Big Ten · B1G+A advanced report
HIDDEN YARDAGE
Punting, field position and the yards that never show up in total offense.
Weeks 1–6 (Aug 29 – Oct 10) · 78 games, 103 Big Ten team-games · ESPN play-by-play · built Oct 13, 3:09 AM CT
FIELD POSITION
sorted by field position edge (yds) · through Week 6| # | Team | G | Field position edge (yds) | Avg. starting field position (own yd line) | Opp. avg. starting field position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Minnesota | 6 | +10.4 (1) | 35.0 (3) | 24.6 (3) |
| 2 |  UCLA | 5 | +10.1 (2) | 36.3 (1) | 26.3 (6) |
| 3 |  Penn State | 6 | +8.9 (3) | 33.0 (4) | 24.1 (2) |
| 4 |  Iowa | 6 | +7.5 (4) | 31.2 (9) | 23.7 (1) |
| 5 |  Indiana | 6 | +7.4 (5) | 32.6 (5) | 25.2 (4) |
| 6 |  Ohio State | 6 | +6.0 (6) | 32.2 (6) | 26.2 (5) |
| 7 |  Wisconsin | 5 | +4.1 (7) | 30.9 (10) | 26.8 (9) |
| 8 |  Nebraska | 6 | +2.4 (8) | 30.3 (12) | 28.0 (10) |
| 9 |  Michigan State | 6 | +2.2 (9) | 32.1 (7) | 29.9 (15) |
| 10 |  Oregon | 5 | +2.2 (10) | 35.1 (2) | 32.9 (18) |
| 11 |  USC | 7 | +2.2 (11) | 28.5 (16) | 26.3 (7) |
| 12 |  Purdue | 6 | +1.3 (12) | 30.4 (11) | 29.1 (12) |
| 13 |  Northwestern | 5 | +0.9 (13) | 27.3 (18) | 26.4 (8) |
| 14 |  Maryland | 6 | +0.4 (14) | 31.8 (8) | 31.4 (17) |
| 15 |  Illinois | 6 | +0.3 (15) | 28.7 (15) | 28.4 (11) |
| 16 |  Washington | 6 | -0.2 (16) | 28.9 (14) | 29.1 (13) |
| 17 |  Rutgers | 5 | -1.0 (17) | 29.8 (13) | 30.8 (16) |
| 18 |  Michigan | 5 | -2.2 (18) | 27.6 (17) | 29.8 (14) |
PUNTING
sorted by net punt average · through Week 6| # | Team | G | Net punt average | Gross punt average | Punts per game | Punts inside the 20 % | Punts inside the 20 | Punts inside the 10 | Punts inside the 5 | Punt touchbacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | 5 | 46.9 (1) | 48.2 (3) | 3.40 (9) | 41.2 (T-9) | 7 (T-8) | 3 (T-6) | 2 (T-3) | 1 (T-4) |
| 2 | USC | 7 | 44.0 (2) | 49.8 (1) | 1.71 (2) | 41.7 (8) | 5 (T-12) | 4 (T-4) | 1 (T-7) | 2 (T-10) |
| 3 | Purdue | 6 | 43.9 (3) | 47.6 (4) | 2.83 (T-6) | 29.4 (14) | 5 (T-12) | 1 (T-12) | 1 (T-7) | 1 (T-4) |
| 4 | Rutgers | 5 | 43.7 (4) | 46.6 (6) | 2.80 (5) | 28.6 (16) | 4 (17) | 1 (T-12) | 0 (T-14) | 2 (T-10) |
| 5 | Illinois | 6 | 43.7 (5) | 42.3 (13) | 1.67 (1) | 50.0 (T-3) | 5 (T-12) | 3 (T-6) | 1 (T-7) | 0 (T-1) |
| 6 | Washington | 6 | 43.2 (6) | 47.6 (5) | 5.17 (17) | 29.0 (15) | 9 (6) | 2 (T-9) | 2 (T-3) | 1 (T-4) |
| 7 | Nebraska | 6 | 43.0 (7) | 44.6 (7) | 2.83 (T-6) | 41.2 (T-9) | 7 (T-8) | 1 (T-12) | 1 (T-7) | 1 (T-4) |
| 8 | Iowa | 6 | 41.4 (8) | 43.0 (12) | 4.50 (12) | 63.0 (1) | 17 (1) | 8 (2) | 6 (1) | 2 (T-10) |
| 9 | Michigan | 5 | 40.6 (9) | 43.2 (11) | 4.80 (16) | 45.8 (5) | 11 (4) | 4 (T-4) | 2 (T-3) | 2 (T-10) |
| 10 | UCLA | 5 | 40.5 (10) | 44.6 (8) | 4.60 (13) | 56.5 (2) | 13 (3) | 3 (T-6) | 0 (T-14) | 0 (T-1) |
