Putting Up Numbers· college football

Ohio’s third-down conversion rate with Matt Vezza and without Matt Vezza

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Ohio was 10.2 percentage points over with Matt Vezza and 0.6 percentage points under without Matt Vezza over its last 25 games, 3 games against 4. The plain averages are 51.6% and 43.0%, a difference of 8.7%.

Matt Vezza, quarterback: 444 passing yards, 62 pass attempts and 41 completions in 6 of those 25 games.

third-down conversion rate a game over expected

A +10.8% difference in third-down conversion rate over expected with Matt Vezza vs without Matt Vezza is about what you’d expect.

A +8.7% difference in third-down conversion rate with Matt Vezza vs without Matt Vezza is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Matt Vezzawithout Matt Vezza
Ohio’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Matt Vezza or without Matt Vezza
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Nov 29, 2024vsBall StateW70.0%47.9%
Dec 7, 2024vsMiami (OH) (neutral)W75.0%43.1%
Dec 20, 2024vsJacksonville State (neutral)W41.7%45.1%
Aug 28, 2025@RutgersL50.0%35.5%
Sep 6, 2025vsWest VirginiaW35.7%37.8%
Sep 13, 2025@Ohio StateL20.0%31.0%
Sep 20, 2025vsGGardner-WebbW55.6%—
Sep 27, 2025vsBowling GreenW40.0%41.2%
Oct 4, 2025@Ball StateL50.0%42.6%
Oct 18, 2025vsNorthern IllinoisW69.2%44.5%
Oct 25, 2025@Eastern MichiganW40.0%46.6%
Nov 4, 2025vsMiami (OH)W50.0%46.5%
Nov 11, 2025@Western MichiganL27.3%38.5%
Nov 18, 2025vsUMassW42.9%49.7%
Nov 28, 2025@BuffaloW41.2%39.2%
Dec 23, 2025vsUNLV (neutral)W36.4%34.6%
Sep 5, 2026@NebraskaL40.0%31.9%
Sep 12, 2026vsJacksonville StateW52.9%46.1%
Sep 19, 2026@South AlabamaL63.6%38.0%
Sep 26, 2026vsSStonehillW50.0%—
Oct 3, 2026@Kent StateW40.0%41.9%
Oct 10, 2026vsCentral MichiganW64.3%46.3%
Oct 17, 2026@SSacramento StateW50.0%—
Oct 24, 2026vsEastern MichiganW27.3%48.5%
Nov 3, 2026@AkronW33.3%40.5%

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 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.
  • Stonehill, Sacramento 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 8 of these 9 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.
  • 16 games in 2024 and 2025 are neither with Matt Vezza nor without Matt Vezza: Matt Vezza had no game for the team those seasons, and sit out.