6 Week Mini-Snapshot: Is it Just UF's Offense?

The Gators are 4-2, and many fans believe that lackluster offensive playcalling is to blame for much of the team's woes. Voicing displeasure about the way offensive coordinator Steve Addazio has run the offense is quickly becoming a tradition much like the Gator Walk. So, is it really his fault? How do the Gators stack up on both sides of the ball when compared to the first 6 games of last season?

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Why There's No Reason For The Orange & Blue To Panic

So far this season I've heard more than one Gator fan talk about a win as though it were a loss. Close victories against Tennessee and LSU have been met with skepticism about the lack of a flashy, explosive passing game instead of enthusiastic banter about just how incredible this year's defensive squad is. Which is a bit odd considering that just about everyone in the country pegged Florida's returning two-deep defense as the reason they had a shot at repeating. Besides, is this year's team that far off from last year's through the first five games?

In one word, no.

In a few ways they're actually much better than last year's team was at this point.

The 2009 squad is undefeated, unlike the '08 team that started 4-1. They're also stronger on both sides of the ball. Check out the stats(through the first five games):

2008

Rushing Offense: 178.60 yds/gm
Passing Offense: 211.60 yds/gm
Total Offense: 390.20 yds/gm
Scoring Offense: 36 pts/gm

Rushing Defense: 99.60 yds/gm
Passing Defense: 165.40 yds/gm
Total Defense: 265 yds/gm
Scoring Defense: 11.40 pts/gm

2009

Rushing Offense: 284.60 yds/gm
Passing Offense: 201.80 yds/gm
Total Offense: 486.40 yds/gm
Scoring Offense: 39 pts/gm

Rushing Defense: 87.40 yds/gm
Passing Defense: 115.20 yds/gm
Total Defense: 202.60 yds/gm
Scoring Defense: 6.40 pts/gm

Last year's team really didn't get it going until the second half of the Arkansas game in week 5, and if this year's team improves at all on its current numbers it's definitely going to have a great shot at repeating.

Already, the offense is averaging more yards and points, and the running game that's been missing for a few seasons is running roughshod. The defense is stifling opponents, and is giving up an average of less than seven points per game. In fact, they've only allowed two touchdowns in five games so far. If they continue putting up those type of numbers, then they have a chance of being the best defense to ever take the field for the Gators.

So, cheer up Gator fans. Yes, there have been a few games where the score was closer than you might have liked. Though, I think that has more to do with the team playing a little under par in the red zone than anything else. This year's squad is every bit as good, if not much better, than the one that was able to capture both the SEC and BCS titles last year.

Rooting For "The Big Ticket"

I've always been a fan of Kevin Garnett. During his years in Minnesota, I saw him as an extremely talented player that never had a great ensemble cast. He was asked to do a lot, and seemingly left everything he had out on the court every night. Over time, it appeared that he would become another great player that never won a championship. However, when he was traded to Boston the prospects for that improved, and now here he is just one win away from his first NBA Finals appearance. Though, it's taken him 13 seasons to reach this point. However, in that time he has racked up some impressive statistics.

Garnett's been selected as an All-Star for 11 out of his 13 seasons. The only two seasons where he wasn't chosen as an All-Star were '95-'96, his rookie year, and '98-'99, when there was no All-Star game due to the lockout.

He was selected as the League MVP in '03-'04.

He's been ranked in the top 10 in defensive rebounds over the past 10 seasons, and is currently second among active players and eighth among all NBA players.

He's also been ranked in the top 10 in total rebounds over the past 10 seasons, and is currently third among active players and 25th among all NBA players.

He lead the league in total points during his MVP season in '03-'04, and is ranked fourth among active players with 20,378 points. That total is good enough to have him ranked 31st among all NBA players.

Garnett is currently eighth among active players with 1,665 blocks, and is ranked 23rd among career NBA players.

He's also averaged 49.4% shooting from the field, 78.1% from the free throw line and 37.9 minutes per game for his career.

All in all, Garnett has put up solid numbers year in and year out. Unfortunately, the biggest areas that are lacking are playoff games played, 66 as of right now, and championships, 0 as this entry is being posted. For comparison, one of Garnett's opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals, Tayshaun Prince, has tallied 113 playoff games and an NBA Championship in just 6 years. Hopefully, Garnett can pull even in the title category over the next few weeks.

The Orlando Magic Need A Pyramid Scheme To Play Better At Home

In sports, you usually think that the home team has somewhat of an advantage over their opponent. However, this season the Orlando Magic's opponents probably can't wait to face them in the Amway Arena. The reason? The Magic are 15-5 on the road, and just 7-7 at home.

And how has this happened? Well, when they hit the road the Magic average 104 points per game, and shoot an average of 73% from the charity stripe. At home, they average 102 points, and make an average of 68% of their free throws. For the most part, their other statistics are pretty close no matter where they're playing.