| 11 | Minnesota | 6 | 39.8 (11) | 40.9 (15) | 4.67 (T-14) | 50.0 (T-3) | 14 (2) | 9 (1) | 5 (2) | 0 (T-1) |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 5 | 39.6 (12) | 44.1 (9) | 3.60 (10) | 44.4 (6) | 8 (7) | 2 (T-9) | 1 (T-7) | 2 (T-10) |
| 13 | Ohio State | 6 | 38.4 (13) | 43.6 (10) | 2.33 (3) | 42.9 (7) | 6 (11) | 2 (T-9) | 0 (T-14) | 2 (T-10) |
| 14 | Maryland | 6 | 38.4 (14) | 40.6 (16) | 4.67 (T-14) | 25.0 (17) | 7 (T-8) | 1 (T-12) | 1 (T-7) | 1 (T-4) |
| 15 | Penn State | 6 | 37.6 (15) | 41.7 (14) | 4.33 (11) | 38.5 (11) | 10 (5) | 5 (3) | 2 (T-3) | 4 (T-16) |
| 16 | Northwestern | 5 | 36.1 (16) | 37.4 (17) | 3.20 (8) | 31.2 (T-12) | 5 (T-12) | 1 (T-12) | 1 (T-7) | 1 (T-4) |
| — | Indiana | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | Michigan State | 6 | — | 49.2 (2) | 2.67 (4) | 31.2 (T-12) | 5 (T-12) | — | — | 4 (T-16) |
OPPONENT PUNTING
sorted by opp. net punt average · through Week 6| # | Team | G | Opp. net punt average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | 6 | 33.9 (1) |
| 2 | USC | 7 | 34.8 (2) |
| 3 | Michigan State | 6 | 36.1 (3) |
| 4 | Iowa | 6 | 38.0 (4) |
| 5 | Oregon | 5 | 38.3 (5) |
| 6 | Purdue | 6 | 38.5 (6) |
| 7 | Michigan | 5 | 38.6 (7) |
| 8 | Illinois | 6 | 38.8 (8) |
| 9 | Rutgers | 5 | 39.2 (9) |
| 10 | Penn State | 6 | 40.2 (10) |
| 11 | Nebraska | 6 | 40.6 (11) |
| 12 | Washington | 6 | 41.0 (12) |
| 13 | Indiana | 6 | 41.0 (13) |
| 14 | UCLA | 5 | 42.2 (14) |
| — | Northwestern | 5 | — |
| — | Maryland | 6 | — |
| — | Ohio State | 6 | — |
| — | Wisconsin | 5 | — |
How B1G+A counts it. Net punt average = gross punt yards minus return yards, with 20 yards off for each touchback (penalties after the play are ignored). Inside-the-20 counts are ESPN box-score figures; inside the 10 and 5 are spots of the ball after the return. Starting field position = own yard line of a possession's first snap; field position edge = own average start minus opponents' average start. Rank in parentheses is among Big Ten teams with a published value.
Source: ESPN game summaries (play-by-play drives plus box score) for every final game involving a Big Ten team, Aug 29 – Oct 10. Every game is checked against the ESPN box score in the same feed: punts 156/156; punt yds 154/156; punt in20 153/156; punt tb 156/156; net n 156/156; punt vs drives 156/156; punt result drives have punt 156/156; rec yds 154/156; rush yds 144/156; off td 156/156; fg made vs drives 156/156; turnovers 156/156; ints thrown 156/156; fumbles lost 156/156; ret td vs scoring 156/156; score recon 156/156; scoring plays in pbp 156/156 team-games agree (yardage totals within 10 yards). A team's figure is shown only if all of its games pass the checks that stat depends on; otherwise it shows — (hover for the reason). Withheld for at least one stat on this page: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Wisconsin.