Putting Up Numbers· college football

Colorado’s third-down conversion rate with Isaac Wilson and without Isaac Wilson

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Colorado was 0.0 percentage points under with Isaac Wilson and 4.1 percentage points under without Isaac Wilson over its last 25 games, 5 games against 2. The plain averages are 37.2% and 40.2%, a difference of 3.0%. Expected was 4.1 percentage points lower with Isaac Wilson than without Isaac Wilson. Both ranked opponents were with Isaac Wilson. All 5 conference games were with Isaac Wilson. All 3 nonconference games were without Isaac Wilson.

Isaac Wilson, quarterback: 1,164 passing yards, 149 pass attempts and 91 completions in 6 of those 25 games.

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

third-down conversion rate a game over expected

A +4.0% difference in third-down conversion rate over expected with Isaac Wilson vs without Isaac Wilson is about what you’d expect.

A −3.0% difference in third-down conversion rate with Isaac Wilson vs without Isaac Wilson is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Isaac Wilsonwithout Isaac Wilson
Colorado’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Isaac Wilson or without Isaac Wilson
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Nov 9, 2024@Texas TechW15.4%37.7%
Nov 16, 2024vsUtahW27.3%33.1%
Nov 23, 2024vsKansas (neutral)L42.9%40.5%
Nov 29, 2024vsOklahoma StateW41.7%43.7%
Dec 28, 2024vsBYU (neutral)L33.3%40.7%
Aug 29, 2025vsGeorgia TechL38.5%42.9%
Sep 6, 2025vsDelawareW43.8%44.7%
Sep 12, 2025@HoustonL28.6%41.0%
Sep 20, 2025vsWyomingW50.0%37.5%
Sep 27, 2025vsBYUL33.3%35.7%
Oct 4, 2025@TCUL64.3%34.3%
Oct 11, 2025vsIowa StateW46.7%39.7%
Oct 25, 2025@UtahL18.8%38.7%
Nov 1, 2025vsArizonaL38.9%37.5%
Nov 8, 2025@West VirginiaL29.4%39.5%
Nov 22, 2025vsArizona StateL27.8%39.4%
Nov 29, 2025@Kansas StateL47.1%37.1%
Sep 3, 2026@Georgia TechW41.2%42.1%
Sep 12, 2026vsWWeber StateW46.2%—
Sep 19, 2026@NorthwesternL33.3%40.5%
Sep 26, 2026@BaylorL20.0%37.5%
Oct 3, 2026vsTexas TechL37.5%37.4%
Oct 17, 2026vsUtahL40.0%35.6%
Oct 24, 2026@Oklahoma StateL38.5%39.2%
Oct 31, 2026vsKansas StateW50.0%36.5%

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, plus 1.4% 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 40% 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.
  • Weber State 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.
  • 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.
  • 17 games in 2024 and 2025 are neither with Isaac Wilson nor without Isaac Wilson: Isaac Wilson had no game for the team those seasons, and sit out.