Putting Up Numbers· college football

Boise State’s pass attempts with Max Cutforth and without Max Cutforth

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Boise State was 2.9 pass attempts over with Max Cutforth and 0.2 pass attempts over without Max Cutforth over its last 25 games, 5 games against 18. The plain averages are 35.6 and 31.2, a difference of 4.4. All 4 ranked opponents were without Max Cutforth. Both top-10 opponents were without Max Cutforth. Both opponents outside the major colleges were without Max Cutforth.

Max Cutforth, quarterback: 1,190 passing yards, 180 pass attempts and 103 completions in 10 of those 25 games, 49% of Boise State’s pass attempts in those games.

pass attempts a game over expected

A +2.7 difference in pass attempts over expected with Max Cutforth vs without Max Cutforth is about what you’d expect.

A +4.4 difference in pass attempts with Max Cutforth vs without Max Cutforth is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Max Cutforthwithout Max Cutforth
Boise State’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Max Cutforth or without Max Cutforth
SideDateGameResultpass attemptsExpected
Nov 29, 2024vsOregon StateW3325.0
Dec 6, 2024vsUNLVW2732.9
Dec 31, 2024vsPenn State (neutral)L3527.6
Aug 28, 2025@South FloridaL4835.9
Sep 5, 2025vsEEastern WashingtonW29—
Sep 20, 2025@Air ForceW2731.9
Sep 27, 2025vsAppalachian StateW3834.1
Oct 4, 2025@Notre DameL3735.4
Oct 11, 2025vsNew MexicoW3232.7
Oct 18, 2025vsUNLVW2433.3
Oct 24, 2025@NevadaW2831.6
Nov 1, 2025vsFresno StateL3329.1
Nov 15, 2025@San Diego StateL1834.9
Nov 22, 2025vsColorado StateW3529.3
Nov 28, 2025@Utah StateW4936.3
Dec 5, 2025vsUNLVW3132.4
Dec 13, 2025vsWashington (neutral)L4334.1
Sep 5, 2026@OregonL2927.2
Sep 12, 2026vsMemphisW2826.6
Sep 19, 2026vsSSouth DakotaW31—
Sep 26, 2026@Western MichiganW2331.0
Oct 3, 2026vsUtah StateW2132.7
Oct 10, 2026@Fresno StateW3429.3
Oct 24, 2026@Washington StateW2328.1
Oct 31, 2026vsTexas StateW4632.6

Method

Read against .

  • Expected is an offense and a defense a team, fit over every game of its season between two teams in the table with the game being read left out, minus 0.4 in 2024, minus 0.3 in 2025, minus 0.1 in 2026 for the home team (the edge the fit finds once strength is in), nothing at a neutral site.
  • Each expected number is then fit to the season’s games: a game bears out about 73% in 2024, 73% in 2025, 60% in 2026 of the difference the model predicts.
  • The shuffle keeps the season’s shape: the games are cut in two where one date leaves the least variance, each game is read against its stretch, and the sides are shuffled only inside each stretch.
  • Eastern Washington, South Dakota have no other game in the table, so those games have no expected number and sit out the second figure.
  • Who played is read from the schools’ box scores’ participation lists for 21 of these 25 games; in the other 4 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.
  • With him means he was the team’s quarterback that game, at least half of its pass attempts; a game he left early or came into late reads as without him.