Starting a Drive on the Doorstep
November 6th, 2008In California’s 26-16 win over Oregon, two of Cal’s touchdowns were set up by turnovers that started the drives inside Oregon’s ten yard line. Given the rainy weather conditions, having such short touchdown drives was key to the Bears’ victory.
In Florida’s 49-10 rout of Georgia, one of Florida’s 3rd-quarter drives that helped blow the game open started at Georgia’s one yard line, and another started at Georgia’s ten yard line. Both drives were set up by Georgia turnovers.
So far this season, eleven teams have started two drives inside the opponent’s ten yard line during a game, and they are 10-1 in those games. On drives that start from the opponent’s ten yard line to the one yard line, teams score a touchdown 81.8% of the time, and kick a field goal 10.7% of the time.
A breakdown of drive outcomes in 2008 based on the starting field position of the drive:
| Drive Start (Yard Line) | #Drives | TD% | FG% | Punt% | Missed FG% | TO% | Other% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own 1 to 9 | 895 | 12.1 | 3.9 | 53.3 | 2.2 | 13.2 | 15.3 |
| Own 10 to 19 | 1812 | 15.9 | 6.0 | 48.6 | 2.4 | 14.4 | 12.7 |
| Own 20 to 29 | 4997 | 19.4 | 6.2 | 46.7 | 2.4 | 15.0 | 10.2 |
| Own 30 to 39 | 2677 | 24.9 | 8.4 | 36.9 | 4.3 | 14.3 | 11.3 |
| Own 40 to 49 | 1602 | 31.7 | 9.7 | 29.8 | 5.1 | 11.4 | 12.4 |
| 50 to Opp. 41 | 831 | 32.3 | 14.7 | 22.4 | 5.5 | 11.2 | 14.0 |
| Opp. 40 to 31 | 499 | 39.3 | 16.4 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 10.2 | 16.2 |
| Opp. 30 to 21 | 404 | 42.8 | 27.7 | 2.2 | 9.2 | 8.2 | 9.9 |
| Opp. 20 to 11 | 228 | 56.1 | 21.9 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Opp. 10 to 1 | 121 | 81.8 | 10.7 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 4.1 |
| All Drives | 14066 | 24.2 | 8.6 | 38.3 | 3.7 | 13.5 | 11.7 |
The TO% column includes turnovers: interceptions and fumbles lost. The Other% column includes drives that ended on downs, by safety, and by the end of the half.