Letter from the Editor

Are Penalties Really a Negative? Last July, American Football Monthly featured an article entitled, “10 Impact Stats to Build a Championship Team.” Statistical categories were examined among the top ten teams in NCAA Division I-A football over the last five years and matched with where they finished over that period. A total of 20 different statistics were included in an effort to determine which were the more meaningful stats that translate to success. Two adages were a result of the survey: statistics don’t lie and defense wins championships. Of the stats compiled, defense dominated five of the top six categories with ‘Scoring Defense’ leading the field. The rest of the top five included Rushing Defense, Scoring Offense, Total Defense, and Pass Efficiency Defense. Surprisingly, Rushing Offense finished 15th on the list. The least impactful statistics included Fumbles