Putting Up Numbers· college football

Buffalo’s third-down conversion rate with Jason Wright and without Jason Wright

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Buffalo was 3.5 percentage points under with Jason Wright and 3.5 percentage points under without Jason Wright over its last 25 games, 6 games against 11. The plain averages are 36.1% and 35.0%, a difference of 1.1%. Expected was 2.2 percentage points higher with Jason Wright than without Jason Wright. Both games after a bye were without Jason Wright.

Jason Wright, quarterback: 987 passing yards, 185 pass attempts and 92 completions in 10 of those 25 games.

third-down conversion rate a game over expected

A +0.0% difference in third-down conversion rate over expected with Jason Wright vs without Jason Wright is about what you’d expect.

A +1.1% difference in third-down conversion rate with Jason Wright vs without Jason Wright is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Jason Wrightwithout Jason Wright
Buffalo’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Jason Wright or without Jason Wright
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Nov 2, 2024@AkronW23.1%36.6%
Nov 12, 2024vsBall StateW33.3%43.4%
Nov 20, 2024@Eastern MichiganW37.5%35.7%
Nov 26, 2024vsKent StateW60.0%39.3%
Jan 4, 2025vsLiberty (neutral)W31.6%36.3%
Aug 28, 2025@MinnesotaL9.1%33.1%
Sep 6, 2025vsSSt. Francis (PA)W64.7%—
Sep 13, 2025@Kent StateW33.3%38.6%
Sep 20, 2025vsTroyL35.3%31.6%
Sep 27, 2025vsUConnL26.7%32.4%
Oct 4, 2025vsEastern MichiganW46.7%36.6%
Oct 18, 2025@UMassW37.5%39.4%
Oct 25, 2025vsAkronL16.7%34.1%
Nov 1, 2025@Bowling GreenW23.1%32.3%
Nov 12, 2025@Central MichiganL38.9%36.1%
Nov 19, 2025vsMiami (OH)L33.3%38.4%
Nov 28, 2025vsOhioL41.7%28.5%
Sep 3, 2026vsUUAlbanyW47.6%—
Sep 12, 2026@Florida InternationalL23.5%36.1%
Sep 19, 2026@Penn StateL7.1%32.3%
Sep 26, 2026vsRRobert MorrisW52.6%—
Oct 3, 2026vsWestern MichiganL35.7%37.6%
Oct 10, 2026@ToledoW38.1%36.9%
Oct 17, 2026vsUMassW42.1%40.8%
Oct 24, 2026vsBowling GreenW53.3%37.5%

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, plus 0.7% in 2025, plus 1.4% 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 56% in 2025, 40% in 2026 of the difference the model predicts.
  • The two sides are the games before and after one date, so the shuffle moves any game between them.
  • 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, which name every player who entered the game.
  • 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.
  • 5 games in 2024 are neither with Jason Wright nor without Jason Wright: Jason Wright had no game for the team that season, and sit out.