Jimbo Fisher suggests sacks should count against passing yards instead of rushing

In the NFL, sacks don’t count against your rushing yards total. Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher would like to see that be the case in college football, too.

Fisher said on his radio show earlier this week that sacks should not cut into your rushing yards total. His point is that sacks don’t factor into how well you’re actually running the football with your running game.

“It’s indicative of what you’re trying to do,” Jimbo Fisher said. “When you get sacked in college, it goes against your rushing yards. Well it’s not. It should go against your passing yards, because it’s part of your passing game.”

Fisher didn’t just stop there, though. He also believes that scramble yards should count for the passing game and not factor into your rushing yards.

“Now quarterbacks, if it’s scramble yards, I count it in the passing yards. Because it’s in your passing game. Quarterback run yards is different. If it’s a planned run or something like that. Because you get a true judge of how you’re rushing the football with your backs and that type of stuff,” Fisher said. “So if you give up sacks it’s not indicative of what’s broken or what’s good.”

Jimbo Fisher shares concerns over Tennessee’s pass rush

Speaking of sacks, Jimbo Fisher would love for Texas A&M to not allow any against Tennessee.

That will be tough to do, though, because the Vols have an excellent pass rush. Fisher said on his radio show that he is concerned with the way Tennessee gets after the quarterback.

“They’re the old-school front where they’re a penetrating front,” Fisher said. “You don’t get as much of the old 4-3 the way Florida State was in the 90s, the way Miami was in the 80s and 90s, the front is more of the old-school, penetrating front four in how they play.”

Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks is in the midst of his third year as the Volunteers’ defensive play caller under head coach Josh Heupel, and through the first half of the season there’s no question that Tennessee has looked the best they ever have across the board on defense since Heupel took over the program.

The Vols are holding their opponents to 17.8 points and 308.2 yards per game, making them top five in the conference in each category. But where they really stand out is up front, where their fast and physical personnel is able to do some serious damage on the line of scrimmage.

“They get up field, they can rush. Outside I mean 30 and 27 can bring it, the inside guys 21 and 55 and those guys are all athletic, they get up, 9 and the backer, I mean they’re a downhill team and get penetration and try to create negative plays,” Fisher said.