Putting Up Numbers· college football

Buffalo’s penalty yards with Terrance Shelton Jr. and without Terrance Shelton Jr.

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Buffalo was 6.5 yards under with Terrance Shelton Jr. and 19.3 yards under without Terrance Shelton Jr. over its last 25 games, 13 games against 9. The plain averages are 48.1 and 34.8, a difference of 13.3. Both night games were with Terrance Shelton Jr.. All 3 games after a bye were with Terrance Shelton Jr..

Terrance Shelton Jr., running back: 324 rushing yards, 81 carries and 12 receptions in 15 of those 25 games.

penalty yards a game over expected

A +12.8 difference in penalty yards over expected with Terrance Shelton Jr. vs without Terrance Shelton Jr. is unusual: shuffle which games were with Terrance Shelton Jr. and it comes up 3 times in 100.

A +13.3 difference in penalty yards with Terrance Shelton Jr. vs without Terrance Shelton Jr. is a bit unusual: shuffle which games were with Terrance Shelton Jr. and it comes up 20 times in 100.

The games

with Terrance Shelton Jr.without Terrance Shelton Jr.
Buffalo’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Terrance Shelton Jr. or without Terrance Shelton Jr.
SideDateGameResultpenalty yardsExpected
Nov 2, 2024@AkronW2051.5
Nov 12, 2024vsBall StateW3547.9
Nov 20, 2024@Eastern MichiganW1556.2
Nov 26, 2024vsKent StateW2049.8
Jan 4, 2025vsLiberty (neutral)W5345.8
Aug 28, 2025@MinnesotaL4554.2
Sep 6, 2025vsSSt. Francis (PA)W29—
Sep 13, 2025@Kent StateW4250.4
Sep 20, 2025vsTroyL3049.7
Sep 27, 2025vsUConnL2546.7
Oct 4, 2025vsEastern MichiganW6954.1
Oct 18, 2025@UMassW6448.0
Oct 25, 2025vsAkronL7051.8
Nov 1, 2025@Bowling GreenW3552.4
Nov 12, 2025@Central MichiganL5054.4
Nov 19, 2025vsMiami (OH)L4445.8
Nov 28, 2025vsOhioL4544.7
Sep 3, 2026vsUUAlbanyW119—
Sep 12, 2026@Florida InternationalL2951.1
Sep 19, 2026@Penn StateL3046.8
Sep 26, 2026vsRRobert MorrisW80—
Oct 3, 2026vsWestern MichiganL6247.9
Oct 10, 2026@ToledoW2746.9
Oct 17, 2026vsUMassW3253.1
Oct 24, 2026vsBowling GreenW050.1

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 0.8 in 2024, minus 2.1 in 2025, minus 1.3 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 44% in 2024, 45% in 2025, 27% 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.
  • St. Francis (PA), UAlbany, Robert Morris 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 20 of these 25 games; in the other 5 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.