Nebraska Defensive Efficiency - Part III

For Brandon and all of the history buffs. Here is the historical breakdown of our Bendability Index over time. Remember that the Bendability Index is essentially a measure of Yards Per Point Allowed.

Year	Bendability Index	Yds. Allowed	Pts. Allowed	Record	Final AP Rank
2006	18.15	4646	256	9-5	NR
2005	15.82	3986	252	8-4	24th
2004	13.72	4088	298	5-6	NR
2003	20.55	3863	188	10-3	19th
2002	15.13	5067	335	7-7	NR
2001	18.23	3446	189	11-2	8th
2000	16.62	3540	213	10-2	8th
1999	20.18	3027	150	12-1	3rd
1998	20.57	3764	183	9-4	19th
1997	15.68	3088	197	13-0	*2nd
1996	20.03	3065	153	11-2	6th
1995	21.57	3235	150	12-0	1st
1994	21.42	3106	145	13-0	1st
1993	19.23	3384	176	11-1	3rd
1992	19.80	3384	172	9-3	14th
1991	18.13	3772	208	9-2-1	15th
1990	19.71	2898	147	9-3	24th
1989	17.33	3015	174	10-2	11th
1988	17.32	3153	182	11-2	10th
1987	21.89	2912	133	10-2	6th
1986	17.28	2592	150	10-2	5th
1985	22.57	3070	136	9-3	11th
1984	21.30	2236	105	10-2	4th
1983	23.76	4420	186	12-1	2nd
1982	25.45	3487	137	12-1	3rd
1981	25.68	2645	103	9-3	11th
1980	24.92	2318	93	10-2	7th
1979	20.67	2708	131	10-2	9th
1978	16.28	3516	216	9-3	8th
1977	17.90	3579	200	9-3	10th
1976	19.51	3532	181	9-3	9th
1975	20.44	2800	137	10-2	9th
1974	23.70	3128	132	9-3	9th
1973	17.79	2900	163	9-2-1	7th

And here we see the Top 10 seasons from the past:

1. 1981 - 25.68
2. 1982 - 25.45
3. 1980 - 24.92
4. 1983 - 23.76
5. 1974 - 23.70
6. 1985 - 22.57
7. 1987 - 21.89
8. 1995 - 21.57
9. 1994 - 21.42
10. 1984 - 21.30

You’ll notice an interesting run in the early 80s. I found this a bit surprising, so I decided to take a closer look. The 1981 Blackshirts were led by All-American and Big 8 Defensive Player-of-the-Year (UPI) Jimmy Williams. Williams was joined by fellow All Big-8 performer Jeff Krecji. Tony Felici, Sammy Sims, and Ric Lindquist were named all-conference by the World Herald. Steve Damkroger led the Huskers with 116 tackles, while Williams finished with 10 sacks. The Blackshirts set a team record in 1981 after giving up just 9 TDs during the season. Other than just yielding such a small number of TDs, nothing really jumps out at me about this particular defense. Of course, I don’t have much to go on. I know I was cheering hard for this team, but let’s face it, I hadn’t even turned 4 when they took the field. Maybe one of our older readers can enlighten us (Dad)?

Next, we see the ten worst seasons over the last 34 years.

1. 2004 - 13.72
2. 2002 - 15.13
3. 1997 - 15.68
4. 2005 - 15.82
5. 1978 - 16.28
6. 2000 - 16.62
7. 1986 - 17.28
8. 1988 - 17.32
9. 1989 - 17.33
10. 1973 - 17.79

I’m absolutely not surprised to see three seasons from the very recent past up at the top. We just haven’t been a great defensive team for a while. I was shocked, however, to see the 1997 team so high on this list. As I hope you’ve discovered, while the Bendability Index is a helpful and interesting statistic it isn’t the holy grail of variables. In addition, it becomes important to think about the other side of the ball. The efficiency of a team’s offense can make up for an inefficient defense and vice-versa. In that way, we can start to understand that while the 1997 team didn’t boast the most efficient defense, its offense was likely one of the most efficient in history. So, that’s where we’ll go next, examining offensive efficiency or, a team’s Scorability Index.