Pac-12 statistical leaders: Total yards per game
Yards per game is a statistic which, much like passing yards, can be meaningful, but it can also be empty. Teams can gobble up yards in garbage time, when trailing by 20 points. That doesn’t mean anything.
Teams can drive 75 yards but then stall in the red zone and kick a 22-yard field goal. If drives aren’t finished, yards lose a large measure of their value.
Of course, yards can reflect territorial and overall dominance. If one team has 450 yards and the other team has 275, chances are the team with 450 will win the vast majority of the time. Over larger spans of time, yardage averages mean progressively more … but after only five weeks of Pac-12 football, this might not be as clear-cut as it seems.
Here are the Pac-12 yardage leaders through Week 5:
WASHINGTON HUSKIES
506.6 yards per game
UCLA BRUINS
506.4
OREGON DUCKS
499
USC TROJANS
CORVALLIS, OR – SEPTEMBER 24: USC Trojans Head Coach Lincoln Riley encourages his team before their game against Oregon State University at Reser Stadium on September 24, 2022 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)
480.4 yards per game
ARIZONA WILDCATS
476
UTAH UTES
453.6
OREGON STATE BEAVERS
428.4
STANFORD CARDINAL
410.5
CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS
398.2
WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS
380.8
ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS
344.6
COLORADO BUFFALOES
277
