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Posted on Thu, Sep 24, 2009 : 6:26 p.m.

Clock work: Michigan's winning despite losing the time of possession battle

By Dave Birkett

Michigan has the most explosive offense in the Big Ten, and that’s good and bad.

The Wolverines lead the conference in scoring at 38 points per game - 18 more than they averaged a year ago - but rank ninth in time of possession. Through three games, Michigan is holding the ball an average of five minutes fewer per game than its opponents.

While that means more time on the field for Michigan’s thin defense, Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez said he’s not particularly concerned about time of possession.

“I think it’s what you do with your possession more than time of possession,” he said.

Rodriguez said he judges his team’s efficiency by two measures - points and wins. He wants Michigan to score at least six times a game on offense, and to hold opponents to six three-and-outs on defense.

Through three games, the Wolverines are doing both.

Michigan has scored on 18 of 40 possessions this year, including Darryl Stonum’s 94-yard kick return against Notre Dame. On defense, the Wolverines have held the Irish and Western and Eastern Michigan to three or fewer plays 18 times (not including three drives that expired at the end of halves).

Still, there’s room for improvement. Last week, EMU more than doubled Michigan’s time of possession (40:02 to 19:58) to hang close for a half in a 45-17 Wolverines win.

With Michigan (3-0) set to open Big Ten play Saturday against Indiana, one of the best in the league at managing the clock, Rodriguez said his team must do a better job controlling the tempo and pace of play.

“I’ve said this a bunch of times, we’ve got to make them play defense,” Rodriguez said. “That’s why three-and-outs kill us offensively. So if we can make them play more than three plays and make them go back on the field quickly, they have a three-and-out, then that plays into a lot of things we want.”

TOP leaders.jpg

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett

Comments

daytona084

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 8:28 a.m.

Rich Rod is correct. TOP is a meaningless stat. If you have trouble wrapping your mind around this, consider two teams, one averages 6 points per possession and holds the ball 2 minutes. The other averages 3 points per possession and holds the ball 5 minutes. Who wins the game?

1bit

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 7:42 p.m.

Time of possession is important because it is indicating that our defense is allowing long drives (and staying on the field too long). Sure we've scored some quick touchdowns, but by that logic (and if our defense were better) Michigan would be scoring 80 points/game. However, statistics like TOP are generally useless this early in the season and should be secondary to the actual score/wins (did anyone see the Miami/Indianapolis game this last week where Miami basically owned the ball the whole game but still lost?)

dongiles

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 11:40 a.m.

How about points per minute of possession?

KeepingItReal

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 9:50 a.m.

I think you guys may be getting somethings confused. If you look at it, Michigan time of possession or lack thereof has come primarily against teams they should dominate anyway. The only exception is Notre Dame as a fairly good team. When the quality of play begins to improve as it will, you will find that TOP is going to become a big factor for the Michigan Team because of the need to give the defense a rest. While Michigan's defense may be smaller and quicker and theoretically in better condition, they can only take so much pounding at any given time. Plus the longer the offense is on the field the more opportunities it has to become better.

blue

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 9:15 a.m.

Maybe my post just now was a little harsh. Apologies to the aa.com staff. But time of possession is bunk. It's a statistic that has some relevance in the three yards and a cloud of dust days, but it is not applicable to modern offenses, especially pass-heavy or no-huddle ones.

blue

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 9:09 a.m.

It has been widely known for years that time of possession is a meaningless statistic. How could a sports writer in 2009 still believe that this matters. I'd remove this story from your feed ASAP. It's kind of an embarrassment.

Blue Marker

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 7:28 a.m.

Tough room!

81wolverine

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 7:26 a.m.

Coach Rod is correct about "what you do with your time" [of possession] as being more important. Obviously, by that measure, we are doing well leading the conference in scoring. The only downside right now of our time of possession disparity is the fact our defense is on the field longer. The EMU game was a big extreme (40 minutes for their offense) that you don't want to see against tougher teams. I'll take scores any way we can get them - fast, slow, whatever. But, being able to move the ball down the field on long drives IS important sometimes: it takes time away from the other team's offense and wears down their defense. So, in the grand scheme of things, time of possession is a stat that has it's place, but we shouldn't get too concerned about it, especially this early in the season.

yankeesknicks

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 6:28 a.m.

When you run 90 yards in less than 10 seconds (Carlos Brown v EMU), or roughly 40 yards in 4 seconds (Laces v Western Michigan & EMU), you accumulate a lot of yardage (170) and points (18), but only 18 seconds in TOP. Which statistic is more important?

Charlie S

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 6:01 a.m.

I have been waiting for some smart sports writing from AnnArbor.com since it launched, and apparently I will have to wait much longer. You demonstrate your lack of understanding of the way football has changed with the publication of this story. How does Michigan rank in terms of # of band members? Average height of cheerleaders? # of flagpoles in the stadium? These stats are also useless. How about some serious analysis that makes sense? Please! For those of you who are seeking thus, try: mgoblog.com

Txmaizenblue

Thu, Sep 24, 2009 : 11:19 p.m.

"points and wins" - in other words its all about SCOREBOARD folks. Time of possession mattered when it was 3yds & a cloud of dust. However, Bo ball is over. A lot has changed - the clock, speed of offenses, ability to score quick, etc.

michboy40

Thu, Sep 24, 2009 : 9:50 p.m.

We are Explosive!...So naturally our time of possession will not be that high. Did I mention that we are Explosive?!

tater

Thu, Sep 24, 2009 : 8:06 p.m.

TOP is worthless as a stat. It doesn't take into consideration the clock stoppage or lack thereof between plays. Offensive plays would be a far better indicator of who is keeping the ball and who isn't.