My peek into Stanford’s performances by quarter prompted me to peek at Washington State’s, and produced another surprise: Stanford in reverse, or A Tale Of Two Halves.
Washington State passing, by quarter:
1st: 79% completion, 8.5 yards/attempt, 7:0 TD:Int, 175 PER
2nd: 79%, 7.9 y/a, 9:0, 173
Then they take the half off, and return to:
3rd: 68%, 6.3, 3:2, 124
4th: 63%, 6.7, 6:3, 133
If you’re inclined to talk about halftime adjustments, you decide from these the defenses adjust to the Cougs, and turn them into a second rate passing team in the second half., Their 174 PER in first halves basically equals Stanford’s for entire games, which ranks 7th in the nation. But their 128 in second halves, for an entire game, would rank 74th—right with Colorado. (The average PER is around 133).
Taken with Stanford’s numbers—nice starts, then torrid third quarters—it’s easy to create this narrative: If the Cougs aren’t winning at halftime, they aren’t winning this game. They're Cougars in first halves, but pussy cats after.
Washington State passing, by quarter:
1st: 79% completion, 8.5 yards/attempt, 7:0 TD:Int, 175 PER
2nd: 79%, 7.9 y/a, 9:0, 173
Then they take the half off, and return to:
3rd: 68%, 6.3, 3:2, 124
4th: 63%, 6.7, 6:3, 133
If you’re inclined to talk about halftime adjustments, you decide from these the defenses adjust to the Cougs, and turn them into a second rate passing team in the second half., Their 174 PER in first halves basically equals Stanford’s for entire games, which ranks 7th in the nation. But their 128 in second halves, for an entire game, would rank 74th—right with Colorado. (The average PER is around 133).
Taken with Stanford’s numbers—nice starts, then torrid third quarters—it’s easy to create this narrative: If the Cougs aren’t winning at halftime, they aren’t winning this game. They're Cougars in first halves, but pussy cats after.
