Long post but I feel this is worth addressing.
There has been a lot of talk since hiring Leach about how well his offenses will perform when they go against elite SEC defenses. It is a valid question, since Leach has been coaching in the Pac 12 and Big 12 since 1999. But when you take a deep dive and compare it to how well we have done against elite defenses since Mullen was hired, you will see that his production against the better defenses in the Pac 12 is light years ahead of what we have been able to accomplish.
UW/Bama
Get it out of the way- Washington owned him. They were his in state rival and the best team in the Pac 12 while Leach was at WSU (which makes his success at WSU all the more impressive), and his offenses struggled against those defenses for whatever reason. Talent was certainly a major factor.
On paper (247s team talent composite rankings), UW has typically been around the 20-25th most talented team in the country, while WSU is in the 60-65 range. Leach offenses averaged 16.25 points per game against UW, and he only won the Apple Cup one time.
The other side of this discussion is that Mullen/Moorhead were even worse against Alabama. Since 2009, we averaged 8.5 points per game against Bama. Our talent is typically in the 23-30 range, whereas Bama is #1 basically every year.
Sometimes people ask well I know Leach put up numbers against some Pac 12 defenses, but he struggled against UW so how do you think he will do against Bama? My only response is well, he will probably struggle to score against Bama like everyone else, but he cannot possibly be any worse that what we have grown accustomed to in the past 10 years.
Oregon/Stanford/USC
While Leach had difficulties with UW, his offenses performed remarkably well against Stanford, Oregon, and USC. Leach finished a combined 10-10 against those three teams, which is really good when you consider that they all recruit about the same as UW, if not better. But when you just look at how he did post-rebuild against these two teams (from his fourth year on), it is far more impressive.
In his last five years at WSU, Leach went a combined 9-3 against what are three of the top four recruiters in the Pac 12. His talent composite was usually around 60-65, while USC is always top 10, Oregon is always top 20-25, and Stanford is pretty much always top 20.
In the 20 games he coached against these three teams, his offenses averaged 31 points per game.
In the last five years at WSU (12 games total), his offenses averaged a little over 37 points per game against these three teams.
Final Takeaways
Look, every offense struggles against the elite of the elite defenses in the country (Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, and LSU most years). All offensive lines struggle to block those d-lines. Receivers struggle to get open against those DBs. Running backs struggle to gain yards against those fronts. It does not matter what we do, who we hire, what offense we run, or what blocking scheme we implement- we are going to 17ing struggle against those elite defenses most years like everyone else.
The Leach tenure will be defined by 1) can he hire and retain good DCs and recruit at a level we are accustomed to on defense (I believe he can do this well enough), and 2) how his offenses perform against Auburn, A&M, Kentucky, whatever other East team we draw on a given year, Ole Miss, Arkansas, etc.
Look at the numbers. Look at draft picks. Look at overall talent profile. Those defenses I just listed year in and year out are no better than USC, Stanford, and Oregon. In all those cases, except Auburn and maybe A&M, those other defenses are usually going to be pretty significantly worse than the better defenses in the Pac 12.
This does not even address the fact that we are a top 25-30 recruiter, while WSU struggles to break into the top 60... In six months on the job, Leach has gotten commitments from the two highest rated QBs he has ever had (Costello and Robertson). On paper, we are probably going to sign the best WR class this year that Leach has ever signed- or at least the best one since his TTU days. His OLs here will be more talented on paper. Charles Cross is probably the most gifted LT he has ever had to work with. Kylin Hill is an all-SEC back, and J Marks is coming right behind him.
This offense can score points against solid SEC defenses. We will see how he does against Bama and LSU, but I am interested in watching it against everyone else too.
There has been a lot of talk since hiring Leach about how well his offenses will perform when they go against elite SEC defenses. It is a valid question, since Leach has been coaching in the Pac 12 and Big 12 since 1999. But when you take a deep dive and compare it to how well we have done against elite defenses since Mullen was hired, you will see that his production against the better defenses in the Pac 12 is light years ahead of what we have been able to accomplish.
UW/Bama
Get it out of the way- Washington owned him. They were his in state rival and the best team in the Pac 12 while Leach was at WSU (which makes his success at WSU all the more impressive), and his offenses struggled against those defenses for whatever reason. Talent was certainly a major factor.
On paper (247s team talent composite rankings), UW has typically been around the 20-25th most talented team in the country, while WSU is in the 60-65 range. Leach offenses averaged 16.25 points per game against UW, and he only won the Apple Cup one time.
The other side of this discussion is that Mullen/Moorhead were even worse against Alabama. Since 2009, we averaged 8.5 points per game against Bama. Our talent is typically in the 23-30 range, whereas Bama is #1 basically every year.
Sometimes people ask well I know Leach put up numbers against some Pac 12 defenses, but he struggled against UW so how do you think he will do against Bama? My only response is well, he will probably struggle to score against Bama like everyone else, but he cannot possibly be any worse that what we have grown accustomed to in the past 10 years.
Oregon/Stanford/USC
While Leach had difficulties with UW, his offenses performed remarkably well against Stanford, Oregon, and USC. Leach finished a combined 10-10 against those three teams, which is really good when you consider that they all recruit about the same as UW, if not better. But when you just look at how he did post-rebuild against these two teams (from his fourth year on), it is far more impressive.
In his last five years at WSU, Leach went a combined 9-3 against what are three of the top four recruiters in the Pac 12. His talent composite was usually around 60-65, while USC is always top 10, Oregon is always top 20-25, and Stanford is pretty much always top 20.
In the 20 games he coached against these three teams, his offenses averaged 31 points per game.
In the last five years at WSU (12 games total), his offenses averaged a little over 37 points per game against these three teams.
Final Takeaways
Look, every offense struggles against the elite of the elite defenses in the country (Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, and LSU most years). All offensive lines struggle to block those d-lines. Receivers struggle to get open against those DBs. Running backs struggle to gain yards against those fronts. It does not matter what we do, who we hire, what offense we run, or what blocking scheme we implement- we are going to 17ing struggle against those elite defenses most years like everyone else.
The Leach tenure will be defined by 1) can he hire and retain good DCs and recruit at a level we are accustomed to on defense (I believe he can do this well enough), and 2) how his offenses perform against Auburn, A&M, Kentucky, whatever other East team we draw on a given year, Ole Miss, Arkansas, etc.
Look at the numbers. Look at draft picks. Look at overall talent profile. Those defenses I just listed year in and year out are no better than USC, Stanford, and Oregon. In all those cases, except Auburn and maybe A&M, those other defenses are usually going to be pretty significantly worse than the better defenses in the Pac 12.
This does not even address the fact that we are a top 25-30 recruiter, while WSU struggles to break into the top 60... In six months on the job, Leach has gotten commitments from the two highest rated QBs he has ever had (Costello and Robertson). On paper, we are probably going to sign the best WR class this year that Leach has ever signed- or at least the best one since his TTU days. His OLs here will be more talented on paper. Charles Cross is probably the most gifted LT he has ever had to work with. Kylin Hill is an all-SEC back, and J Marks is coming right behind him.
This offense can score points against solid SEC defenses. We will see how he does against Bama and LSU, but I am interested in watching it against everyone else too.
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