Putting Up Numbers· college football

Kansas’ points allowed with Cole Ballard and without Cole Ballard

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Kansas was 1.6 points over with Cole Ballard and 0.2 points under without Cole Ballard over its last 25 games, 1 game against 22. The plain averages are 22.0 and 26.4, a difference of 4.4. Expected was 8.0 points lower with Cole Ballard than without Cole Ballard. All 11 home games were without Cole Ballard. All 3 neutral-site games were without Cole Ballard. All 4 night games were without Cole Ballard.

Cole Ballard, quarterback: 489 passing yards, 65 pass attempts and 35 completions in 12 of those 25 games.

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

points allowed a game over expected

The games

with Cole Ballardwithout Cole Ballard
Kansas’ games, last 25 games, each marked with Cole Ballard or without Cole Ballard
SideDateGameResultpoints allowedExpected
Oct 26, 2024@Kansas StateL2929.6
Nov 9, 2024vsIowa State (neutral)W3628.0
Nov 16, 2024@BYUW1332.0
Nov 23, 2024vsColorado (neutral)W2131.5
Nov 30, 2024@BaylorL4530.4
Aug 23, 2025vsFresno StateW722.7
Aug 29, 2025vsWWagnerW7—
Sep 6, 2025@MissouriL4228.3
Sep 20, 2025vsWest VirginiaW1025.8
Sep 27, 2025vsCincinnatiL3725.8
Oct 4, 2025@UCFW2024.0
Oct 11, 2025@Texas TechL4237.6
Oct 25, 2025vsKansas StateL4228.0
Nov 1, 2025vsOklahoma StateW2116.2
Nov 8, 2025@ArizonaL2433.2
Nov 22, 2025@Iowa StateL3827.6
Nov 28, 2025vsUtahL3139.3
Sep 4, 2026vsLLong Island UniversityW6—
Sep 11, 2026vsMissouriL3825.5
Sep 19, 2026vsArizona State (neutral)L2427.1
Oct 3, 2026vsMiddle TennesseeW023.4
Oct 10, 2026@UtahL4133.6
Oct 17, 2026@Kansas StateL3524.8
Oct 24, 2026vsBaylorW2429.6
Oct 31, 2026@TCUL2220.4

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, minus 1.5 in 2024, minus 1.5 in 2025, minus 1.9 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 75% in 2024, 78% in 2025, 66% in 2026 of the difference the model predicts.
  • Wagner, 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 for 20 of these 25 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.