I was just reading an article on KU's transition to the air raid, and it got me thinking about Mike Leach. He is obviously now at Washington State. He has been there for 3 years, and my initial thought was that they still suck... so what is preventing them from being successful? Then I checked out the stats for Washington State:
Washington State
(Pre-Air Raid)
2011: 5069 yards of total offense (ranked 53 of 120 FBS schools)
(Air Raid)
2012: 4314 yards of total offense (ranked 100 of 124 FBS schools)
2013: 5478 yards of total offense (ranked 51 of 126 FBS schools)
2014: 6210 yards of total offense (ranked 19 of 128 FBS schools)
With those offensive numbers, it is pretty obvious that their challenges are on defense. But it also made me realize that the Air Raid might have a little bit longer ramp-up time than we are all hoping for. Here are the stats from Cal for comparison:
California
(Pre-Air Raid)
2012: 4689 yards of total offense (ranked 86 of 124 FBS schools)
(Air Raid)
2013: 5443 yards of total offense (ranked 53 of 126 FBS schools)
2014: 5942 yards of total offense (ranked 31 of 128 FBS schools)
It does take a few years to get the Air Raid offense pumping on all cylinders, but there is a definate year by year improvement that you can expect. When you have a legit QB, that is when the ramp up shortens:
Texas A&M
(Pre-Air Raid)
2011: 6373 yards of total offense (ranked 10 of 120 FBS schools)
(Air Raid)
2012: 7261 yards of total offense (ranked 2 of 124 FBS schools) *** Johnny Manziel***
2013: 6999 yards of total offense (ranked 9 of 126 FBS schools) *** Johnny Manziel***
2014: 5920 yards of total offense (ranked 32 of 128 FBS schools)
TCU
(Pre-Air Raid)
2013: 4138 yards of total offense (ranked 120 of 126 FBS schools)
(Air Raid)
2014: 6929 yards of total offense (ranked 6 of 128 FBS schools) ***Boykin***
West Virginia
(Pre-Air Raid)
2010: 4845 yards of total offense (ranked 58 of 120 FBS schools) *** Geno Smith***
(Air Raid)
2011: 6104 yards of total offense (ranked 17 of 120 FBS schools) *** Geno Smith***
2012: 6526 yards of total offense (ranked 12 of 124 FBS schools) *** Geno Smith***
2013: 4929 yards of total offense (ranked 77 of 126 FBS schools)
2014: 6497 yards of total offense (ranked 14 of 128 FBS schools)
The point of all of this, is that we should probably go into this with the expectation that it will probably take about 3 years before our offense really gets going... but eventually the Air Raid should turn us around. We all expect Willis or Stanley to be good, and I think 3 years is reasonable if one of them turns out to be pretty good. If one of them turns out to be GREAT, then we could obviously see a much quicker ramp up.
Washington State
(Pre-Air Raid)
2011: 5069 yards of total offense (ranked 53 of 120 FBS schools)
(Air Raid)
2012: 4314 yards of total offense (ranked 100 of 124 FBS schools)
2013: 5478 yards of total offense (ranked 51 of 126 FBS schools)
2014: 6210 yards of total offense (ranked 19 of 128 FBS schools)
With those offensive numbers, it is pretty obvious that their challenges are on defense. But it also made me realize that the Air Raid might have a little bit longer ramp-up time than we are all hoping for. Here are the stats from Cal for comparison:
California
(Pre-Air Raid)
2012: 4689 yards of total offense (ranked 86 of 124 FBS schools)
(Air Raid)
2013: 5443 yards of total offense (ranked 53 of 126 FBS schools)
2014: 5942 yards of total offense (ranked 31 of 128 FBS schools)
It does take a few years to get the Air Raid offense pumping on all cylinders, but there is a definate year by year improvement that you can expect. When you have a legit QB, that is when the ramp up shortens:
Texas A&M
(Pre-Air Raid)
2011: 6373 yards of total offense (ranked 10 of 120 FBS schools)
(Air Raid)
2012: 7261 yards of total offense (ranked 2 of 124 FBS schools) *** Johnny Manziel***
2013: 6999 yards of total offense (ranked 9 of 126 FBS schools) *** Johnny Manziel***
2014: 5920 yards of total offense (ranked 32 of 128 FBS schools)
TCU
(Pre-Air Raid)
2013: 4138 yards of total offense (ranked 120 of 126 FBS schools)
(Air Raid)
2014: 6929 yards of total offense (ranked 6 of 128 FBS schools) ***Boykin***
West Virginia
(Pre-Air Raid)
2010: 4845 yards of total offense (ranked 58 of 120 FBS schools) *** Geno Smith***
(Air Raid)
2011: 6104 yards of total offense (ranked 17 of 120 FBS schools) *** Geno Smith***
2012: 6526 yards of total offense (ranked 12 of 124 FBS schools) *** Geno Smith***
2013: 4929 yards of total offense (ranked 77 of 126 FBS schools)
2014: 6497 yards of total offense (ranked 14 of 128 FBS schools)
The point of all of this, is that we should probably go into this with the expectation that it will probably take about 3 years before our offense really gets going... but eventually the Air Raid should turn us around. We all expect Willis or Stanley to be good, and I think 3 years is reasonable if one of them turns out to be pretty good. If one of them turns out to be GREAT, then we could obviously see a much quicker ramp up.
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