Putting Up Numbers· college football

Kentucky’s passing yards vs a ranked opponent and vs an unranked opponent

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Kentucky was 41.8 yards over vs a ranked opponent and 48.0 yards under vs an unranked opponent over its last 25 games, 9 games against 13. The plain averages are 227.1 and 181.1, a difference of 46.0. All 9 nonconference games were vs an unranked opponent.

Kentucky’s +89.8 vs a ranked opponent and vs an unranked opponent over expected ranks 1st of the 76 teams with 4 games on each side over their last 25 games through Sep 5, 2026.

passing yards a game over expected

A +89.8 difference in passing yards over expected vs a ranked opponent and vs an unranked opponent is rare: shuffle which games were vs a ranked opponent and it comes up once in 100.

A +46.0 difference in passing yards vs a ranked opponent and vs an unranked opponent is a bit unusual: shuffle which games were vs a ranked opponent and it comes up 18 times in 100.

The games

vs a ranked opponentvs an unranked opponent
Kentucky’s games, last 25 games, each marked vs a ranked opponent or vs an unranked opponent
SideDateGameResultpassing yardsExpected
Aug 31, 2024vsSouthern MissW169218.1
Sep 7, 2024vsSouth CarolinaL44190.6
Sep 14, 2024vsGeorgiaL114179.8
Sep 21, 2024vsOhioW282191.8
Sep 28, 2024@Ole MissW243178.9
Oct 12, 2024vsVanderbiltL158214.3
Oct 19, 2024@FloridaL165175.8
Oct 26, 2024vsAuburnL154194.9
Nov 2, 2024@TennesseeL192163.9
Nov 16, 2024vsMMurray StateW313—
Nov 23, 2024@TexasL211140.6
Nov 30, 2024vsLouisvilleL173212.8
Aug 30, 2025vsToledoW85223.7
Sep 6, 2025vsOle MissL187194.6
Sep 13, 2025vsEastern MichiganW240217.4
Sep 27, 2025@South CarolinaL124202.6
Oct 4, 2025@GeorgiaL225182.6
Oct 18, 2025vsTexasL258200.2
Oct 25, 2025vsTennesseeL330199.7
Nov 1, 2025@AuburnW161210.3
Nov 8, 2025vsFloridaW168201.8
Nov 15, 2025vsTTennessee TechW261—
Nov 22, 2025@VanderbiltL284227.2
Nov 29, 2025@LouisvilleL100192.9
Sep 5, 2026vsYYoungstown StateW301—

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 2.3 in 2024, plus 1.8 in 2025, plus 4.1 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 72% in 2024, 68% in 2025, 59% 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.
  • Murray State, Tennessee Tech, Youngstown State have no other game in the table, so those games have no expected number and sit out the second figure.
  • Read against the season’s ratings as of Oct 31, 2026; the games are the ones through Sep 5.