Syndicated Research shows Rich Rod is actually Steve Spurrier

At Mgoanalytics, we are committed to responding to every comment with a thought provoking post. This has proven relatively easy so far, as our first comment was made this morning. Insert shameless shout out to UMgoblog.com here. Insert further derogatory remarks about other UM centric blogs here (that's means you mgoblog.com). In any event, it made sense, per our comment section, to look at sacks more holistically by doing a combined LB/DL analysis. The chart below supports this, since ~30% of the sacks in a DL/LB group come from the LBs:

2008 NFL Regular Season Sacks by Position (DL and LB only)

When looking at college conferences, the southern suspects dominate (again). I hate to do this, b/c we all know how insufferable SEC fans are (read 'Bama), but the fact is that their athletes perform better in the NFL. In this case, 50% better than the good guys:

2008 NFL Regular Season Sacks by College Conference

When you go school by school, the good guys look ok, unless you compare us to the SEC. Michigan=South Carolina. I'd be happy if this was a competition for hottest co-eds (it ain't). I'd be less happy if this was a competition for coaches past their prime (TBD, but I'm nervous). Since its an indication of defensive player development, I take solace in the fact that PSU is terrible, but want to know how Iowa is transforming 2-3 star talent into superior NFL performance. I think we already know the answer: Kirk Ferentz is a better talent evaluator than Tom Lemming.

2008 NFL Regular Season Sacks by College (Big 10, SEC)

The overall Top 10 is kinda of cool:

2008 NFL Regular Season Sacks by College (Top 10)

God help us if ND ever gets a good coach, b/c they have the talent. Other schools of interest:

#32 Texas 12.5 sacks

#51 DJU (formerly PSU) 5.5 sacks

#70 WVU 3 sacks

Here's to hoping that Greg Robinson is fully in charge of the defense...