A by-the-numbers look at individual offensive plateaus

If you’re a sports fan who doesn’t like analytics or see a reason for them … well, we can’t help you. But sometimes, it is fun to just look at raw numbers without assigning too much value to each.

For instance, in the days of yore, a 1,000-yard rusher, a 1,000-yard receiver and/or a 3,000-yard passer (or a 20-points-per-game scorer in basketball or a 20-win pitcher) was cause for celebration. Yes, they’re still important, but there are numerous examples of players with less gaudy stats having much more of an impact.

Still, in more instances than not, reaching those statistical offensive plateaus in football remains a big deal. Thus, we decided to take a look at FBS teams whose offensive players reached those plateaus over the past six seasons (we went back six seasons and not five because 2020 was so … ahem … messed up).

Using the On3 “Diversification Quotient” (no worries, it’s not complicated because we don’t really do math here – it’s simply 1,000-yard rushers + 1,000-yards receivers + 3,000-yard passers), the most statistically prolific offense over the past six seasons has been Oklahoma’s with a “Quotient” of 18. Second is Memphis at 16, followed by Alabama at 14 and North Carolina at 13.

In terms of winning percentage over the past six seasons, Alabama is first at 91.8 percent, Oklahoma fourth at 84.8, Memphis tied for 18^th at 67.5 … and North Carolina 87^th at 45.9. Second in winning percentage is Clemson (89.2 percent, quotient of 11), with Ohio State third (88.2 percent, quotient of 12) and Georgia fifth (81.5 percent, with a quotient of just six – all on the ground).

Lincoln Riley has taken his offensive philosophy from Oklahoma to USC, which, by the way, had a quotient of nine. The biggest difference was in the rushing category: OU had eight 1,000-yard rushers to USC’s two. One big storyline for USC this fall will be the production of the rushing attack. With the Sooners, Riley generally had two backs with 1,000-yard potential plus a quarterback who was a running threat. He seems to have that with the Trojans with transfer running backs Travis Dye and Austin Jones, holdover back Darwin Barlow, freshman Raleek Brown and quarterback Caleb Williams.

Some takeaways:

+ There are 16 schools with no 1,000-yard rusher in the past six seasons. Six are Power 5 programs: Florida, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Washington State. The other 10: Akron, Arkansas State, Eastern Michigan, FIU, Fresno State, Houston, Miami (Ohio), Rice, San Jose State and Texas State.

+ There are 37 schools with no 1,000-yard receiver in our span, including 17 Power 5 programs: Arizona, Auburn, Boston College, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan, Rutgers, South Carolina, Utah, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin. The other 20: Air Force, Appalachian State, Army, Ball State, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Navy, New Mexico, Ohio, Rice, San Diego State, Texas State, Troy, Tulane, UConn, ULM, UNLV and USF.

+ And there are 38 schools with no 3,000-yard passer in our time frame, including 13 Power 5 programs: Boston College, Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The other 25: Air Force, Akron, Army, Ball State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, FIU, Georgia Southern, Miami (Ohio), Navy, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Rice, San Diego State, South Alabama, Texas State, Tulane, UAB, UConn, ULM, UMass, UNLV and USF.

+ There are just three teams that had nobody reach any of our three statistical plateaus: Rice, Rutgers (the only Power 5 of the three) and Texas State.

+ Power 5 teams that missed two of our three plateaus: Boston College (had rusher), Duke (had rusher), Florida (had passer), Georgia (had rusher), Georgia Tech (had rusher), Illinois (had rusher), Iowa (had rusher), Kansas (had rusher), Kansas State (had rusher), Tennessee (had receiver) and Wisconsin (had rusher).

The league with the highest overall quotient is the ACC, with 86. But the Big 12 has the best average, at 7.5 (a quotient of 75, with 10 teams). Among the Power 5, the ACC is second with a 6.1 average, followed by the SEC at 5.8 (total quotient of 81), the Pac-12 at 5.5 (66 quotient) and the Big Ten at 4.9 (68 quotient).

Here are the details over the past six seasons (2016-21).

The most 1,000-yard rushers

8: Oklahoma
7: Appalachian State
6: Buffalo, Georgia, Kentucky
5: Alabama, LSU, Navy, Ohio State, Tulsa, Utah, Western Michigan, Wisconsin

The most 1,000-yard receivers

6: Alabama, Memphis
5: Colorado State, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, Wake Forest, Western Kentucky
4: Boise State, Clemson, Houston, Ole Miss, Tulsa, USC

The most 3,000-yard passers

6: Memphis
5: Oklahoma
4: Clemson, NC State, North Carolina, Ohio State, SMU, Washington State, West Virginia

1,000-yard rushers by conference

SEC: 45
(Two players rushed for 1,500-plus yards)
Alabama: 5
Arkansas: 2
Auburn: 3
Georgia: 6
Kentucky: 6
LSU: 5
Mississippi State: 4
Missouri: 4
Ole Miss: 2
South Carolina: 1
Texas A&M: 4
Vanderbilt: 3
(NONE: Florida and Tennessee)

