Inside The Numbers: Chunk Yardage And A Heavy Defensive Rotation

Virginia Tech
Jalen Holston and the Virginia Tech offense picked up a lot of chunk yardage on Saturday. .(AP Photo / The Roanoke Times, Matt Gentry, Pool)

It’s time for our first Inside The Numbers article of the season!  We’ll use Pro Football Focus as a tool to further dissect Virginia Tech’s 45-24 victory over NC State.

This week we’re going to focus on chunk yardage, heavy rotation of defensive players, and several other topics I hope you’ll find interesting.

Chunk Yardage

No running game is going to find sustained success without the ability to generate big plays.  It’s unrealistic to expect offenses to grind it out five yards at a time all the way down the field.  The inability to hit big plays was a limiting factor in Virginia Tech’s running game over the past several seasons.

Let’s take it all the way back to the 2015 season.  We’ll show you where the Hokies ranked nationally in runs of 20+ yards, and in runs of 30+ yards.

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