Putting Up Numbers· college football

Northern Illinois’ penalty yards with Brady Davidson and without Brady Davidson

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Northern Illinois was 14.4 yards under with Brady Davidson and 4.7 yards under without Brady Davidson over its last 25 games, 5 games against 13. The plain averages are 31.2 and 48.4, a difference of 17.2. 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.

penalty yards a game over expected

A −9.7 difference in penalty yards over expected with Brady Davidson vs without Brady Davidson is about what you’d expect.

A −17.2 difference in penalty yards 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
SideDateGameResultpenalty yardsExpected
Nov 6, 2024@Western MichiganW3744.1
Nov 13, 2024vsAkronW6949.5
Nov 19, 2024@Miami (OH)L5943.8
Nov 30, 2024vsCentral MichiganW3053.5
Dec 23, 2024vsFresno State (neutral)W1555.3
Aug 30, 2025vsHoly CrossW48—
Sep 5, 2025@MarylandL5543.8
Sep 20, 2025@Mississippi StateL5053.5
Sep 27, 2025vsSan Diego StateL6041.6
Oct 4, 2025vsMiami (OH)L4240.8
Oct 11, 2025@Eastern MichiganL057.9
Oct 18, 2025@OhioL2044.0
Oct 25, 2025vsBall StateW3547.8
Nov 5, 2025@ToledoL6040.4
Nov 12, 2025@UMassW3545.7
Nov 18, 2025vsWestern MichiganL1943.2
Nov 28, 2025vsKent StateL3243.9
Sep 5, 2026@IowaL6152.9
Sep 12, 2026vsIllinois StateL85—
Sep 19, 2026@ArizonaL1557.7
Sep 26, 2026@Georgia StateL3553.3
Oct 10, 2026vsAir ForceL3549.6
Oct 17, 2026@WyomingL9051.1
Oct 24, 2026vsHawaiiL5559.2
Oct 31, 2026@UNLVL5055.8

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.
  • 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.