BIG TEN: 34
(Two rushed for at least 1,500 yards, another for at least 1,750 and two for at least 2,000)
Illinois: 2
Indiana: 2
Iowa: 4
Maryland: 2
Michigan: 2
Michigan State: 1
Minnesota: 4
Nebraska: 1
Northwestern: 3
Ohio State: 5
Penn State: 3
Wisconsin: 5
(NONE: Purdue and Rutgers)

ACC: 33
(Eight rushed for at least 1,500 yards)
Boston College: 4
Clemson: 3
Duke: 1
Florida State: 3
Georgia Tech: 2
Louisville: 4
Miami: 1
NC State: 3
North Carolina: 4
Notre Dame: 1 (Irish were league members in 2020)
Pitt: 3
Syracuse: 1
Virginia: 1
Virginia Tech: 1
Wake Forest: 1

AAC: 32
(Four rushed for 1,500-plus and another reached 2,000 yards)
Cincinnati: 3
Connecticut: 3 (Huskies now are an independent)
East Carolina: 1
Memphis: 4
Navy: 5
SMU: 3
Temple: 1
Tulane: 2
Tulsa: 5
UCF: 1
USF: 4
(NONE: Houston)

PAC-12: 32
(Three rushed for 1,500-plus, and another reached 2,000 yards)
Arizona: 2
Arizona State: 4
California: 1
Colorado: 3
Oregon: 4
Oregon State: 2
Stanford: 2
UCLA: 3
USC: 2
Utah: 5
Washington: 4
(NONE: Washington State)

BIG 12: 30
(Two reached the 1,500-yard mark and two others topped 2,000 yards)
Baylor: 2
Iowa State: 4
Kansas: 2
Kansas State: 3
Oklahoma: 8
Oklahoma State: 4
TCU: 1
Texas: 2
West Virginia: 4
(NONE: Texas Tech)

MID-AMERICAN: 29
(Two rushed for 1,500-plus)
Ball State: 3
Bowling Green: 1
Buffalo: 6
Central Michigan: 4
Kent State: 1
Northern Illinois: 3
Ohio: 2
Toledo: 4
Western Michigan: 5
(NONE: Akron, Eastern Michigan and Miami)

CONFERENCE USA: 26
(Four rushed for 1,500-plus)
Charlotte: 2
FAU: 3
Louisiana Tech: 3
Marshall: 2
Middle Tennessee State: 2
North Texas: 2
Old Dominion: 2
Southern Miss: 2
UAB: 3
UTEP: 1
UTSA: 2
Western Kentucky: 2
(NONE: FIU and Rice)

MOUNTAIN WEST: 25
(Two rushed for 1,500-plus and two others hit 2,000 yards)
Air Force: 2
Boise State: 4
Colorado State: 1
Hawaii: 2
Nevada: 1
New Mexico: 2
San Diego State: 4
UNLV: 4
Utah State: 1
Wyoming: 4
(NONE: Fresno State and San Jose State)

SUN BELT: 19
Appalachian State: 7
Coastal Carolina: 2
Georgia Southern: 1
Georgia State: 1
Idaho: 1 (Vandals now are an FCS program)
Louisiana: 3
South Alabama: 1
Troy: 2
ULM: 1
(NONE: Arkansas State and Texas State)

INDEPENDENTS: 13
(Two rushed for 1,500-plus)
Army: 2
BYU: 3
Liberty: 2
New Mexico State: 2
Notre Dame: 2 (doesn’t include 2020, when Notre Dame temporarily was in the ACC)
UMass: 1

1,000-yard receivers by conference

ACC: 28
(One had 1,500-plus yards)
Clemson: 4
Florida State: 1
Louisville: 1
Miami: 1
NC State: 3
North Carolina: 5
Pitt: 1
Syracuse: 3
Virginia: 3
Virginia Tech: 1
Wake Forest: 5
(NONE: BC, Duke and Georgia Tech)

AAC: 27
(One had 1,500-plus yards)
East Carolina: 3
Houston: 4
Memphis: 6
SMU: 5
Temple: 1
Tulsa: 4
UCF: 3
UConn: 1 (Huskies now are independent)
(NONE: Cincinnati, Navy, Tulane and USF)

BIG 12: 23
(Two had 1,500-plus yards)
Baylor: 3
Iowa State: 2
Oklahoma: 5
Oklahoma State: 5
TCU: 1
Texas: 2
Texas Tech: 3
West Virginia: 2
(NONE: Kansas and Kansas State)

CONFERENCE USA: 23
(Five had 1,500-plus yards)
FAU: 1
FIU: 1
Louisiana Tech: 3
Marshall: 1
Middle Tennessee State: 1
North Texas: 2
Old Dominion: 3
Southern Miss: 3
UAB: 1
UTEP: 1
UTSA: 1
Western Kentucky: 5
(NONE: Charlotte and Rice)

MOUNTAIN WEST: 21
(Two had 1,500-plus yards)
Boise State: 4
Colorado State: 5
Fresno State: 2
Hawaii: 5
Nevada: 2
San Jose State: 1
Utah State: 1
Wyoming: 1
(NONE: Air Force, New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV)

