders in each category.

The stat sheets have a nearly endless number of permutations. WARNING! It�s a real work productivity buster.

A quick look at the UMass stats shows about what you might expect for a 6-5 team. We were in the middle of the pack nationally in most categories. There were 117 teams in I-AA last year. We were #54 in total offense and #61 in total defense.

As you might expect, we were the #1 team in the A10 in pass efficiency defense. UMass was eighth in the A10 in total offense and ninth in scoring offense. We were eighth in the A10 in rushing defense. Looks like the conventional wisdom that in 2005 UMass needs better run defense and more output from the offense.

One surprise: we were last in the A10 in punt returns. Most of the punt returns were handled by Nathanael Hasselbeck, Jr. (5-11 196) a transfer from Boston College. In 2003 he was third in the Big East in punt returns.