re: Season 3 of the BK era officially begins today

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70th, which was Ole Miss had 382.2 yards per game. 34 yards per game was the entire difference.

Is that really drastic?

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Yes, it’s drastic.

To put it into perspective:

In 2022, LSU’s defense averaged 354.6 yards per game. In 2023, we averaged 416.6 ypg defensively. That’s a difference of 62 ypg year-to-year.

If you look at games against FBS teams with winning records, LSU averaged 372.4 ypg in 2022 and 498.7 ypg in 2023. That’s a difference of 126.3 ypg (!) year-to-year.

So our defense was 62 ypg worse in 2023 when you look at the full season, but it was 126 ypg worse in games that mattered (against winning teams who can actually beat you).

A major statistical difference in key games can look marginal in full-season stats because of the way CFB schedules work out.