Teams are in no rush to run the ball better
Squads are struggling to build ground game
MADISON, Wis. — Across the country, teams once again are discovering that establishing a rushing attack is even tougher than it was the year before.
The average yards per carry for Bowl Subdivision teams is on pace to dip for a third consecutive season. FBS teams are gaining 4.35 yards per rush, down from 4.41 in 2020, 4.46 in 2019 and 4.51 in 2018.
Nowhere is this trend more apparent than at No. 20 Wisconsin (No. 18 College Football Playoff), which has a chance to produce statistically the best season of any FBS run defense in over a decade.
Wisconsin (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) has won five straight thanks to a defense that allows just 54.7 yards rushing per game – 26 fewer than any other FBS team – and 1.9 yards per carry.
The last FBS team to finish a season allowing below 55 yards rushing per game is the 2008 TCU squad that yielded just 47.1 per game. TCU also gave up just 1.7 yards per carry that year, making it the most recent FBS team to end a season allowing below 2 yards per rush.
Yards per carry actually are up from last year in three of the Power Five leagues, thanks in part to the fact that teams from those leagues are playing more nonconference games against Group of Five or Championship Subdivision foes than they did in the pandemic-impacted 2020 season.
The big drops have come in the Group of Five, where every league’s yards per rush is down from last year’s season-ending average. New Mexico (3-6) is averaging 3.3 yards per attempt, down from 4.7 in 2020. New Mexico State (1-8) is averaging a paltry 1.8, down from its whopping 4.5 in its last full season, 2019.
Those averages should increase
slightly late in the year now that those Group of Five teams are primarily playing conference games with fewer matchups against Power Five programs. By that same logic, Power Five averages could drop a bit over the next couple of weeks.
Even so, it’s noteworthy that Conference USA teams are gaining just 3.99 yards per carry and MWC teams are mustering just 3.97. No FBS league has finished a season averaging below 4 yards per carry since American Athletic Conference teams gained 3.93 yards per rush in 2014.
Group of Five teams figured to benefit most from the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility because those leagues had fewer players who would leave school early to enter the NFL draft. While the extra year should have helped teams at every position, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun noted that defenses benefited most.
Fifteen of the 16 players who earned first-team or second-team all-Mountain West honors as defensive linemen or linebackers last season are back with their teams this year.
UCONN: Jim L. Mora, who coached Seattle and Atlanta in the NFL and UCLA in the major college ranks, was hired to take over the Huskies’ program Thursday.
Mora, 59, is the son of longtime NFL coach Jim E. Mora.
The UConn job opened when Randy Edsall abruptly announced his plan to retire after a loss to Holy Cross in Week 2. The next day, Benedict and Edsall decided to make his departure immediate and Lou Spanos was named interim coach. The Huskies (1-8) play at Clemson on Saturday.
Thursday night
No. 25 PITT 30, NORTH CAROLINA
23: In Pittsburgh, Kenny Pickett hit Lucas Krull for an 11-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Pitt’s defense did the rest as the Panthers held off North Carolina in the rain.
Pitt (8-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) kept firm control on first place in the ACC’s Coastal Division with two weeks to go after blowing a 16-point lead before collecting itself in overtime behind Pickett.