Putting Up Numbers· college football

Iowa State’s third-down conversion rate with Connor Moberly and without Connor Moberly

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Iowa State was 16.9 percentage points under with Connor Moberly and 0.2 percentage points under without Connor Moberly over its last 25 games, 1 game against 22. The plain averages are 21.4% and 39.7%, a difference of 18.3%. All 13 home games were without Connor Moberly. All 3 neutral-site games were without Connor Moberly. All 6 night games were without Connor Moberly.

Connor Moberly, quarterback: 83 passing yards, 23 pass attempts and 9 completions in 7 of those 25 games.

One game with Connor Moberly is one game, not a sample, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

third-down conversion rate a game over expected

The games

with Connor Moberlywithout Connor Moberly
Iowa State’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Connor Moberly or without Connor Moberly
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Nov 16, 2024vsCincinnatiW43.8%41.1%
Nov 23, 2024@UtahW50.0%32.0%
Nov 30, 2024vsKansas StateW25.0%40.9%
Dec 7, 2024vsArizona State (neutral)L50.0%41.7%
Dec 28, 2024vsMiami (FL) (neutral)W46.2%40.5%
Aug 23, 2025vsKansas State (neutral)W21.4%39.1%
Aug 30, 2025vsSSouth DakotaW90.0%—
Sep 6, 2025vsIowaW53.3%30.9%
Sep 13, 2025@Arkansas StateW45.5%42.9%
Sep 27, 2025vsArizonaW46.2%35.2%
Oct 4, 2025@CincinnatiL25.0%41.9%
Oct 11, 2025@ColoradoL16.7%37.4%
Oct 25, 2025vsBYUL45.5%32.8%
Nov 1, 2025vsArizona StateL14.3%39.4%
Nov 8, 2025@TCUW50.0%34.3%
Nov 22, 2025vsKansasW56.3%39.2%
Nov 29, 2025@Oklahoma StateW28.6%41.9%
Sep 5, 2026vsSSoutheast Missouri StateW40.0%—
Sep 12, 2026@IowaL30.8%33.7%
Sep 19, 2026vsBowling GreenW40.0%39.0%
Sep 26, 2026vsUtahL21.4%35.4%
Oct 3, 2026vsWest VirginiaW45.5%35.3%
Oct 9, 2026@BYUL15.4%38.5%
Oct 24, 2026@ArizonaL21.4%38.4%
Oct 31, 2026vsOklahoma StateW53.3%35.2%

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, plus 0.6% in 2024, 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 50% in 2024, 56% in 2025, 40% in 2026 of the difference the model predicts.
  • South Dakota, Southeast Missouri State 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 19 of these 25 games; in the other 6 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.
  • 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.