Putting Up Numbers· college football

Louisiana’s penalty yards with Shelton Sampson Jr. and without Shelton Sampson Jr.

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Louisiana was 8.4 yards under with Shelton Sampson Jr. and 1.0 yards under without Shelton Sampson Jr. over its last 25 games, 13 games against 6. The plain averages are 44.3 and 48.0, a difference of 3.7. Both opponents outside the major colleges were with Shelton Sampson Jr..

Shelton Sampson Jr., receiver: 661 receiving yards, 40 receptions and 6 receiving touchdowns in 12 of those 25 games.

penalty yards a game over expected

A −7.5 difference in penalty yards over expected with Shelton Sampson Jr. vs without Shelton Sampson Jr. is about what you’d expect.

A −3.7 difference in penalty yards with Shelton Sampson Jr. vs without Shelton Sampson Jr. is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Shelton Sampson Jr.without Shelton Sampson Jr.
Louisiana’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Shelton Sampson Jr. or without Shelton Sampson Jr.
SideDateGameResultpenalty yardsExpected
Nov 23, 2024vsTroyW4549.1
Nov 30, 2024@Louisiana MonroeW1554.3
Dec 7, 2024vsMarshallL9855.9
Dec 28, 2024vsTCU (neutral)L6047.7
Aug 30, 2025vsRiceL4445.4
Sep 6, 2025vsMcNeeseW55—
Sep 13, 2025@MissouriL3248.8
Sep 20, 2025@Eastern MichiganL8552.3
Sep 27, 2025vsMarshallW544.6
Oct 11, 2025@James MadisonL5347.1
Oct 18, 2025vsSouthern MissL7053.4
Oct 25, 2025@TroyL2549.4
Nov 1, 2025@South AlabamaW6547.7
Nov 8, 2025vsTexas StateW6542.5
Nov 20, 2025@Arkansas StateW7659.5
Nov 29, 2025vsLouisiana MonroeW2549.1
Dec 17, 2025vsDelaware (neutral)L555.6
Sep 5, 2026vsLamarW48—
Sep 12, 2026@USCL6048.9
Sep 19, 2026vsUABW5045.9
Sep 26, 2026@CharlotteW5053.9
Oct 3, 2026vsArkansas StateW2950.4
Oct 10, 2026@Louisiana TechL1663.4
Oct 17, 2026vsTroyW2951.1
Oct 24, 2026@Southern MissL6555.5

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 2.1 in 2025, minus 1.3 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 45% in 2025, 27% 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.
  • McNeese, Lamar 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, which name every player who entered the game.
  • 4 games in 2024 are neither with Shelton Sampson Jr. nor without Shelton Sampson Jr.: Shelton Sampson Jr. had no game for the team that season, and sit out.