Not to seem like I'm picking on Tennessee with my post below about how Tennessee's 2009 offensive numbers fall when you take out the WKU outlier game, here's a look at how some ranked teams fare when their outlier games are removed. The outlier games are either against I-AA teams or simply bad I-A teams (as is the case with WKU).
The Outlier column below indicates the opponent, score of the game, and the total yards gained by the team.
Team | PPG | YPG | Outlier | PPG Adj. | Difference | YPG Adj. | Difference |
Florida | 45.5 | 526.25 | CSU, 62-3, 624 | 40.0 | -5.5 | 493.67 | -32.58 |
Texas | 49.5 | 521.25 | UTEP, 64-7, 639 | 44.6 | -4.9 | 482.00 | -39.25 |
Alabama | 40.5 | 490.50 | No. Texas, 53-7, 523 | 36.3 | -4.2 | 479.67 | -10.83 |
USC | 28.8 | 430.60 | SJSU, 56-3, 620 | 22.0 | -6.8 | 383.25 | -47.35 |
Cincinnati | 42.0 | 468.20 | SEMO, 70-3, 578 | 35.0 | -7.0 | 440.75 | -27.45 |
TCU | 34.8 | 423.50 | Tex. St., 56-21, 508 | 27.7 | -7.1 | 395.30 | -28.20 |
Oklahoma State | 39.0 | 419.75 | Grambling, 56-6, 587 | 33.3 | -5.7 | 364.00 | -55.75 |
Oklahoma | 35.5 | 424.75 | Idaho St., 64-0, 564 | 26.0 | -9.5 | 378.33 | -46.42 |
Ole Miss | 32.5 | 373.50 | SELA, 52-6, 500 | 26.0 | -6.5 | 331.33 | -42.17 |
USF | 37.0 | 413.60 | Two I-AAs, 99-7, 906 | 28.7 | -8.3 | 387.33 | -26.27 |
As you can see, teams like USC, Cincinnati, TCU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and USF lose about a touchdown or more when adjusted, and four of them lose 40 or more yards per game. This is why stats can be so misleading, especially early on in the season.