For the past 7 years I have published an Experience Chart in my College Football national magazine. This chart has taken the overall experience from the 2 deep of each squad. This year I have included the results of the chart in my New and Improved Experience Chart (page 311). The new chart gives 20% of the experience grade to the old chart, 20% to % of lettermen returning, 20% to % of tackles returning, 20% to % of Yards earned returning and 20% to career starts of the Offensive line.
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Experience can be a big thing in college football. A player gains valuable experience for every year he plays and becomes a better player because of it. Players also mature physically while they are in college and there is a big difference between a raw 17 or 18 year old true Freshman and a mature and physically stronger 22 year old Senior. Some teams that send their players away on missions like BYU, routinely have Seniors up to 25 years old. There is also a coaching adage that for every Freshman starter you have, you lose one game. With that in mind, we compiled the following chart. It lists the total amount of Senior starters on the team as well as Seniors in the two deep. It also shows all of the Juniors, Sophomores and Freshmen starters and the total amount in the two deep. I then devised a point system to break down the most experienced teams. I awarded 3 points for every Senior starter, 2.5 for every additional Senior in the two deep, 2 points for every additional Jr starter, 1.5 for every Jr in the two deep, 1 point for an additional Sophomore starter, 0.5 for a Soph in the 2 deep. I then subtracted 1 point for every Frosh starter and .5 for every Frosh in the two deep. The total points column uses that formula to figure out the total points awarded to a team. This page ranks the conference in total points order and the number before the team is where they came up in my overall ranking of all the teams in the NCAA. This list was compiled in April and there have been some changes to the 2 deep in May which might not be accounted for, but it will give you an idea of the most experienced and least experienced teams in the NCAA this year.
