When SB Nation statistician Bill Connelly developed the advanced analytical system S&P+, one of the five factors he deemed most critical to winning a college football game was finishing drives. Writes Bill:
No matter how you approach it, the game of football changes when the field shrinks. It’s a good problem to have—what are we going to do once we get close to the end zone?—but it’s a question that needs an answer. The teams that make the most trips will win more often than not.
That neatly explains why Ole Miss was beaten 31-16 by Auburn in Oxford on Saturday afternoon.