Figures don't lie, but liars can figure?

Imagine a football game in which one team outgains the other 507 yards to 297 yards, with an advantage of 352 yards to 47 on the ground. Imagine that the first team has 15 more offensive plays, and 10 more first downs. Imagine that the yards per carry are 7.7 versus 2.1. The ability to run the ball gives the first team a 10 minute advantage in time of possession. They are able to sustain drives because they convert 50% of their third downs, as opposed to 17% for their opponents. They are 100% on fourth down conversions, while their opponents are 0% on fourth down. The first team converts every opportunity in the red zone into points, while their opponent converts on only 50% of its red zone opportunities. The turnover margin is even, with each turning the ball over only a single time. Normally, the result is a blowout victory. Yesterday, it was a narrow victory for Michigan over Ball State, for which Michigan was criticized for underperforming. Sometimes it's possible to dominate a game and still lose. In this case, it was a dominant performance with a narrow victory. It just goes to show that, while liars can figure, sometimes figures also lie. The only thing that really matters is that the Wolverines maintained an unblemished record with the Ohio State game looming ahead.