Team & QB 2020 – Passing Breakdown

Because I like pain and heartbreak, I have spent about 12 total hours reviewing and breaking down every passing play from the 2020 season (so far). Each category is broken down by how many yards past the line of scrimmage the ball was thrown, I think this lines up with metric “air yards” which the NFL uses. With data provided by [CollegeFootballData.com](https://CollegeFootballData.com) and some manual work the following includes Nebraska’s 2020 passing breakdown:

[CFB – Passing Breakdown (NEB 2020)](https://public.tableau.com/views/CFB-PassingBreakdownNEB2020/AverageYardagePPA?:language=en&:display_count=y&publish=yes&:toolbar=n&:origin=viz_share_link)

This breakdown includes: Team vs Luke vs AM completion %, Average/Median Predicted Points Added ([explained](https://collegefootballdata.com/Glossary)) per play, Average Yardage Per Completion/Attempt, and Average Yards After Catch

Highlights:

* Yes, the games were just as painful the second time around…
* A little over **50%** of all passing plays were caught within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage (I don’t know how that correlates to other teams but found it interesting)
* The Huskers have a completion percentage of **51.1%** on passing plays 6+ yards past the line of scrimmage (AM: **55.6%** & Luke: **44.7%**)
* Annectodetly, in 3 of our games (Illinois, Iowa, & Minnesota) our first play were laterals; IMO, I don’t see the benefit of throwing a ball laterally that’s not a 3-yard pitch

I did not create this analysis to try and throw any coach or player under the bus, but I have been frustrated with the play selection this year. It seemed like most of our plays were moving sideline to sideline more than down-the-field. Overall, our play selection best resembles what the PAC-12 typically uses, but not the Big10. My guess and hope is the regression in offense is due to a new OC with minimal spring/summer practices.

Notes:

* The higher the PPA number, the more successful a single play is viewed
* If we had the ball at the opponents 5 yard-line and we attempted a throw ~5 yards in the end zone, I counted this as a passing play 10 yards downfield
* I’m looking at Luke’s stats and I am missing 2 passing attempts and completions so I will be scrubbing my data shortly

https://preview.redd.it/xsls41b0uu561.png?width=864&format=png&auto=webp&s=796b4cc7a4f64d3bc6a2189ecf578691542be939

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