SEC: 19
(Two had 1,750-plus yards and two others had 1,500-plus)
Alabama: 6
Arkansas: 1
Kentucky: 1
LSU: 2
Mississippi State: 1
Missouri: 2
Ole Miss: 4
Tennessee: 1
Texas A&M: 1
(NONE: Auburn, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt)

BIG TEN: 15
(One had 1,500-plus yards)
Indiana: 1
Maryland: 1
Michigan State: 1
Minnesota: 3
Nebraska: 1
Northwestern: 1
Ohio State: 3
Penn State: 1
Purdue: 3
(NONE: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Rutgers and Wisconsin)

PAC-12: 15
Arizona State: 3
California: 1
Colorado: 1
Oregon: 1
Oregon State: 1
Stanford: 1
UCLA: 1
USC: 4
Washington: 1
Washington State: 1
(NONE: Arizona and Utah)

MID-AMERICAN: 13
(One had 1,500-plus yards)
Akron: 1
Bowling Green: 1
Buffalo: 2
Central Michigan: 1
Eastern Michigan: 1
Kent State: 1
Miami: 1
Northern Illinois: 1
Toledo: 2
Western Michigan: 2
(NONE: Ball State and Ohio)

SUN BELT: 8
(One had 1,500-plus yards)
Arkansas State: 3
Coastal Carolina: 1
Georgia State: 1
New Mexico State: 1 (Aggies now are an independent)
South Alabama: 2
(NONE: Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Texas State, Troy and ULM)

INDEPENDENTS: 6
(One had 1,500-plus yards)
BYU: 1
Liberty: 2
Notre Dame: 1
UMass: 2

3,000-yard passers by conference

ACC: 25
(Three threw for 4,000-plus yards and another had 4,500-plus)
Clemson: 4
Florida State: 1
Louisville: 2
Miami: 2
NC State: 4
North Carolina: 4
Pitt: 2
Virginia: 3
Virginia Tech: 1
Wake Forest: 2
(NONE: BC, Duke, Georgia Tech and Syracuse)

BIG 12: 22
(Two threw for 4,000-plus, another had 4,500-plus and one had 5,000-plus)
Baylor: 2
Iowa State: 2
Oklahoma: 5
Oklahoma State: 3
TCU: 2
Texas: 2
Texas Tech: 2
West Virginia: 4
(NONE: Kansas and Kansas State)

AAC: 22
(Three had 4,000-plus yards)
Cincinnati: 1
East Carolina: 2
Houston: 2
Memphis: 6
SMU: 4
Temple: 1
Tulsa: 3
UCF: 3
(NONE: Navy, Tulane and USF)

BIG TEN: 19
(One threw for 4,000-plus, and another had 4,500-plus)
Indiana: 1
Maryland: 1
Michigan: 1
Michigan State: 2
Minnesota: 1
Nebraska: 1
Northwestern: 2
Ohio State: 4
Penn State: 3
Purdue: 3
(NONE: Illinois, Iowa, Rutgers and Wisconsin)

PAC-12: 19
(Three had 4,000-plus yards, one threw for 4,500-plus and another was at 5,500-plus)
Arizona State: 2
California: 2
Oregon: 2
Stanford: 1
UCLA: 1
Utah: 1
USC: 3
Washington: 3
Washington State: 4

CONFERENCE USA: 18
(Three threw for 4,000-plus, one for 4,500-plus and one for 5,500-plus)
FAU: 1
Louisiana Tech: 2
Marshall: 2
Middle Tennessee: 2
North Texas: 3
Old Dominion: 1
Southern Miss: 2
UTEP: 1
UTSA: 1
Western Kentucky: 3
(NONE: Charlotte, FIU, Rice and UAB)

SEC: 17
(One threw for 4,000-plus, three threw for 4,500-plus and one had 5,500-plus)
Alabama: 3
Arkansas: 1
Auburn: 1
Florida: 1
LSU: 1
Mississippi State: 1
Missouri: 3
Ole Miss: 3
South Carolina: 1
Texas A&M: 1
Vanderbilt: 1
(NONE: Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee)

MOUNTAIN WEST: 15
(Three had 4,000-plus yards)
Boise State: 3
Colorado State: 1
Fresno State: 2
Hawaii: 2
Nevada: 2
San Jose State: 1
Utah State: 3
Wyoming: 1
(NONE: Air Force, New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV)

MID-AMERICAN: 11
(One threw for 4,000-plus)
Buffalo: 1
Central Michigan: 2
Eastern Michigan: 2
Kent State: 1
Toledo: 2
Western Michigan: 3
(NONE: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Miami, Northern Illinois and Ohio)

SUN BELT: 10
(One threw for 4,000-plus)
Appalachian State: 1
Arkansas State: 2
Georgia State: 1
Idaho: 1 (Vandals now an FCS program)
Louisiana: 1
New Mexico State: 1 (Aggies now are an independent)
Troy: 3
(NONE: Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, South Alabama, Texas State and ULM)

INDEPENDENTS: 5
BYU: 1
Liberty: 2
Notre Dame: 2