The college football statistical revolution has created a bunch of new metrics that, to be totally honest, confuse the hell out of me. I cheated my way through pre-calculus for a reason, folks. But here's a new stat that even the dimmest of bulbs can understand: havoc rate.
Created by SB Nation's Bill Connelly, havoc rate tracks the total number of plays a defense faces that end in a sack, a standard tackle for loss, a forced fumble, or a tipped or intercepted pass. Basically, how often are you disrupting what the opposing offense is trying to accomplish? Do any of those things once every five or six snaps and, chances are, your defense is going to be pretty darn good.
Here are the 25 most disruptive defenses from 2014:
1. Clemson - 23.2%
2. TCU - 21.5%
3. Louisiana Tech - 21.3%
4. Virginia - 21%
5. Florida - 20.9%
6. Virginia Tech - 20.7%
7. Arkansas - 20.3%
8. Louisville - 20.2%
9. Central Florida - 20.1%
10. Michigan State - 20.1%
11. Ohio State - 20%
12. Utah State - 19.8%
13. Boise State - 19.7%
14. Rice - 19.3%
15. Penn State - 19.2%
16. Mississippi State - 19%
17. Ole Miss - 18.8%
18. Alabama - 18.7%
19. Utah - 18.6%
20. UTEP - 18.6%
21. Missouri - 18.5%
22. Tulane - 18.4%
23. Minnesota - 18.3%
24. LSU - 18.2%
25. Marshall - 18.2%
And the 10 least disruptive defenses:
1. New Mexico State - 9%
2. Georgia State - 9%
3. Navy - 10.7%
4. Troy - 11%
5. SMU - 11%
6. California - 11.5%
7. Kent State - 11.5%
8. South Carolina - 11.6%
9. Texas State - 11.6%
10. UNLV - 11.7%
In the future I'd like to see this stat reverse-engineered, to get a look at what offenses allow the most and least disruptions on a per-play basis.