Putting Up Numbers· college football

Boston College’s penalty yards with Nolan Ray and without Nolan Ray

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Boston College was 16.2 yards over with Nolan Ray and 4.2 yards over without Nolan Ray over its last 25 games, 5 games against 2. The plain averages are 73.0 and 63.0, a difference of 10.0.

Nolan Ray, running back: 42 rushing yards, 7 carries and 1 reception in 4 of those 25 games.

2 games without Nolan Ray is still too small a sample for the statistics to say much, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

penalty yards a game over expected

A +12.0 difference in penalty yards over expected with Nolan Ray vs without Nolan Ray is about what you’d expect.

A +10.0 difference in penalty yards with Nolan Ray vs without Nolan Ray is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Nolan Raywithout Nolan Ray
Boston College’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Nolan Ray or without Nolan Ray
SideDateGameResultpenalty yardsExpected
Nov 9, 2024vsSyracuseW4546.6
Nov 16, 2024@SMUL5251.8
Nov 23, 2024vsNorth CarolinaW5450.5
Nov 30, 2024vsPittsburghW6557.5
Dec 28, 2024vsNebraska (neutral)L4053.2
Aug 30, 2025vsFordhamW15—
Sep 6, 2025@Michigan StateL5950.7
Sep 13, 2025@StanfordL3057.9
Sep 27, 2025vsCaliforniaL10949.4
Oct 4, 2025@PittsburghL5762.9
Oct 11, 2025vsClemsonL4051.6
Oct 18, 2025vsUConnL7043.6
Oct 25, 2025@LouisvilleL4053.5
Nov 1, 2025vsNotre DameL8047.7
Nov 8, 2025vsSMUL2554.4
Nov 15, 2025vsGeorgia TechL4053.1
Nov 29, 2025@SyracuseW3155.3
Sep 5, 2026@CincinnatiL3759.7
Sep 11, 2026vsRutgersW2858.4
Sep 19, 2026vsMaineW48—
Sep 26, 2026vsVirginia TechL8957.9
Oct 3, 2026@SMUL9558.7
Oct 17, 2026vsPittsburghW4761.5
Oct 24, 2026@Georgia TechW9164.6
Oct 31, 2026@DukeL12965.8

Method

Read against .

  • Expected is an offense and a defense a team, fit over every 2026 game between two teams in the table with the game being read left out, minus 1.3 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 27% 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.
  • Maine has no other game in the table, so that game has no expected number and sits out the second figure.
  • Who played is read from the schools’ box scores’ participation lists, which name every player who entered the game.
  • 17 games in 2024 and 2025 are neither with Nolan Ray nor without Nolan Ray: Nolan Ray had no game for the team those seasons, and sit out.