Seeing a difference with Baer

[Bullmastiff 1]

The job Coach Baer has done so far really can't be overstated. Statistically we still rank bottom third in the nation on defense. But the improvement overall is pretty staggering.

TOTAL YARDS PER GAME:
2014 529 total YPG down to 426 Over 100 less yards per game given up.

RUSHING YARDS PER GAME:
2014 306 Rushing YPG down to 213 Nearly 100 yards less per game.

PASSING YARDS PER GAME:
2014 222 YPG up to 234 YPG this year. That might have to do a lot with teams not throwing on us last year because they were able to run with such ease. We already have more interceptions this season than all of last season which is big. We also rank 34 in the country in opponents completion percentage holding teams to 52% down from 54%. Also yards per completion are down from 15 YPC to 11 YPC. Yards per pass attempt is also better dropping from 8 yards per attempt down to 6.

I am not usually one that puts much into passer rating stats but UNLV ranks 32 in the nation in opponents passing rating. This year opponents passer rating is at 112 vs 149 last year.

Biggest improvement in my book though is points per game.
Last season we gave up 40 points a game. After the Reno game we are down to giving up 26 points per game.

The defense is still giving up yards and still ranks in the bottom third of the country but the stats are backing up what our eyes are telling us, this defense is much better than many expected it to be. Coach Baer and the rest of the defensive staff deserve a lot of credit for the turnaround so far.

 

[LasVegasReb]

And this after playing the likes of UCLA, Michigan and Northern Illinois. I was going to see how we'd rank if only using Idaho State and URN numbers. Significant improvement no matter how you slice it.

 

[RebboBiscuit]

This is a great staff, JD Williams has really improved how the kids covering the passing game too. Don't see too many cases where the passes are caught and there is no rebel even in the camera frame LOL.

Baer is well known in coaching circles giving clinics etc - a friend that coaches in town attended some and just has tremendous respect for the guy.

 

[rebneck]

Coming into the season, I really thought Cotton would have a bigger impact on offense than Baer on defense. Maybe because a lot of Baer's defenses weren't that highly ranked. He's certainly made them a lot more fundamentally sound. To be fair, though, if the OL wasn't a little light (both weight and depth-wise) and we had better consistency at QB, we may be singing Barney's praises.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

Coming into the season, I really thought Cotton would have a bigger impact on offense than Baer on defense. Maybe because a lot of Baer's defenses weren't that highly ranked. He's certainly made them a lot more fundamentally sound. To be fair, though, if the OL wasn't a little light (both weight and depth-wise) and we had better consistency at QB, we may be singing Barney's praises.

Baer was very good with Notre Dame, San Jose State and solid at Stanford. His defenses at Colorado and Washington both struggled. I get what you are saying though.