Putting Up Numbers· college football

Iowa’s third-down conversion rate with Jeremy Hecklinski and without Jeremy Hecklinski

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, Iowa was 1.8 percentage points under with Jeremy Hecklinski and 0.5 percentage points over without Jeremy Hecklinski over its last 25 games, 1 game against 18. The plain averages are 33.3% and 41.4%, a difference of 8.1%. All 12 home games were without Jeremy Hecklinski. All 16 day games were without Jeremy Hecklinski. All 8 ranked opponents were without Jeremy Hecklinski.

Jeremy Hecklinski, quarterback: 480 passing yards, 69 pass attempts and 43 completions in 7 of those 25 games.

One game with Jeremy Hecklinski 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 Jeremy Hecklinskiwithout Jeremy Hecklinski
Iowa’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Jeremy Hecklinski or without Jeremy Hecklinski
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Nov 8, 2024@UCLAL40.0%43.0%
Nov 23, 2024@MarylandW35.7%40.6%
Nov 29, 2024vsNebraskaW0.0%41.0%
Dec 30, 2024vsMissouri (neutral)L46.2%33.1%
Aug 30, 2025vsUUAlbanyW62.5%—
Sep 6, 2025@Iowa StateL35.7%40.4%
Sep 13, 2025vsUMassW62.5%49.2%
Sep 19, 2025@RutgersW37.5%39.0%
Sep 27, 2025vsIndianaL37.5%33.0%
Oct 11, 2025@WisconsinW41.7%34.6%
Oct 18, 2025vsPenn StateW40.0%40.6%
Oct 25, 2025vsMinnesotaW33.3%43.0%
Nov 8, 2025vsOregonL38.5%36.8%
Nov 15, 2025@USCL40.0%38.7%
Nov 22, 2025vsMichigan StateW10.0%43.0%
Nov 28, 2025@NebraskaW58.3%37.9%
Dec 31, 2025vsVanderbilt (neutral)W50.0%42.5%
Sep 5, 2026vsNorthern IllinoisW42.9%50.6%
Sep 12, 2026vsIowa StateW33.3%38.6%
Sep 19, 2026vsNNorthern IowaW37.5%—
Sep 26, 2026@MichiganW42.9%37.2%
Oct 3, 2026vsOhio StateL45.5%39.4%
Oct 9, 2026@WashingtonW33.3%35.2%
Oct 24, 2026@MinnesotaL25.0%35.1%
Oct 31, 2026vsWisconsinW53.3%39.2%

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 0.7% 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.
  • UAlbany, Northern Iowa 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 16 of these 21 games; in the other 5 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.
  • 4 games in 2024 are neither with Jeremy Hecklinski nor without Jeremy Hecklinski: Jeremy Hecklinski had no game for the team that season, and sit out.