Putting Up Numbers· college football

Illinois’ total yards with Kaden Feagin and without Kaden Feagin

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Illinois was 6.2 yards over with Kaden Feagin and 6.1 yards under without Kaden Feagin over its last 25 games, 18 games against 5. The plain averages are 385.2 and 377.8, a difference of 7.3. Expected was 14.6 yards lower with Kaden Feagin than without Kaden Feagin. All 6 night games were with Kaden Feagin. Both top-10 opponents were with Kaden Feagin. Both opponents outside the major colleges were with Kaden Feagin.

Kaden Feagin, running back: 507 rushing yards, 122 carries and 24 receptions in 18 of those 25 games.

total yards a game over expected

A +12.3 difference in total yards over expected with Kaden Feagin vs without Kaden Feagin is about what you’d expect.

A +7.3 difference in total yards with Kaden Feagin vs without Kaden Feagin is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Kaden Feaginwithout Kaden Feagin
Illinois’ games, last 25 games, each marked with Kaden Feagin or without Kaden Feagin
SideDateGameResulttotal yardsExpected
Nov 16, 2024vsMichigan StateW370359.4
Nov 23, 2024@RutgersW431393.3
Nov 30, 2024vsNorthwestern (neutral)W385382.2
Dec 31, 2024vsSouth Carolina (neutral)W358315.6
Aug 29, 2025vsWWestern IllinoisW441—
Sep 6, 2025@DukeW423435.5
Sep 13, 2025vsWestern MichiganW359387.5
Sep 20, 2025@IndianaL161304.2
Sep 27, 2025vsUSCW503346.0
Oct 4, 2025@PurdueW507397.2
Oct 11, 2025vsOhio StateL295252.8
Oct 25, 2025@WashingtonL337327.0
Nov 1, 2025vsRutgersW445460.3
Nov 15, 2025vsMarylandW399430.0
Nov 22, 2025@WisconsinL312331.3
Nov 29, 2025vsNorthwesternW286378.4
Dec 30, 2025vsTennessee (neutral)W420412.2
Sep 3, 2026vsUABW333406.1
Sep 12, 2026vsDukeL382370.0
Sep 19, 2026vsSouthern IllinoisW503—
Sep 26, 2026@Ohio StateL462295.3
Oct 3, 2026vsPurdueL345469.1
Oct 10, 2026@Michigan StateW409351.1
Oct 24, 2026vsOregonW314378.4
Oct 31, 2026@MarylandW412384.4

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 6.1 in 2024, plus 7.7 in 2025, plus 12.1 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 79% in 2024, 79% in 2025, 67% 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.
  • Western Illinois, Southern Illinois 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 21 of these 25 games; in the other 4 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.