In examining the four home losses that were in the double digits we can see that the Magic didn't shoot particularly well from either the floor or the free throw line. Their field goal averages in those four losses were 40%, 47%, 39% and 45%. The corresponding free throw averages were 66%, 42%, 60% and 62%. You can see that even in the one loss where they shot ok from the floor their poor free throw shooting doomed them.

I know that a number of people have raised questions about the Magic's struggles at home, but after looking at the statistics it appears that they should be able to achieve more success at the Amway Arena in the future. The first step is to raise their free throw percentage to what it is when they play on the road. Doing that will instantly better their odds of winning more home games. The Magic have the pieces in place to win a considerable amount of games, as their away record shows. They just have to put it together more consistently when they play at home so they can match the intensity and success that they've had on the road.

Bowl Season '07, Racking Up The Frequent Flyer Miles

The pairings have been announced. We know where each of the 64 teams invited to the postseason will be heading. But how far do they have to travel? And which teams get to stay close to home, while others get to accumulate mass amounts of frequent flyer miles? Let's check out the stats, and see what we come up with.

Crank Up The Distance Calculator Here
First, the mileage listed is an estimation from Google maps. Second, I put this list together mostly for fun, but also as a rough idea of how far each team's fanbase has to travel. While all teams have fans spread throughout the country, the highest concentration is probably on the campus of each respective school. You can view/cut & paste all of the mileage info here.

It's Like Playing In Their Backyard!
For two bowl teams, walking to the stadium might be the fastest way to get there. Both New Mexico and Houston are playing in their respective home cities, and New Mexico actually gets to play in their home stadium.

I Just Flew In For My Bowl Game, And Boy Are My Arms Tired
The winner for the farthest distance traveled is East Carolina. They're going to rack up an impressive 4,861 miles one-way on their journey to Honolulu. Of course, Hawaii came in a close second with 4,204 miles one-way as they head to the Sugar Bowl. Nothing like the distant third place that Colt Brennan secured in the Heisman voting against "system quarterback" Tim Tebow(zing!).

We'll Give You A Head Start And Probably Still Beat You There
Which bowl games have the biggest differential in terms of miles traveled between the two teams? We already talked about how far East Carolina and Hawaii have to travel. Overall, Hawaii leads the way with a 3,663 mile differential between them and their opponent, Georgia(541 miles to the Sugar Bowl). And while East Carolina does have to travel a long way, there's a 2,026 mile differential between them and Boise State's itinerary(2,835 miles to Honolulu), it's actually Maryland that holds down the #2 spot. The difference in mileage to the Emerald Bowl between them and Oregon State is 2,242 miles. Illinois(2,001 miles) heading to the Rose Bowl to face USC(10 miles), 1,991 mile differential, and Navy(2,710 miles) shipping out to the Poinsettia Bowl against Utah(751 miles), a 1,959 mile differential, occupy the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

Need A Ride? We'll Swing By And Pick You Up
And what about the bowls with the lowest mileage differential? In first place, is the International Bowl featuring Ball State(511 miles) and Rutgers(499 miles), and its mere 12 miles of travel differential. The Chick-fil-A Bowl is a close second at 16 miles, and features Clemson(124 miles traveled) and Auburn(108 miles). Third place goes to the Champs Sports Bowl(64 miles) and its two teams, Boston College(1,290 miles) and Michigan State(1,226 miles). Fourth place is held by the Sun Bowl(69 miles), which features South Florida(1,724 miles) and Oregon(1,655 miles). And fifth place goes to the Las Vegas Bowl(108 miles), which showcases BYU(378 miles) and UCLA(270 miles).

What About The Big Boys?
We already know that the Sugar Bowl has the highest travel differential between its two teams, Hawaii and Georgia. The Rose Bowl comes in second. In third, it's the Fiesta Bowl(1,099 miles), which features West Virgina(2,135 miles) and Oklahoma(1,036 miles). Fourth place goes to the BCS Title Game(829 miles), and its match-up of LSU(80 miles) and Ohio State(909 miles). Fifth place is held by the Orange Bowl(600 miles), which pits Kansas(1,489 miles) against Virginia Tech(889 miles).

Miscellaneous Trivia And Observations
Outside of New Mexico and Houston, there are a few teams that don't have to travel very far for their bowl game. Wake Forest only has to make a roughly 80 mile trip. Auburn isn't too far off with an estimated trip of just a bit over 100 miles. Florida is just a little higher with a trip of around 115 miles. USC basically walks down the street with an estimated journey of about 10 miles. And LSU gets what could be considered a homegame when they travel just 80 miles or so to play in the biggest game of the year for the BCS title.

Two bowl games feature four teams named for the cities in which they reside. They are the Chick-fil-A Bowl, which features Clemson(Clemson, SC) and Auburn(Auburn, AL), and the GMAC Bowl, which hosts Tulsa(Tulsa, OK) and Bowling Green(Bowling Green, OH).

So, that does it for the first round of bowl breakdowns here at The Sports Oasis. We're just 10 days away from the first game, the Poinsettia Bowl, so make sure you check back for more in-depth coverage as we get a little closer.

Thanks to Carl for the graphic.

