Yesterday I got super curious about that Boise vs Oregon football matchup. Kept seeing folks argue online about who’s really got the better stats, right? Felt like digging into it myself instead of just reading some boring summary. Figured I’d actually put in the work and see.
Starting Simple, Getting Sidetracked Already
Grabbed my coffee first thing – necessary fuel. Opened up the laptop, pulled a spreadsheet right away. Thought, easy-peasy, just look up two team names and slam in some basic numbers. Should take like ten minutes, tops. Yeah, nope. Almost right away, messed up the basic setup. Tried typing “Boise Stats” as a column header, realized I needed way more specific stuff. Deleted it all. Felt dumb.
Went hunting for official stats sites. Man, there’s too many. Every dang one had different numbers for the same darn year. How’s that even work? Saw one place saying Oregon had 450 yards per game average, another said 430. Seriously? Spent like half an hour just clicking back and forth trying to decide which numbers weren’t lying to me. Finally just picked one school site each and rolled with it. Figured even if they’re homers, at least it’s consistent.
Falling into the Numbers Pit
Okay, got basic stuff in:
- Total Yards: Broncos showing way less than the Ducks? Seemed fishy.
- Points Per Game: Oregon sitting pretty high, Boise kinda middle.
- Turnovers: Found this later. Nearly cried. So. Many. Numbers.
Started thinking maybe points allowed mattered too… And rushing yards… Then sacks… Suddenly my spreadsheet looked like a toddler scribbled on it. Made columns for:
- Average points scored
- Points they let the other guys score
- How many times they coughed up the ball
- Rushing yards per carry (that took like three tries, kept putting it in the wrong spot)
Wanted to see who was messing up more by giving away possession. Accidentally looked at 2020 data instead of the past couple seasons first. Took me 15 minutes to notice. Wasted. Felt like hitting my head on the desk.
The Crushing Boredom Phase
Alright, got the numbers in right(ish). Time to actually compare. Side-by-side looked okay for points scored and allowed – Ducks definitely ahead. But rushing? Boise actually looked better? Didn’t expect that. Started trying to calculate some simple differences. Got halfway through “Average Yards Per Game Difference” before my eyes glazed over harder than a donut. Seriously considered just screenshotting the spreadsheet and calling it done. This is why people hire stats nerds, right?
Realized I was getting hungry. Went and made a sandwich. Stared at the spreadsheet chewing. That rushing thing bugged me. Why would the “better” team (points-wise) be worse on the ground? Maybe their defense was trash against the run? Decided to poke at the points allowed again. Sure enough, Oregon gave up way more points than Boise lately. That rushing stat made a little more sense then – maybe teams just ran on Oregon cause they could.
Finally, the “Simple” Look I Wanted
After way longer than ten minutes – more like pushing two hours with the sandwich break – pulled together what I was after. Basically a simple head-to-head snapshot, not War and Peace.
- Points Scored: Ducks win this one easy.
- Points Given Up: Broncos actually hang tougher here.
- Rushing Game: Broncos surprise! More consistent.
- Turnovers: Both teams kinda sloppy. Messy.
There it was. My “simple” look. Felt like I’d scaled a mountain made out of numbers. Finished my coffee, which was now lukewarm sludge. Saved the spreadsheet, gave it a stupidly long file name so I wouldn’t forget what it was. Closed the laptop.
The Big Lesson? Hah!
Biggest takeaway? “Simple” ain’t simple. Anything involving stats gets messy fast unless you just copy-paste what someone else says. Learned way more about Oregon’s defense having holes and Boise playing solid ground game than I expected. Also learned that comparing two teams yourself takes forever and is mostly just clicking and second-guessing. Do I feel smarter? Maybe. Mostly I feel tired and glad it’s done. Worth it? Ask me after I get more coffee.
