Survey says: When it comes to tempo, USC is taking its sweet time

If you’re fascinated by up-tempo college football offenses, here’s an early-season survey of just how fast, or slow, your favorite team is playing.

The study examines the first three weeks of the season so does not include last weekend’s slate of games.

The fastest-paced team is not Oregon, as you might have imagined. The quickest team out there was Brigham Young, which averaged 96 plays in its first two games. The Cougars ran a play every 17.8 seconds.

BYU is followed by Wyoming (80.3-play average through three games at every 18 seconds) and then Oregon (72 plays averaging one every 18.6 seconds).

UCLA through two games was ranked No. 15 while USC checked in at No. 122 out of 125 teams.

The only “slower” offenses in the nation than the Trojans are Miami (Ohio), Florida and Texas State.

USC, of course, does not run an up-tempo offense, but it might not hurt Lane Kiffin to pick up the pace.

The Trojans averaged only 66 plays per game through three games, with each play taking an average of 30.8 seconds.

The Pac-12, not surprisingly, placed four teams in the top 20 -- Oregon, California (No. 4), UCLA and Washington (No. 19).

The Southeastern Conference had two teams in the top 20, Texas A&M; at No. 12 and Mississippi at No. 17.

Two-time defending Bowl Champion Series winner Alabama is No. 121, right ahead of USC. Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban has publicly wondered whether fast-paced offenses cause more injuries than traditional offenses.

The Mountain West ranked first as a conference, averaging 76.4 plays per game at an average of a play every 23.6 seconds.

The Pac-12 was second by a sliver, averaging 76.4 plays per game with a play every 23.7 seconds.

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