I talk to friends and coworkers every week about the team. Everyone is impressed with the 5-1 record and even I let them know it hasn't been against tough competition. I don't see myself as an apologist. Over the years, I think I've been trained to temper my own expectations.
Having said that, we have been so solid in so many areas, even against bad competition, that it's hard not to get excited. I think the stats represent all of things we're doing that have contributed towards our achievements thus far.
We're scoring, and preventing the other teams from scoring, better than our yards per game reflect:
Total Offense: 52nd, Scoring Offense: 14th
Total Defense: 105th, Scoring Defense: 75th
The fact that we're ranking 30-40 spots better in each of those categories shows that we're getting things done in different ways.
Our special teams has been terrific this year, consistently giving our offense a shorter field to work with. That definitely attributes towards us putting more points on the board that yards will reflect.
We're 5th in 3rd down pct conversion rate. Instead of punting or kicking, we're sustaining drives and converting them into TD's.
In addition to that, we're 5th in redzone scoring pct. Only once have we been in the redzone and left without a score (bad INT by Maiava vs UTEP)
We're doing great winning the turnover battle. Ranked #3 in turnover margin at +9 on the year.
It would be great if we can continue these trends for the rest of the year, but it will get tougher. I'm most concerned with how our defense will look against the remaining competition in the league. It will get harder, not easier, that's for sure.