Putting Up Numbers· college football

Northern Illinois’ pass attempts with Brady Davidson and without Brady Davidson

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, Northern Illinois was 1.1 pass attempts under with Brady Davidson and 1.3 pass attempts under without Brady Davidson over its last 25 games, 5 games against 13. The plain averages are 21.2 and 26.9, a difference of 5.7. Expected was 5.9 pass attempts lower with Brady Davidson than without Brady Davidson. All 5 night games were without Brady Davidson. Both opponents outside the major colleges were without Brady Davidson. All 8 nonconference games were without Brady Davidson.

Brady Davidson, quarterback: 411 passing yards, 93 pass attempts and 44 completions in 9 of those 25 games, 42% of Northern Illinois’s pass attempts in those games.

pass attempts a game over expected

A +0.2 difference in pass attempts over expected with Brady Davidson vs without Brady Davidson is about what you’d expect.

A −5.7 difference in pass attempts with Brady Davidson vs without Brady Davidson is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Brady Davidsonwithout Brady Davidson
Northern Illinois’ games, last 25 games, each marked with Brady Davidson or without Brady Davidson
SideDateGameResultpass attemptsExpected
Nov 6, 2024@Western MichiganW1628.6
Nov 13, 2024vsAkronW1729.7
Nov 19, 2024@Miami (OH)L3431.1
Nov 30, 2024vsCentral MichiganW3025.7
Dec 23, 2024vsFresno State (neutral)W3133.7
Aug 30, 2025vsHoly CrossW24—
Sep 5, 2025@MarylandL2224.4
Sep 20, 2025@Mississippi StateL2522.8
Sep 27, 2025vsSan Diego StateL1622.9
Oct 4, 2025vsMiami (OH)L2824.6
Oct 11, 2025@Eastern MichiganL2620.5
Oct 18, 2025@OhioL3020.3
Oct 25, 2025vsBall StateW1122.8
Nov 5, 2025@ToledoL2922.3
Nov 12, 2025@UMassW821.9
Nov 18, 2025vsWestern MichiganL1522.3
Nov 28, 2025vsKent StateL1027.1
Sep 5, 2026@IowaL2433.4
Sep 12, 2026vsIllinois StateL30—
Sep 19, 2026@ArizonaL4333.3
Sep 26, 2026@Georgia StateL4230.1
Oct 10, 2026vsAir ForceL2035.8
Oct 17, 2026@WyomingL4432.2
Oct 24, 2026vsHawaiiL2630.1
Oct 31, 2026@UNLVL3732.1

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 0.3 in 2025, minus 0.1 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 73% in 2025, 60% 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.
  • Holy Cross, Illinois 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 19 of these 20 games; in the other game a player is counted as in it 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.
  • 5 games in 2024 are neither with Brady Davidson nor without Brady Davidson: Brady Davidson had no game for the team that season, and sit out.