Putting Up Numbers· college football

New Mexico State’s penalty yards with Adam Damante and without Adam Damante

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, New Mexico State was 6.8 yards under with Adam Damante and 0.1 yards over without Adam Damante over its last 25 games, 7 games against 11. The plain averages are 45.9 and 56.8, a difference of 10.9. Both opponents outside the major colleges were without Adam Damante.

Adam Damante, quarterback: 1,349 passing yards, 222 pass attempts and 138 completions in 10 of those 25 games.

penalty yards a game over expected

A −6.9 difference in penalty yards over expected with Adam Damante vs without Adam Damante is about what you’d expect.

A −10.9 difference in penalty yards with Adam Damante vs without Adam Damante is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Adam Damantewithout Adam Damante
New Mexico State’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Adam Damante or without Adam Damante
SideDateGameResultpenalty yardsExpected
Oct 29, 2024vsFlorida International (neutral)L2555.8
Nov 9, 2024vsWestern KentuckyL547.7
Nov 16, 2024@Texas A&ML2550.5
Nov 23, 2024@Middle TennesseeW3050.8
Nov 30, 2024vsUTEPL8046.3
Aug 30, 2025vsBBryantW80—
Sep 6, 2025vsTulsaW6549.0
Sep 13, 2025@Louisiana TechL7656.5
Sep 27, 2025@New MexicoL9453.5
Oct 2, 2025vsSam HoustonW1551.3
Oct 14, 2025@LibertyL5844.7
Oct 22, 2025vsMissouri StateL6159.4
Nov 1, 2025@Western KentuckyL5055.9
Nov 8, 2025vsKennesaw StateL3057.1
Nov 15, 2025@TennesseeL2949.9
Nov 22, 2025@UTEPW5156.3
Nov 29, 2025vsMiddle TennesseeL4542.6
Aug 29, 2026@Florida StateL6849.2
Sep 5, 2026vsMMercyhurstW72—
Sep 12, 2026@HawaiiL4058.7
Sep 26, 2026vsNew MexicoL5054.4
Oct 1, 2026vsWestern KentuckyW3052.0
Oct 7, 2026@Florida InternationalL4753.6
Oct 21, 2026@Sam HoustonW4850.7
Oct 28, 2026vsJacksonville StateL5059.0

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.
  • Bryant, Mercyhurst 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.
  • 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.
  • 5 games in 2024 are neither with Adam Damante nor without Adam Damante: Adam Damante had no game for the team that season, and sit out.