You say tomato, I say Ginn...

A recent post and response at MGoBlog got me wondering how the two most electric playmakers in the OSU-Michigan rivalry this season (Steve Breaston and Ted Ginn) really stack up.

I'm going to preface this with four notes:

1) Steve Breaston scares the hell out of me. Getting him back healthy this year should go a long way toward helping Michigan replace Braylon Edwards' play-making.

2) Statistics are not always a truly accurate measure of a player's greatness, but given the alternatives at hand ("Your guy sucks!"... "No, your guy sucks!"... "You're a doody-head!"...) they're the best measure we've got.

3) I decided on the methodology before I looked up the numbers. I think they'll make a compelling case that Ginn has been a superior (i.e. more explosive) player, but I won't change the criteria if they don't. I'm going to compare numbers (yards/yards per touch/touchdowns/touchdowns per touch) for their freshman years, Ginn's freshman year compared to Breaston's two years, and then isolate their results the same way specifically in the OSU-Michigan game.

4) I don't feel like formatting a crap-load of tables, so the numbers might appear a little garbled below. If so, TFB.

Freshman Years
Passing
Breaston (2003): 1-for-1... 36 yards... 1 TD
Ginn (2004): No Passes

Rushing
Breaston (2003): 12 carries... 65 yards... 5.4 ypc... 2 TD
Ginn (2004): 13 carries... 113 yards... 8.7 ypc... 2 TD

Receiving
Breaston (2003): 38 catches... 444 yards... 11.7 ypc... 3 TD
Ginn (2004): 25 catches... 359 yards... 14.4 ypc... 2 TD

Kick Returns
Breaston (2003): 9 returns... 191 yards... 21.2 ypr... 0 TD
Ginn (2004): 2 returns... 40 yards... 20.0 ypr... 0 TD

Punt Returns
Breaston (2003): 45 returns... 619 yards... 13.8 ypr... 2 TD
Ginn (2004): 15 returns... 384 yards... 25.6 ypr... 4 TD

Conclusion: There's really only one category where one guy stands out significantly over the other-- punt returns. Considering that Ginn played basically half a season and tied the conference's career punt return for touchdowns record, I think you've got to give him a slight edge. Incidentally, that Breaston TD pass was a throw-back screen to John Navarre during the comeback win over Minnesota. If you remember the play, it was Navarre who ended up gaining most of the yards with his legs.


Career Numbers
Passing
Breaston (2003): 1-for-1... 36 yards... 1 TD
Ginn (2004): No Passes

Rushing
Breaston (2003-04): 22 carries... 141 yards... 6.4 ypc... 2 TD
Ginn (2004): 13 carries... 113 yards... 8.7 ypc... 2 TD

Receiving
Breaston (2003-04): 72 catches... 735 yards... 10.2 ypc... 6 TD
Ginn (2004): 25 catches... 359 yards... 14.4 ypc... 2 TD

Kick Returns
Breaston (2003-04): 37 returns... 880 yards... 23.8 ypr... 0 TD
Ginn (2004): 2 returns... 40 yards... 20.0 ypr... 0 TD

Punt Returns
Breaston (2003-04): 69 returns... 911 yards... 13.2 ypr... 3 TD
Ginn (2004): 15 returns... 384 yards... 25.6 ypr... 4 TD

Conclusion: Again, Breaston hasn't shown himself to be noticably more explosive in any category, and the only major difference in the "yards per" category comes in the punt return department.


2004 OSU-Michigan game
Rushing
Breaston (2004): 2 rushes... 22 yards... 11.00 ypc... 0 TD
Ginn (2004): No carries

Receiving
Breaston (2004): 4 catches... 17 yards... 0 TDs
Ginn (2004): 5 catches... 87 yards... 0 TDs

Kick Returns
Breaston (2004): 4 returns... 69 yards... 0 TDs
Ginn (2004): No returns

Punt Returns
Breaston (2004): 1 return... 5 yards... 0 TDs
Ginn (2004): 4 returns... 123 yards... 1 TD

Conclusion: Ginn in a runaway, although to be fair, Breaston was dinged up.


Career in OSU-Michigan game
Rushing
Breaston (2003-04): 3 rushes... 25 yards... 8.3 ypc... 1 TD
Ginn (2004): No carries

Receiving
Breaston (2003-04): 9 catches... 40 yards... 0 TDs
Ginn (2004): 5 catches... 87 yards... 0 TDs

Kick Returns
Breaston (2003-04): 6 returns... 118 yards... 0 TDs
Ginn (2004): No returns

Punt Returns
Breaston (2003-04): 7 return... 60 yards... 0 TDs
Ginn (2004): 4 returns... 123 yards... 1 TD

Conclusion: Again, Ginn by a fairly wide margin. You probably remember the Breaston rushing touchdown, a little three-yard sneak off-tackle out of the quarterback position.

I really don't think any Michigan fans can logically complain that Breaston is the superior player and that Ginn is getting unwarranted hype.