Putting Up Numbers· college football

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

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, LSU was 18.2 yards over with Caden Durham and 52.2 yards under without Caden Durham over its last 25 games, 18 games against 5. The plain averages are 412.9 and 377.4, a difference of 35.5. Expected was 59.4 yards lower with Caden Durham than without Caden Durham. Both neutral-site games were with Caden Durham. Both opponents outside the major colleges were with Caden Durham. All 8 games while unranked were with Caden Durham.

Caden Durham, running back: 834 rushing yards, 182 carries and 26 receptions in 20 of those 25 games.

total yards a game over expected

A +70.4 difference in total yards over expected with Caden Durham vs without Caden Durham is unusual: shuffle which games were with Caden Durham and it comes up 3 times in 100.

A +35.5 difference in total yards with Caden Durham vs without Caden Durham is rare: shuffle which games were with Caden Durham and it comes up once in 100.

The games

with Caden Durhamwithout Caden Durham
LSU’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Caden Durham or without Caden Durham
SideDateGameResulttotal yardsExpected
Nov 16, 2024@FloridaL390421.2
Nov 23, 2024vsVanderbiltW474454.4
Nov 30, 2024vsOklahomaW395392.2
Dec 31, 2024vsBaylor (neutral)W427461.7
Aug 30, 2025@ClemsonW358323.0
Sep 6, 2025vsLouisiana TechW366405.4
Sep 13, 2025vsFloridaW322324.7
Sep 20, 2025vsSS E LouisianaW530—
Sep 27, 2025@Ole MissL256329.1
Oct 11, 2025vsSouth CarolinaW422297.3
Oct 18, 2025@VanderbiltL325332.2
Oct 25, 2025vsTexas A&ML278285.0
Nov 8, 2025@AlabamaL233273.2
Nov 15, 2025vsArkansasW395370.0
Nov 22, 2025vsWestern KentuckyW330441.0
Nov 29, 2025@OklahomaL198251.0
Dec 27, 2025vsHouston (neutral)L344337.9
Sep 5, 2026vsClemsonW655386.2
Sep 12, 2026vsLouisiana TechW528476.2
Sep 19, 2026@Ole MissL330482.1
Sep 26, 2026vsTexas A&MW506412.4
Oct 3, 2026vsMcNeeseW735—
Oct 10, 2026@KentuckyL415438.4
Oct 17, 2026vsMississippi StateW380486.2
Oct 24, 2026@AuburnW552432.4

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, McNeese 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 10 of these 25 games; in the other 15 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.