OK, folks. Here's part two.
Before we get going, I'm entirely amazed by the response to the first post in this series. As I write this, more than 50 people -- nearly 20 percent of all voters -- think Jeff Tuel will throw 30 or more touchdowns in 2011. For context of exactly what that means, I posted this list in the comments section:
1. 34 Ryan Leaf, 1997
2. 28 Jason Gesser, 2002
3. 26 Jason Gesser, 2001
26 Alex Brink, 2007
5. 24 Timm Rosenbach, 1988
24 Alex Brink, 2005
7. 21 Ryan Leaf, 1996
21 Matt Kegel, 2003
9. 20 Jack Thompson, 1976
20 Drew Bledsoe, 1992
That's the list of top passing touchdown seasons in WSU history. So, nearly 20 percent of responders think that Jeff Tuel will have one of the two best passing touchdown seasons in the last century or so with an offense that ranked 86th in the nation by Football Outsiders' S&P+ rankings and 96th in yards per play last season.
Interesting.
Next up: Running backs' yards per carry.
The reason I'm stipulating running backs is because I want to separate out the sacks, which have done a big number on the overall yards per carry mark, since college figures sacks into rushing totals. The last three seasons, WSU has posted the following marks:
- 2008: 3.99
- 2009: 3.80
- 2010: 3.60
As an aside, did you have any clue WSU has actually gotten that much worse at running the football via traditional means? Me either. You can see the spreadsheet with the stats here.
Now, it's your turn. The offensive line is supposedly experienced, and there are some speedy weapons back there to go with Logwone Mitz. What do you think the running backs will do this year?
Click on the jump to vote and/or see the results, and tell us how you voted and why.
Here's your poll!