If you didn’t stay up late Friday night/Saturday morning to watch the Cincinnati Bearcats take on BYU, allow me to give you a recap of the game.
The Bearcats outgained BYU 498-295 in total yards. Further, they outrushed BYU 242-70. Those rushing yards, and total yards amounted to 26 first downs for the Bearcats and 17 first downs for BYU. In addition, the Bearcats held the ball for TEN more minutes than BYU.
Okay, Frankie. That’s all good stuff. But what was the final score? Oh, BYU won 35-27.
Wait, what?! How did BYU win? Didn’t the Bearcats dominate them statistically?
Well, my friend. I got news for you. The only stat that matters, the only number that matters, is the number of points put on the board. Your team scores the most points, your team wins. Simple.
The first five paragraphs you read are what I was thinking when I woke up Saturday morning. It’s an emphasis a former basketball coach of mine used during one of our weight lifting sessions: don’t mistake activity for achievement. Think about kids running around on a playground. A lot is happening, but what is all that activity actually achieving?
In addition to the BYU box score, look at the box score from the Miami (OH) game. Dominant in total yards (538-358), rushing yards (273-121), first downs (30-16) and time of possession (almost 13! more minutes with the ball). Again, a lot of activity from the Bearcats. That’s great. But when it came time to achieving, the Bearcats fell short. Five of eight in the red zone, compared to 4-4 for the RedHawks. Not to mention a blocked field goal as time expired in regulation.
