Putting Up Numbers· college football

LSU’s rushing yards with Caden Durham and without Caden Durham

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, LSU was 47.5 yards over with Caden Durham and 23.5 yards under without Caden Durham in 2026, 3 games against 4. The plain averages are 250.8 and 139.0, a difference of 111.8. All 3 ranked opponents were without Caden Durham. All 3 nonconference games were with Caden Durham.

Caden Durham, running back: 36 rushing yards and 12 carries in 4 games this season, 4% of LSU’s rushing yards in those games.

rushing yards a game over expected

A +71.0 difference in rushing yards over expected with Caden Durham vs without Caden Durham is about what you’d expect.

A +111.8 difference in rushing yards with Caden Durham vs without Caden Durham is a bit unusual: shuffle which games were with Caden Durham and it comes up 17 times in 100.

The games

with Caden Durhamwithout Caden Durham
LSU’s games, 2026, each marked with Caden Durham or without Caden Durham
SideDateGameResultrushing yardsExpected
Sep 5, 2026vsClemsonW320150.6
Sep 12, 2026vsLouisiana TechW147176.5
Sep 19, 2026@Ole MissL172163.4
Sep 26, 2026vsTexas A&MW194163.7
Oct 3, 2026vsMcNeeseW371—
Oct 10, 2026@KentuckyL99150.9
Oct 17, 2026vsMississippi StateW91171.9
Oct 24, 2026@AuburnW165162.2

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 8.1 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 60% 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 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 for 3 of these 8 games; in the other 5 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.