Putting Up Numbers· college football

New Mexico’s third-down conversion rate with Luke Moga and since Luke Moga’s last game

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, New Mexico was 7.3 percentage points over with Luke Moga and 0.4 percentage points under since Luke Moga’s last game over its last 25 games, 1 game against 5. The plain averages are 46.2% and 35.5%, a difference of 10.7%. All 4 away games were since Luke Moga’s last game. All 4 conference games were since Luke Moga’s last game.

Luke Moga, quarterback: 248 passing yards, 38 pass attempts and 23 completions in 4 of those 25 games.

2 games with Luke Moga is still too small a sample for the statistics to say much, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

third-down conversion rate a game over expected

A +10.7% difference in third-down conversion rate with Luke Moga vs since Luke Moga’s last game is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Luke Mogasince Luke Moga’s last game
New Mexico’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Luke Moga or since Luke Moga’s last game
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Nov 2, 2024vsWyomingL40.0%33.6%
Nov 8, 2024@San Diego StateW45.5%48.1%
Nov 16, 2024vsWashington StateW42.9%40.1%
Nov 30, 2024@HawaiiL36.4%43.2%
Aug 30, 2025@MichiganL35.7%35.2%
Sep 6, 2025vsIdaho StateW46.2%—
Sep 12, 2025@UCLAW40.0%42.9%
Sep 27, 2025vsNew Mexico StateW50.0%40.5%
Oct 3, 2025@San Jose StateL60.0%34.1%
Oct 11, 2025@Boise StateL30.8%34.5%
Oct 18, 2025vsNevadaW38.5%40.2%
Oct 25, 2025vsUtah StateW33.3%38.8%
Nov 1, 2025@UNLVW27.3%34.6%
Nov 15, 2025vsColorado StateW35.7%44.6%
Nov 22, 2025@Air ForceW58.3%43.1%
Nov 28, 2025vsSan Diego StateW9.1%38.4%
Dec 26, 2025vsMinnesota (neutral)L44.4%38.8%
Sep 5, 2026vsCentral MichiganW53.8%46.5%
Sep 12, 2026vsMMercyhurstW38.5%—
Sep 19, 2026@OklahomaL21.4%31.9%
Sep 26, 2026@New Mexico StateW41.7%38.7%
Oct 3, 2026vsUTEPW58.3%42.9%
Oct 17, 2026@HawaiiW38.5%39.6%
Oct 24, 2026vsNNorth Dakota StateW23.1%—
Oct 31, 2026@San Jose StateW30.0%38.6%

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 1.4% 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 40% of the difference the model predicts.
  • The two sides are the games before and after one date, so the shuffle moves any game between them.
  • Mercyhurst, North Dakota 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 5 of these 8 games; in the other 3 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.
  • 17 games in 2024 and 2025 are neither with Luke Moga nor since Luke Moga’s last game: Luke Moga had no game for the team those seasons, and sit out.