It's Iron Bowl week, so I decided to do another comparison of penalties called in Auburn's and Alabama's games. In doing so, I also compared their opponents' penalties against Auburn and Alabama to what they averaged against other opponents.
When I compiled my first "Who Owns the Refs?" entry, Auburn and Alabama had only played four games. They both have now played eleven games, so we should be able to get a better idea of who really owns the refs in this state.
Here are comparisons of penalties per game and penalty yards per game for Alabama, Auburn, and the SEC average.
Hmmm, interesting. While opponents were penalized more times for more yards against both teams, Alabama certainly takes the cake.
Auburn is on par with the SEC average in penalties per game and penalty yards per game. Alabama is penalized less for far less yards than the SEC average. They're number one in both categories in the SEC. When it comes to penalty yards and opponent penalty yards, Alabama is number four and number three in the nation.
Of course, there is no distinction between offensive and defensive penalties here. I'm definitely not going to sift through a bunch of play-by-plays to get the information either! However, we can see which offense is getting more of a boost from penalties by comparing first downs gained by penalties.
I included the total chart because it paints a better picture of what's going on. Auburn has gotten more first downs from penalties than the SEC average, but so has their opponents. The gap between first downs awarded to Alabama compared to their opponents is amazing. They've received more first downs from penalties than any other team in the nation. There are only four teams in the nation whose opponents have received less first downs from penalties than Alabama. Could this be because of Bama's schedule?
Auburn and Alabama have had six common opponents this year. Are their non-common opponents skewing their numbers? After all, USF and KSU are two of the top penalized teams in the country. Let's see how Alabama's and Auburn's opponents averaged against other teams.
I took the average from the opponent teams, excluding Alabama for their comparison and Auburn for theirs. Western Carolina and Tennessee Tech were excluded from this average.
Teams averaged less penalties for less yards when playing other opponents than when playing Alabama and Auburn. There is clearly a larger gap for Bama's opponents. The teams they've played have averaged less penalties for less yards per game than Auburn's opponents, yet they averaged more penalties for more yards when playing Bama.
What about their opponents' penalties?
Auburn's opponents benefited from the same number of penalties per game against other teams than they did against Auburn. The yardage is about the same as well.
Again, there is a clear difference between the number of penalties called when teams have played Alabama. Those teams benefited from more penalties for more yards per game against other opponents than the teams Auburn played. Head to head, Bama's opponents didn't get nearly as many calls or as many yards as Auburn's opponents did.
What about first downs?
Opponents got more first downs from penalties against Auburn than against other teams. Likewise, Auburn received more first downs from penalties than the other teams they played. That pretty much balances out.
Bama's comparison speaks for itself.
Basically, teams have been penalized more, for more yards, and given up more first downs from penalties when they played Bama than when they played other teams. It's not even close. And it's because of this we can conclude that Bama fans have no business complaining about calls.
I'm not sure if Bama owns the refs. Every team in the SEC has gotten their share of BS calls this year. But this screen cap taken from the Bama/Ole Miss game is mighty suspicious.
When I compiled my first "Who Owns the Refs?" entry, Auburn and Alabama had only played four games. They both have now played eleven games, so we should be able to get a better idea of who really owns the refs in this state.
Here are comparisons of penalties per game and penalty yards per game for Alabama, Auburn, and the SEC average.
Hmmm, interesting. While opponents were penalized more times for more yards against both teams, Alabama certainly takes the cake.Auburn is on par with the SEC average in penalties per game and penalty yards per game. Alabama is penalized less for far less yards than the SEC average. They're number one in both categories in the SEC. When it comes to penalty yards and opponent penalty yards, Alabama is number four and number three in the nation.
Of course, there is no distinction between offensive and defensive penalties here. I'm definitely not going to sift through a bunch of play-by-plays to get the information either! However, we can see which offense is getting more of a boost from penalties by comparing first downs gained by penalties.
I included the total chart because it paints a better picture of what's going on. Auburn has gotten more first downs from penalties than the SEC average, but so has their opponents. The gap between first downs awarded to Alabama compared to their opponents is amazing. They've received more first downs from penalties than any other team in the nation. There are only four teams in the nation whose opponents have received less first downs from penalties than Alabama. Could this be because of Bama's schedule?Auburn and Alabama have had six common opponents this year. Are their non-common opponents skewing their numbers? After all, USF and KSU are two of the top penalized teams in the country. Let's see how Alabama's and Auburn's opponents averaged against other teams.
I took the average from the opponent teams, excluding Alabama for their comparison and Auburn for theirs. Western Carolina and Tennessee Tech were excluded from this average.Teams averaged less penalties for less yards when playing other opponents than when playing Alabama and Auburn. There is clearly a larger gap for Bama's opponents. The teams they've played have averaged less penalties for less yards per game than Auburn's opponents, yet they averaged more penalties for more yards when playing Bama.
What about their opponents' penalties?
Auburn's opponents benefited from the same number of penalties per game against other teams than they did against Auburn. The yardage is about the same as well.Again, there is a clear difference between the number of penalties called when teams have played Alabama. Those teams benefited from more penalties for more yards per game against other opponents than the teams Auburn played. Head to head, Bama's opponents didn't get nearly as many calls or as many yards as Auburn's opponents did.
What about first downs?
Opponents got more first downs from penalties against Auburn than against other teams. Likewise, Auburn received more first downs from penalties than the other teams they played. That pretty much balances out.Bama's comparison speaks for itself.
Basically, teams have been penalized more, for more yards, and given up more first downs from penalties when they played Bama than when they played other teams. It's not even close. And it's because of this we can conclude that Bama fans have no business complaining about calls.
I'm not sure if Bama owns the refs. Every team in the SEC has gotten their share of BS calls this year. But this screen cap taken from the Bama/Ole Miss game is mighty suspicious.
2 comments:
you're better than this joe blow.
I wrote that loaded on Robitussin, so yeah...it's pretty bad. Haha.
I didn't go into it knowing what the results would be, though. I actually do find it interesting.
I don't really think Bama owns the refs. That was just a little jab since it's Iron Bowl week.
I do think the better BCS teams get more calls. After that, the money teams get them. There are two penalties that a ref could call nearly every play: holding and pass interference. So they could definitely make a difference in a game's outcome.
Has Bama gotten their share calls this year? Definitely. The Ole Miss game, and the UT game come to mind (should have been an interception at the end of the first half). But they also had some pretty bad calls against them (LSU replays - better BCS).
The same goes for Auburn. Mississippi State (receiver was clearly out of bounds on a long pass), and UGA come to mind (breathing on someone isn't means for a 15 yard penalty). They also had bad calls against them in the UF game (halo rule!?!), and the LSU game (bigger BCS school agian!).
The main reason behind doing this comparison was because I get tired of the "You guys always get the calls!" mantra that comes from some fans. The stats speak for themselves. But you can't expect me to not take a jab this week, right?
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