Putting Up Numbers· college football

Florida International’s penalty yards with Sterling Joseph and without Sterling Joseph

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Florida International was 4.0 yards under with Sterling Joseph and 11.4 yards over without Sterling Joseph over its last 25 games, 12 games against 7. The plain averages are 52.3 and 62.3, a difference of 9.9. Both neutral-site games were with Sterling Joseph.

Sterling Joseph, running back: 211 rushing yards, 30 carries and 3 receptions in 10 of those 25 games.

penalty yards a game over expected

A −15.4 difference in penalty yards over expected with Sterling Joseph vs without Sterling Joseph is about what you’d expect.

A −9.9 difference in penalty yards with Sterling Joseph vs without Sterling Joseph is a bit unusual: shuffle which games were with Sterling Joseph and it comes up 6 times in 100.

The games

with Sterling Josephwithout Sterling Joseph
Florida International’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Sterling Joseph or without Sterling Joseph
SideDateGameResultpenalty yardsExpected
Oct 29, 2024vsNew Mexico State (neutral)W3459.4
Nov 16, 2024@Jacksonville StateL3552.4
Nov 23, 2024@Kennesaw StateL7545.1
Nov 30, 2024vsMiddle Tennessee (neutral)W4444.6
Aug 29, 2025vsBBethune-CookmanW40—
Sep 6, 2025@Penn StateL4044.9
Sep 13, 2025vsFlorida AtlanticW5061.5
Sep 20, 2025vsDelawareL6854.5
Oct 4, 2025@UConnL4550.0
Oct 14, 2025@Western KentuckyW7558.1
Oct 21, 2025vsKennesaw StateL8057.2
Oct 29, 2025@Missouri StateL7564.9
Nov 8, 2025@Middle TennesseeW6147.9
Nov 15, 2025vsLibertyW5547.3
Nov 22, 2025vsJacksonville StateW7051.3
Nov 29, 2025vsSam Houston (neutral)W2555.8
Dec 26, 2025vsUTSA (neutral)L3158.7
Sep 5, 2026@South FloridaL5051.1
Sep 12, 2026vsBuffaloW4159.8
Sep 19, 2026@Florida AtlanticL6552.2
Sep 26, 2026vsLLong Island UniversityW58—
Oct 7, 2026vsNew Mexico StateW4559.9
Oct 13, 2026@Jacksonville StateL10058.8
Oct 20, 2026vsMiddle TennesseeL2956.7
Oct 31, 2026@LibertyL7558.2

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 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 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.
  • Bethune-Cookman, Long Island University 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.
  • 4 games in 2024 are neither with Sterling Joseph nor without Sterling Joseph: Sterling Joseph had no game for the team that season, and sit out.