Didn't Kevin Smith Deserve A Doak Invite?

Most of the time when you mention the name "Kevin Smith" people instantly think of the "movie guy"(Clerks-yaaah, Jersey Girl-booo). However, this year they should think about the Kevin Smith who plays running back for the UCF Knights. Though, if they don't, then they're probably in good company because the selection committee obviously didn't either when announcing the award's finalists.

On Monday, they whittled the list down from 10 semifinalists to 3 finalists. They are:

Mike Hart, Michigan
Darren McFadden, Arkansas
Ray Rice, Rutgers

On the surface, those might seem like great candidates, but if you check out the stats a little deeper you'll find that a case can be made for Smith's inclusion.

First, let's examine the type of defenses that the three finalists and Smith faced over the course of the season. These are stats reflecting average yards per game, and an average of total touchdowns allowed by all of the teams that each back ran against.

Hart: 147 yds/gm, 16 total TD's
McFadden: 185yds/gm, 20 total TD's
Rice: 153 yds/gm, 15 total TD's
Smith: 177 yds/gm, 18 total TD's

As you can see, Smith's averages stack up in line with the finalists. That's a good indication that the stats he's racked up at this point aren't inflated compared to the other three runners.

What about when they've faced some of the stronger teams? Here's how the four have fared when they faced opponents that were ranked at the time.

Hart: vs. Penn St.-44 rushes/153yds/3.5avg/1TD; OSU-18 rushes/44yds/2.4avg/0TD
[Average: 31 rushes/98yds/2.9avg, 1 total TD]

McFadden: vs. Kentucky-29 rushes/173yds/6.0avg/1TD; Auburn-17 rushes/43yds/2.5avg/0TD; South Carolina-35 rushes/323yds/9.2avg/1TD; Tennessee-22 rushes/117yds/5.3avg/0TD [Average: 25 rushes/164yds/5.7avg, 2 total TD]

Rice: vs. Cincy-34 rushes/94yds/2.8avg/1TD; USF-39 rushes/181yds/4.6avg/0TD; WVU-30 rushes/142yds/4.7avg/0TD; UConn-21 rushes/116yds/5.5avg/1TD
[Average: 31 rushes/133yds/4.4avg, 2 total TD]

Smith: vs. Texas-27 rushes/149yds/5.5avg/2TD; USF-18 rushes/55yds/3.1avg/0TD
[Average: 22 rushes/102yds/4.3avg, 2 total TD]

Once again, Smith's performed about the same as the other backs when facing ranked teams. In fact, only Darren McFadden seems to be far above the others in terms of average yards and yards per rush, but he doesn't have any more rushing TD's than Smith does against ranked opponents.

So, with all of those stats in mind, check out what each back has done up to this point in the season.

Mike Hart(9 games): 233 rushes/1232yds/136.9ypg/5.3avg/12TD

McFadden(11 games): 272 rushes/1519yds/138.1ypg/5.6avg/12TD

Rice(11 games): 315 rushes/1612yds/146.5ypg/5.1avg/17TD

Smith(11 games): 330 rushes/1945yds/176.8ypg/5.9avg/24TD

Kevin Smith destroys all of them in terms of total yards, average yards per game, average per rush and touchdowns. And keep in mind, that he's the only one out of the three that didn't face an FCS(division II) school all season. He's also played every game(*cough*Mike Hart*cough*).

When asked about not being one of the finalists despite his impressive numbers, Smith shrugged it off like he's shrugged off tacklers all season.

"Right now, we're trying to advance to the conference championship game," says Smith, the UCF junior who Saturday will likely become the first runner in state history to surpass the 2,000-yard mark in a single season. "That's what I'm about right now. You don't play football for awards. You play for your team.

"For them to mention me for the award is an accomplishment in itself. I congratulate those who [were the three finalists] for the Doak Walker Award."

Indeed, it is a great accomplishment to even be a semifinalist, but his stats tell the true story. This year, the name "Kevin Smith" should have been a finalist on the Doak Walker ballot, and not just thought of as that "movie guy".

Why Winning Your Season Opener In The NFL Is So Important

With the regular season of the NFL set to kick off tonight, I thought I would check out how the teams that eventually appeared in the Super Bowls over the past ten years did in their season openers. Let's just say that if your team loses on Sunday don't plan your Super Bowl party around them.

Over the past ten years, there have been 20 teams that made Super Bowl appearances(this kind of math is easy and fun!). Their combined season opener record is 16-4. Of those four losses, three were in road games('02 Tampa Bay is the lone home loser to appear in the SB), and two of the four were suffered by the New England Patriots(just another reason to hate Belichick, Brady and Co.!). The only good news is that 3 out of the 4 losers actually defied the odds, made the Super Bowl and ended up winning it. Well, it's good if you're not a fan of the '05 Seahawks(see, they really should have won that game).

So, if your team plays at home this weekend and loses, then you can probably kiss those Super Bowl aspirations goodbye. However, if they play on the road and lose, then things might not be so bad come next February.