We lead the BIG EAST in...

[Economics_Nerd82]

penalties. 38 in total.

I feel like this constantly haunts our program. I am not going to rag on coaches. But doesn't this fall directly on their shoulders?

[thatboykane]

wow, that's pretty bad.  that means the amount of penalties we had against fsu is the norm.  it needs to be fixed NOW!

[Guest hm101]

we need to practice with big east officials eyeing down our every move.

[Brad]

I believe it was the Hurricanes that won their first National Championship while leading the nation in penalties...I'll have to look it up.  It was one of the three - FSU, UF or UM.

[Jamie]

You realize that four of the eight teams in the conference have only played four games while we've played five, right? Louisville has 36 penalties in four games.

[Brad]

Still looking for it, but found this.  I find it all interesting because we talk about the penalty issue every year, successful or not.

From Statistical Characteristics of BCS Champions:

You Don’t Need to Worry About Penalties – It’s true. Not only are they irrelevant to whether you win it all, in fact more highly penalized teams seem MORE successful than not. The average national ranking in Penalty Yards per Game of BCS Champions is an astounding 76.9, and the average Champion gives up 61.1 yards per game to penalties. In fact, 7 of the past 9 Champions ranked 73rd or worse in this category!

Link

[Guest nybullsfan]

penalties can be overcome by great teams ('canes, old oakland raiders, etc)

penalties stop mediocre teams cold

[LakeBull]

Things seem to have improved from past years.  I'm not really worried about penalties right now.

[Brad]

penalties can be overcome by great teams ('canes, old oakland raiders, etc)

penalties stop mediocre teams cold

Right, but the facts remain.  Championship teams don't simply overcome penalties, it's part of how they play.

[Stier]

I believe it was the Hurricanes that won their first National Championship while leading the nation in penalties...I'll have to look it up.  It was one of the three - FSU, UF or UM.

I know UF was the leader in penalties when they won the National Championship in 2006.