Rivals has continued its partnership with Pro Football Focus (PFF) which grants me access to their comprehensive analytics and statistical tools.
After each game, two separate analysts grade every player on each play of the game and the two totals are averaged out. Obviously no subjective ranking system is perfect, but I am finding that my real world impressions of a player in a certain game usually reflects the PFF grade.
PFF Grading Scale
90 and above - Elite
80 to 89 - Great
70 to 79 - Good
60 to 69 - Average to Above Average
50 - 59 - Below Average
49 and below - Poor
Overall Defensive Grades
First of all, it's worth noting that this was UCF's best team defensive grade against FBS competition. Here's how the season has stacked up:
FAMU - 83.3
FAU - 62.6
Stanford - 71.4
Pittsburgh - 61.6
UConn - 70.9
Cincinnati - 74.4
The UConn grade took a hit because of playing reserves in the second half, but I do think it was clear that the defense played pretty well at Cincy, all things considered.
Looking at the individual grades, Eric Mitchell takes the top spot with a 77.6 grade with a pair of defensive linemen following closely behind - Kalia Davis (76.9) and Mason Cholewa (76.9 as well).
Kalia Davis is the highest-graded defensive player this season and a lot of that early on was high productivity with limited reps. But he saw quite a bit more action against Cincy - 44 snaps in all.
Top 5 Defensive Players by Grade:
LB Eric Mitchell - 76.9
DT Kalia Davis - 76.9
DT Mason Cholewa - 76.9
DT Kenny Turnier - 73.8
LB Tatum Bethune - 73.3
Bottom 5 Defensive Players by Grade:
DB Aaron Robinson - 61.9
LB Eric Gilyard - 61.2
S Richie Grant - 60.4
S Antwan Collier - 60.1
DE Jalen Pinkney - 56.4
Aaron Robinson, Richie Grant and Jalen Pinkney received incredibly poor tackling grades. In Richie Grant's case, he was assigned four missed tackles.
Here's a breakdown of the grades and snaps played, sorted by position:
Defensive End (5 players):
Tre'Mon Morris-Brash (7) - 72.8
Stephon Zayas (38) - 65.8
Chris DeLoach (21) - 64.5
Brendon Hayes (62) - 63.5
Jalen Pinkney (18) - 56.4
Defensive Tackle (5 players):
Kalia Davis (44) - 76.9
Mason Cholewa (17) - 76.9
Kenny Turnier (33) - 73.8
Anthony Montalvo (44) - 65.0
Noah Hancock (11) - 63.5
Linebacker (4 players):
Eric Mitchell (46) - 76.9
Tatum Bethune (14) - 73.3
Nate Evans (68) - 64.7
Eric Gilyard (36) - 61.2
Safety (2 players):
Richie Grant (73) - 60.4
Antwan Collier (73) - 60.1
Corner/Nickel (3 players):
Nevelle Clarke (73) - 66.1
Tay Gowan (70) - 66.0
Aaron Robinson (55) - 61.9
Defensive line rotations have changed pretty much every week. In light of Randy Charlton's absence these past two games, Stephon Zayas has grabbed the most DE reps behind Brendon Hayes. Landon Woodson, who saw 31 snaps vs. UConn, did not play vs. Cincinnati.
DT wise, Cam Goode barely played against UConn (7 reps) and did not play vs. Cincinnati. Brandon Wilson saw 19 reps vs. UConn, but did not play either.
After each game, two separate analysts grade every player on each play of the game and the two totals are averaged out. Obviously no subjective ranking system is perfect, but I am finding that my real world impressions of a player in a certain game usually reflects the PFF grade.
PFF Grading Scale
90 and above - Elite
80 to 89 - Great
70 to 79 - Good
60 to 69 - Average to Above Average
50 - 59 - Below Average
49 and below - Poor
Overall Defensive Grades
First of all, it's worth noting that this was UCF's best team defensive grade against FBS competition. Here's how the season has stacked up:
FAMU - 83.3
FAU - 62.6
Stanford - 71.4
Pittsburgh - 61.6
UConn - 70.9
Cincinnati - 74.4
The UConn grade took a hit because of playing reserves in the second half, but I do think it was clear that the defense played pretty well at Cincy, all things considered.
Looking at the individual grades, Eric Mitchell takes the top spot with a 77.6 grade with a pair of defensive linemen following closely behind - Kalia Davis (76.9) and Mason Cholewa (76.9 as well).
Kalia Davis is the highest-graded defensive player this season and a lot of that early on was high productivity with limited reps. But he saw quite a bit more action against Cincy - 44 snaps in all.
Top 5 Defensive Players by Grade:
LB Eric Mitchell - 76.9
DT Kalia Davis - 76.9
DT Mason Cholewa - 76.9
DT Kenny Turnier - 73.8
LB Tatum Bethune - 73.3
Bottom 5 Defensive Players by Grade:
DB Aaron Robinson - 61.9
LB Eric Gilyard - 61.2
S Richie Grant - 60.4
S Antwan Collier - 60.1
DE Jalen Pinkney - 56.4
Aaron Robinson, Richie Grant and Jalen Pinkney received incredibly poor tackling grades. In Richie Grant's case, he was assigned four missed tackles.
Here's a breakdown of the grades and snaps played, sorted by position:
Defensive End (5 players):
Tre'Mon Morris-Brash (7) - 72.8
Stephon Zayas (38) - 65.8
Chris DeLoach (21) - 64.5
Brendon Hayes (62) - 63.5
Jalen Pinkney (18) - 56.4
Defensive Tackle (5 players):
Kalia Davis (44) - 76.9
Mason Cholewa (17) - 76.9
Kenny Turnier (33) - 73.8
Anthony Montalvo (44) - 65.0
Noah Hancock (11) - 63.5
Linebacker (4 players):
Eric Mitchell (46) - 76.9
Tatum Bethune (14) - 73.3
Nate Evans (68) - 64.7
Eric Gilyard (36) - 61.2
Safety (2 players):
Richie Grant (73) - 60.4
Antwan Collier (73) - 60.1
Corner/Nickel (3 players):
Nevelle Clarke (73) - 66.1
Tay Gowan (70) - 66.0
Aaron Robinson (55) - 61.9
Defensive line rotations have changed pretty much every week. In light of Randy Charlton's absence these past two games, Stephon Zayas has grabbed the most DE reps behind Brendon Hayes. Landon Woodson, who saw 31 snaps vs. UConn, did not play vs. Cincinnati.
DT wise, Cam Goode barely played against UConn (7 reps) and did not play vs. Cincinnati. Brandon Wilson saw 19 reps vs. UConn, but did not play either.
