Putting Up Numbers· college football

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

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Northern Illinois was 14.3 yards under with Brady Davidson and 18.0 yards under without Brady Davidson over its last 25 games, 5 games against 13. The plain averages are 292.8 and 309.0, a difference of 16.2. Expected was 19.0 yards 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.

total yards a game over expected

A +3.7 difference in total yards over expected with Brady Davidson vs without Brady Davidson is about what you’d expect.

A −16.2 difference in total 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
SideDateGameResulttotal yardsExpected
Nov 6, 2024@Western MichiganW414405.2
Nov 13, 2024vsAkronW440400.0
Nov 19, 2024@Miami (OH)L242334.3
Nov 30, 2024vsCentral MichiganW334379.4
Dec 23, 2024vsFresno State (neutral)W369317.6
Aug 30, 2025vsHoly CrossW321—
Sep 5, 2025@MarylandL271292.3
Sep 20, 2025@Mississippi StateL268282.7
Sep 27, 2025vsSan Diego StateL170264.3
Oct 4, 2025vsMiami (OH)L220312.5
Oct 11, 2025@Eastern MichiganL332355.0
Oct 18, 2025@OhioL293283.2
Oct 25, 2025vsBall StateW370331.7
Nov 5, 2025@ToledoL203248.5
Nov 12, 2025@UMassW435361.1
Nov 18, 2025vsWestern MichiganL274258.5
Nov 28, 2025vsKent StateL334379.5
Sep 5, 2026@IowaL123321.2
Sep 12, 2026vsIllinois StateL308—
Sep 19, 2026@ArizonaL341300.7
Sep 26, 2026@Georgia StateL432348.5
Oct 10, 2026vsAir ForceL253365.3
Oct 17, 2026@WyomingL392347.5
Oct 24, 2026vsHawaiiL266406.5
Oct 31, 2026@UNLVL493316.1

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, 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 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.
  • 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.