Putting Up Numbers· college football

Louisiana Tech’s third-down conversion rate with Trey Kukuk and without Trey Kukuk

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Louisiana Tech was 0.9 percentage points over with Trey Kukuk and 0.6 percentage points under without Trey Kukuk in 2026, 2 games against 5. The plain averages are 41.9% and 42.1%, a difference of 0.2%. Expected was 2.6 percentage points higher with Trey Kukuk than without Trey Kukuk. All 4 conference games were without Trey Kukuk. All 4 second-half games were without Trey Kukuk.

Trey Kukuk, quarterback: 494 passing yards, 76 pass attempts and 50 completions in 7 games this season.

2 games with Trey Kukuk is still too small a sample for the statistics to say much, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

third-down conversion rate a game over expected

A +1.5% difference in third-down conversion rate over expected with Trey Kukuk vs without Trey Kukuk is about what you’d expect.

A −0.2% difference in third-down conversion rate with Trey Kukuk vs without Trey Kukuk is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Trey Kukukwithout Trey Kukuk
Louisiana Tech’s games, 2026, each marked with Trey Kukuk or without Trey Kukuk
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Sep 5, 2026vsNorthwestern StateW63.6%—
Sep 12, 2026@LSUL21.4%35.8%
Sep 19, 2026@BaylorL43.8%33.5%
Oct 3, 2026vsArmyW40.0%48.3%
Oct 10, 2026vsLouisianaW53.8%36.6%
Oct 17, 2026@Louisiana MonroeW35.7%40.6%
Oct 24, 2026vsOld DominionW57.9%34.6%
Oct 31, 2026@South AlabamaW20.0%44.1%

Method

Read against .

  • Expected is an offense and a defense a team, fit over every 2026 game between two teams in the table with the game being read left out, plus 1.4% 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 40% 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.
  • Northwestern State has no other game in the table, so that game has no expected number and sits out the second figure.
  • Who played is read from the schools’ box scores’ participation lists, which name every player who entered the game.
  • 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.