Math Through Sports
Rates: yards per carry, points per possession
6 min · A rate is "how much, each time" — and it makes unequal things comparable.
- Ratios and rates
The stat
A rate is "how much, each time" — and it makes unequal things comparable.
Learn the number
Total yards
Carries
A ratio compares two quantities. A rate is a ratio where you divide, to get "per one".
Yards per carry is total yards divided by number of carries. Points per possession is points divided by possessions.
Rates matter because totals reward whoever got more chances. A back with 20 carries should out-gain one with 8 carries — that does not make him better.
Read the stat
A running back gains 96 yards on 24 carries. A team-mate gains 60 yards on 10 carries.
- First back: 96 ÷ 24 = 4 yards per carry.
- Second back: 60 ÷ 10 = 6 yards per carry.
- The first has more total yards (96 vs 60).
- The second gains more each time he is given the ball.
4 yards per carry against 6 yards per carry — the smaller total is the better rate.
Your turn
A team scores 108 points across 90 possessions. What is their points per possession?
Explain what it means
A rate answers "what happens each time we try this?" That is usually the fairer question, because teams and players do not all get the same number of chances.
Make a prediction
Before a game, predict which team will have the higher points per possession — not the higher final score.
Review what happened
Check both afterwards. A team can lose the game and still win the rate, usually because they had fewer possessions.
Check your understanding
0 of 3 correct
Every question has to be right for this lesson to count as complete. Miss one and you can try it again.