Putting Up Numbers· college football

Louisiana Tech’s total yards with Blake Baker and without Blake Baker

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Louisiana Tech was 12.7 yards over with Blake Baker and 17.7 yards under without Blake Baker over its last 25 games, 10 games against 13. The plain averages are 409.2 and 321.5, a difference of 87.7. Both neutral-site games were without Blake Baker. Both bowl and playoff games were without Blake Baker.

Blake Baker, quarterback: 2,578 passing yards, 304 pass attempts and 208 completions in 15 of those 25 games.

total yards a game over expected

A +30.4 difference in total yards over expected with Blake Baker vs without Blake Baker is about what you’d expect.

A +87.7 difference in total yards with Blake Baker vs without Blake Baker is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Blake Bakerwithout Blake Baker
Louisiana Tech’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Blake Baker or without Blake Baker
SideDateGameResulttotal yardsExpected
Nov 16, 2024@Western KentuckyW279366.1
Nov 23, 2024@ArkansasL247270.6
Nov 30, 2024vsKennesaw StateW448364.5
Dec 28, 2024vsArmy (neutral)L218257.6
Aug 30, 2025vsSS E LouisianaW263—
Sep 6, 2025@LSUL157273.7
Sep 13, 2025vsNew Mexico StateW575363.8
Sep 20, 2025vsSouthern MissW339403.4
Sep 27, 2025@UTEPW232392.7
Oct 9, 2025@Kennesaw StateL305398.4
Oct 21, 2025vsWestern KentuckyL449401.6
Oct 31, 2025vsSam HoustonW647416.3
Nov 8, 2025@DelawareL333397.9
Nov 15, 2025@Washington StateL167258.9
Nov 22, 2025vsLibertyW437362.5
Nov 29, 2025@Missouri StateW479340.5
Dec 30, 2025vsCoastal Carolina (neutral)W297430.8
Sep 5, 2026vsNorthwestern StateW530—
Sep 12, 2026@LSUL139283.1
Sep 19, 2026@BaylorL366334.6
Oct 3, 2026vsArmyW505411.9
Oct 10, 2026vsLouisianaW486335.1
Oct 17, 2026@Louisiana MonroeW340434.5
Oct 24, 2026vsOld DominionW438358.3
Oct 31, 2026@South AlabamaW326454.8

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 6.1 in 2024, plus 7.7 in 2025, plus 12.1 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 79% in 2024, 79% in 2025, 67% 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.
  • S E Louisiana, Northwestern 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 21 of these 25 games; in the other 4 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.