As I typically do around this time of the year, I found an interesting stat that I believe must change for Texas to reach the heights they want to in 2026.

A look at the time of possession from teams that won 10+ games a year ago.

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2. James Madison (34:12.71)

3. Georgia (33:52.43)

5. Ohio State (33:07.00)

7. Miami (33:04.44)

9. BYU (32:43.21)

10. Indiana (32:37.94)

11. Navy (32:36.92)

14. Texas A&M (32:30.31)

16. Houston (32:18.08)

18. Virginia (32:16.14)

27. Alabama (31:32.33)

36. Vanderbilt (31:00.69)

40. Tulane (30:51.64)

41. Oregon (30:48.73)

42. Utah (30:47.77)

74. Oklahoma (29:44.31)

76. Texas Tech (29:39.86)

87. Notre Dame (29:17.92)

106. Ole Miss (28:43.87)

109. Texas (28:29.92)

112. North Texas (28:23.07)

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Only three teams with 10+ wins a year ago had a time of possession ranking outside of the top 100, with the Longhorns having the second worst among the group.

Only six of the 21 teams lost the time of possession battle. 

Ole Miss was an extreme outlier given how successful their run in the CFP was. Texas Tech did not score a point in the CFP and Oklahoma blew a 17-point lead at home in their meeting with Alabama.

Notre Dame, North Texas and Texas all missed the CFP.

 

That doesn’t surprise me given the offensive inefficiency in the first half of the season and PK’s bend don’t break defense. I would expect better this year although the schedule will play a role in dictating that. 

An improved offensive line and run game should certainly help this case.

 

2025: Texas ranked 109th (28:29.92)

2024: Texas ranked 74th (29:51.63)

2023: Texas ranked 36th (31:13.14)

2022: Texas ranked 120th (27:18.62)

2021: Texas ranked 110th (28:05.67)

Another way to look at that data is 5 of the teams on the bottom of your list were all ranked in the top 12 of the final CFB Rankings last season.  That’s 43% (5 of the top 12) ranked teams were outside the top 75 in time of possession.  

Tech, OU, Notre Dame, Texas, and Ole Miss.  3 of those 5 teams (25%) made the Playoffs, and the other 2 teams were the first out (ND, Texas).  And North Texas would’ve made the Playoffs too if they’d beaten Tulane in the AAC CG.

Personally, I don’t think time of possession is a terribly relevant offensive statistic any longer in modern college football.  It’s the flip side of many of the advanced offensive efficiency metrics.  If you can score points while requiring fewer offensive plays to do so, that’s a more efficient offense.

That said, I DO think time of possession can be an indicative stat for defense (counter intuitively) as the more snaps your defense faces on the field, the more likely the opposing teams are to eventually score points.  Of course, ND, OU, and Tech all had top defenses last season, so T.O.P. isn’t revealing defensive fatigue either.

7 minutes ago, Glass Joe said:

Another way to look at that data is 5 of the teams on the bottom of your list were all ranked in the top 12 of the final CFB Rankings last season.  That’s 43% (5 of the top 12) ranked teams were outside the top 75 in time of possession.  

Tech, OU, Notre Dame, Texas, and Ole Miss.  3 of those 5 teams (25%) made the Playoffs, and the other 2 teams were the first out (ND, Texas).  And North Texas would’ve made the Playoffs too if they’d beaten Tulane in the AAC CG.

Personally, I don’t think time of possession is a terribly relevant offensive statistic any longer in modern college football.  It’s the flip side of many of the advanced offensive efficiency metrics.  If you can score points while requiring fewer offensive plays to do so, that’s a more efficient offense.

That said, I DO think time of possession can be an indicative stat for defense (counter intuitively) as the more snaps your defense faces on the field, the more likely the opposing teams are to eventually score points.  Of course, ND, OU, and Tech all had top defenses last season, so T.O.P. isn’t revealing defensive fatigue either.

I do think T.O.P. is a strong indicator of whether or not your trenches are dominant on both sides of the football. It won't dictate whether or not you win/lose games, but I do think it showcases the ability for teams to win at the line of scrimmage more times than not.

I was very surprised to see Notre Dame as low on the T.O.P. rankings as they were given their running game and ability to beat teams up front.

Muschamp will have teams punt the ball quicker. Offense will be on the field more often and increase TOP. Sometimes the defense would not allow any points on a drive, yet still be out there for 3-4 minutes of game time from getting teams to 3rd down repeatedly and converting slowly down the field

My two biggest hopes/wishes/please santa’s is to cut down on the penalties and find a run game when the other team knows whats coming. 

Feel like the offense has been very boom or bust for a while. This results in little possession time. Combined with the bend-don't-break defense it has made  some of the most lopsided TOP games in the modern Texas era. Both somehow ended up being W's, though 😆

 

Edited May 12May 12 by charlie990

I like the look of that @charlie990

Some really ugly games in that lol. But it shows a little of what I was referencing when it comes to dominating the trenches on both sides, it matters in T.O.P.

I do believe that Muschamps defensive style will marry much better with Sarks offensive style.  Higher pressure rates and fewer plays per drive will make a huge difference for a defense that quite frankly was worn out the last half of quite a few ballgames.  Texas offense while having multiple 3 and outs and depended heavily on explosive plays as opposed to extending drives will turn a corner this year if ( a big IF) they are able to establish an interior run game.  Outside zone will work against lesser teams but better defenses will require more push GCG.