Jimbo Fisher had to deal with a mountain of distractions, an ocean of injuries, and the harsh sunlight of constant scrutiny… and didn’t allow his team to fall off the precipice throughout an emotionally exhausting regular season. Not an ordinary feat, by any means.

Statistical Summer: Two-Year Drive Start Rankings In The ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten

Yesterday, in a statistical realm that will be called “Turf Battle” over the course of the coming regular season, we looked at short-field drives and points over the past two seasons in the Pac-12 and the SEC. Today, we round out the remaining power-five conferences. Tomorrow, we’ll look at the Mountain West, The American, and the four major independents. Remember that a touchdown is assumed to be seven points, regardless of the actual outcome on a PAT or two-point conversion.

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NOTE: In 2012, stats were tabulated including end-of-game possessions with a lead. In 2013, seeing the lack of value in those possessions, they were dropped from Turf Battle’s tabulations. You will notice the decline in the number of recorded short-field drive starts in 2013. This is a product of the shift in stat-keeping, not an on-field trend. Several possessions were lopped off as a result of the procedural adjustment.

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ACC TURF BATTLE STATS AND RANKINGS, 2012 AND 2013

2012 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES WITH TEAM RANKINGS ATTACHED

1. Florida State, 35

2. North Carolina, 26

3. Miami, 25

4. North Carolina State, 23

5. Georgia Tech, 22

6. Tie — Boston College, Clemson, Duke, and Wake Forest, 21

10. Virginia Tech, 20

11. Maryland, 19

12. Virginia, 15

Pittsburgh and Syracuse played in the Big East in 2012. Pittsburgh had 24 short-field drive starts, Syracuse 22.

2012 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS

1. Florida State, 165 — Jimbo Fisher might not look happy in the cover photo above, but his program has easily been the best in the ACC over the past two years in terms of short-field production. FSU has been the best in all of college football, as a matter of fact.

2. North Carolina, 117

3. Clemson, 105

4. Georgia Tech, 97

5. North Carolina State, 92

6. Miami, 86

7. Tie — Duke and Virginia Tech, 75

9. Wake Forest, 58

10. Maryland, 47

11. Virginia, 41

12. Boston College, 37

Playing in the Big East, Pittsburgh scored 105 points, Syracuse 75.

2013 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES

1. Florida State, 30

2. Clemson, 25

3. Maryland, 23

4. Virginia Tech, 22

5. Syracuse, 21

6. Pittsburgh, 20

7. Tie — Virginia and Wake Forest, 19

9. Tie — Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Miami, 18

12. North Carolina State, 17

13. North Carolina, 16

14. Duke, 15

2013 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS

1. Florida State, 159

2. Georgia Tech, 87

3. Miami, 84

4. Syracuse, 81

5. Pittsburgh, 80

6. Boston College, 78

7. Clemson, 77

8. Maryland, 73

9. North Carolina, 62

10. Virginia Tech, 61

11. Tie — Duke and Wake Forest, 54

13. North Carolina State, 50

14. Virginia, 33

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BIG 12 TURF BATTLE STATS AND RANKINGS, 2012 AND 2013

2012 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES

1. Kansas State, 40

2. TCU, 30

3. Tie — Oklahoma State and Texas, 21

5. Tie — Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma, 18

8. Tie — Kansas and Texas Tech, 15

10. West Virginia, 14

2012 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS

1. Kansas State, 172 (this was the highest total in the nation in 2012, eclipsing Florida State’s 165)

2. Oklahoma State, 125

3. TCU, 114

4. Tie — Texas and Texas Tech, 83

6. Baylor, 76

7. Oklahoma, 61

8. Iowa State, 54

9. West Virginia, 44

10. Kansas, 38

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Baylor head coach Art Briles watched his team become a short-field producer last season. Was the arrival of a Big 12 title a mere coincidence? We think not.

Baylor head coach Art Briles watched his team become a short-field producer last season. Was the arrival of a Big 12 title a mere coincidence? We think not.

2013 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES

1. Baylor, 25

2. Texas Tech, 24

3. Oklahoma State, 23

4. Kansas, 22

5. Tie — Kansas State and TCU, 21

7. Iowa State, 19

8. West Virginia, 18

9. Texas, 17

10. Oklahoma, 15

2013 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS

1. Baylor, 115

2. Tie — Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, 103

4. Kansas State, 87

5. Oklahoma, 76

6. West Virginia, 75

7. TCU, 69

8. Iowa State, 61

9. Kansas, 60

10. Texas, 39

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BIG TEN TURF BATTLE STATS AND RANKINGS, 2012 AND 2013

2012 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES

1. Penn State, 29

2. Wisconsin, 28

3. Purdue, 27

4. Tie — Minnesota and Nebraska, 22

6. Tie — Northwestern and Ohio State, 19

8. Tie — Michigan and Michigan State, 15

10. Iowa, 14

11. Tie — Illinois and Indiana, 13

2012 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS

1. Nebraska, 109

2. Penn State, 103

3. Wisconsin, 93

4. Ohio State, 84

5. Purdue, 80

6. Northwestern, 73

7. Michigan, 70

8. Minnesota, 65

9. Indiana, 61

10. Illinois, 55

11. Michigan State, 37

12. Iowa, 34

2013 SHORT-FIELD DRIVES

1. Iowa, 24

2. Tie — Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin, 22

6. Tie — Michigan State and Penn State, 20

8. Northwestern, 17

9. Minnesota, 16

10. Nebraska, 15

11. Purdue, 12

12. Illinois, 7

2013 SHORT-FIELD POINT TOTALS

1. Ohio State, 136

2. Indiana, 111

3. Michigan, 85

4. Minnesota, 82

5. Iowa, 72

6. Michigan State, 71

7. Wisconsin, 65

8. Penn State, 64

9. Nebraska, 62

10. Northwestern, 47

11. Illinois, 24

12. Purdue, 20

About Matt Zemek

Editor, @TrojansWire | CFB writer since 2001 |

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