An argument that presents itself around here somewhat frequently relates to the offensive drop off from the Vermeil era to the Edwards era. We're scoring less points but is it a result of conservative playcalling? This will be the first in a series of comparisons between the Vermeil and Edwards era among a variety of statistical categories.
Today, let's look at down analysis. Did Vermeil always pass the ball? Has Herm historically run the ball
Rush = total # of rushing plays
YPC = yards per carry
Pass = total # of passing plays
YPP = yards per pass (Note: per pass, not completion)
The parentheses are the 2008 numbers translated out over 16 games.
| 1st Down | Rush | YPC | Pass | YPP |
| 2001 | 230 | 4.73 | 242 | 7.13 |
| 2002 | 246 | 5.51 | 209 | 8.13 |
| 2003 | 248 | 4.58 | 222 | 8.42 |
| 2004 | 269 | 4.37 | 244 | 7.91 |
| 2005 | 253 | 4.51 | 230 | 8.4 |
| 2006 | 276 | 4.21 | 166 | 7.59 |
| 2007 | 193 | 2.93 | 228 | 5.58 |
| 2008 | 57 (228) |
4.51 | 46 (184) |
1.57 |
| 2nd Down |
Rush | YPC | Pass | YPP |
| 2001 | 150 | 4.43 |
182 | 6.04 |
| 2002 | 158 | 4.61 |
157 | 7.85 |
| 2003 | 141 |
4.02 |
181 | 6.49 |
| 2004 | 171 |
5.26 | 198 | 7.07 |
| 2005 | 190 |
4.67 | 157 | 6.67 |
| 2006 | 173 |
3.81 | 155 | 5.31 |
| 2007 | 129 |
4.12 | 201 | 4.42 |
| 2008 | 38 (152) |
5.84 | 51 (204) |
6.53 |
| 3rd Down | Rush | YPC | Pass | YPP |
| 2001 | 45 | 4.44 | 150 | 6.1 |
| 2002 | 48 | 5.67 | 137 | 5.09 |
| 2003 | 47 | 4.51 | 154 | 5.87 |
| 2004 | 39 | 3.87 | 154 | 7.43 |
| 2005 | 56 | 5 | 157 | 5.75 |
| 2006 | 49 | 4.47 | 170 | 5.3 |
| 2007 | 48 | 2.31 | 184 | 5.01 |
| 2008 | 14 (56) | 3.64 | 48 (192) | 4.1 |
There's a statistical drop off across the board from 2005 to 2006 and then in many cases another dramatic drop off to 2007. Hopefully that drop off was our rock bottom and by the looks of the 2008 stats translated out to 16 games it appears it was.