From the Bleachers
with Rich Summers
Someone once said “99% of all statistics tell 49% of the story.” If that math is too fuzzy for you, the great Mark Twain was more specific when he said “there are three types of lies; lies, damn lies and statistics.” A look at two great college football games this weekend proves both of these statements.
On the surface you would have thought Ohio State, twenty point favorites to beat the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium, more than covered the spread on Saturday night. The Buckeyes ran eighty-three plays to just sixty by Penn State while outgaining them 413 to 276. Ohio State had 245 yards passing to just 154 by the Nittany Lions and outrushed them 168 to 122. And yet the Lions won the game 24-21.