re: LSU, Chavis and the Five Stages of Grief

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Just because an aggie posts some flawed stat, that doesn't make it a fact

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TOP actually does mean game clock, by definition. You can argue that it doesn't necessarily perfectly reflect the actual real time that passes, because the clock stops for injuries, penalties, incompletions and such. But TOP does measure who has the ball when the game clock is running.

I understand that teams with great defenses tend to have good TOP. But Chavis hasn't been one of them. At LSU or at Tennessee.

In 2009, LSU was ranked #107 in time of possession. Chavis still had the #26 Total Defense, and the #11 Scoring Defense.

A year later in 2010, LSU was #57 in TOP, while Chavis had the #12 Total D, and the #11 Scoring D.

Even during the great defense in 2011, LSU was only #26 in TOP.
In 2012 LSU TOP #46. Total D/ScoringD #8/#12
In 2013, LSU TOP: #57, Total D/Scoring D: #15/#21
In 2014, LSU TOP: #9, Total D/Scoring D: #9/#5

LSU had elite TOP in just ONE season of Chavis' tenure.

Also, let's take a look at how Chavis did at Tennessee.

In 2008, the Vols had the #3 Total Defense, and the #10 Scoring Defense. What was their TOP ranking? #98

In 2007, their TOP ranking was even worse, at #103, but Chavis still finished 70/61 in Total/SCoring D.

2006 - TOP #105, Total D/Scoring D #50/#33

2005 - TOP #73, Total D/Scoring D #7/#16

And that's as far back as the NCAA website keeps the TOP stat.

His defensive rankings have ALWAYS outperformed his teams' TOP, often by huge margins. Point being, there is AMPLE evidence to suggest that Chavis isn't dependent on a ball control offense.

The numbers don't lie. The LSU offense, up until last year, just wasn't elite at running the clock. Maybe Fournette is the real deal, and LSU will continue to have equal or greater success. And maybe that will help out Steele. But Chavis has almost never had that kind of support from his offense. Not at Tennessee, and not at LSU. His defenses have always stood on their own.

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