The red zone struggles were not really an issue in 2021 with Casey and Hudson. Even though we went 5-7, we were #4 in the country at converting RZ drives into TDs at 74.47%.
In 2022 when Quinn and Hudson took over, the RZ TD conversion rate dropped to 62.07% putting us at #65 in the country. This drop from #4 to #65 came even though we were averaging more RZ rushing YPC than in 2021 (and still had Bijan and Rojo in the backfield).
In 2023 the RZ TD conversion rate was worse at 50.82%, #120 in the country. This year in 2024 (prior to yesterday’s game) the RZ TD conversion rate is actually better at 65.63%, #48 in the country (prior to yesterday’s game).
So why the drop from 2021 onwards? Is it Quinn? Is it Sark? Is it Sark’s play calling for Quinn? Is it changes in the rushing game that negatively impact Sark’s playcalling? Our offense has been pretty consistent at staying around 34-35 ppg throughout the entirety of Sark’s tenure. The defense has shown significant improvement with opponent ppg decreasing yearly from 31.08 (2021), 21.62 (2022), 18.93 (2023), 14.47 (2024).