Putting Up Numbers· college football

Pittsburgh’s pass attempts with Holden Geriner and without Holden Geriner

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Pittsburgh was 5.8 pass attempts over with Holden Geriner and 2.0 pass attempts under without Holden Geriner over its last 25 games, 3 games against 5. The plain averages are 37.0 and 34.0, a difference of 3.0. All 3 nonconference games were without Holden Geriner.

Holden Geriner, quarterback: 886 passing yards, 132 pass attempts and 77 completions in 6 of those 25 games, 55% of Pittsburgh’s pass attempts in those games.

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

pass attempts a game over expected

A +7.8 difference in pass attempts over expected with Holden Geriner vs without Holden Geriner is about what you’d expect.

A +3.0 difference in pass attempts with Holden Geriner vs without Holden Geriner is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Holden Gerinerwithout Holden Geriner
Pittsburgh’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Holden Geriner or without Holden Geriner
SideDateGameResultpass attemptsExpected
Nov 23, 2024@LouisvilleL3539.2
Nov 30, 2024@Boston CollegeL4438.2
Dec 26, 2024vsToledo (neutral)L3239.6
Aug 30, 2025vsDuquesneW38—
Sep 6, 2025vsCentral MichiganW3234.4
Sep 13, 2025@West VirginiaL3834.9
Sep 27, 2025vsLouisvilleL3234.2
Oct 4, 2025vsBoston CollegeW4528.8
Oct 11, 2025@Florida StateW2931.8
Oct 18, 2025@SyracuseW2433.1
Oct 25, 2025vsNC StateW4935.9
Nov 1, 2025@StanfordW3836.0
Nov 15, 2025vsNotre DameL3935.4
Nov 22, 2025@Georgia TechW2734.6
Nov 29, 2025vsMiami (FL)L3335.9
Dec 27, 2025vsEast Carolina (neutral)L4035.6
Sep 5, 2026vsMiami (OH)W4437.3
Sep 12, 2026vsUCFW2932.0
Sep 17, 2026vsSyracuseW2333.1
Sep 26, 2026vsBucknellW53—
Oct 2, 2026@Virginia TechW3030.5
Oct 10, 2026vsNorth CarolinaL4429.1
Oct 17, 2026@Boston CollegeL2528.1
Oct 24, 2026@Miami (FL)L3536.5
Oct 31, 2026vsGeorgia TechW3228.1

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, minus 0.1 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 60% 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.
  • Bucknell has no other game in the table, so that game has no expected number and sits 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 Holden Geriner nor without Holden Geriner: Holden Geriner had no game for the team those seasons, and sit out.