Putting Up Numbers· college football

Pittsburgh’s total yards with Mason Heintschel and without Mason Heintschel

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, Pittsburgh was 4.5 yards over with Mason Heintschel and 6.3 yards over without Mason Heintschel over its last 25 games, 13 games against 7. The plain averages are 419.9 and 404.9, a difference of 15.0.

Mason Heintschel, quarterback: 3,658 passing yards, 464 pass attempts and 299 completions in 15 of those 25 games.

total yards a game over expected

A −1.8 difference in total yards over expected with Mason Heintschel vs without Mason Heintschel is about what you’d expect.

A +15.0 difference in total yards with Mason Heintschel vs without Mason Heintschel is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Mason Heintschelwithout Mason Heintschel
Pittsburgh’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Mason Heintschel or without Mason Heintschel
SideDateGameResulttotal yardsExpected
Nov 23, 2024@LouisvilleL265378.7
Nov 30, 2024@Boston CollegeL322381.3
Dec 26, 2024vsToledo (neutral)L438403.5
Aug 30, 2025vsDuquesneW460—
Sep 6, 2025vsCentral MichiganW464426.5
Sep 13, 2025@West VirginiaL350419.2
Sep 27, 2025vsLouisvilleL339343.8
Oct 4, 2025vsBoston CollegeW503444.5
Oct 11, 2025@Florida StateW479331.5
Oct 18, 2025@SyracuseW260423.9
Oct 25, 2025vsNC StateW529398.7
Nov 1, 2025@StanfordW468377.8
Nov 15, 2025vsNotre DameL219338.4
Nov 22, 2025@Georgia TechW416406.8
Nov 29, 2025vsMiami (FL)L229301.4
Dec 27, 2025vsEast Carolina (neutral)L376399.6
Sep 5, 2026vsMiami (OH)W646415.2
Sep 12, 2026vsUCFW319409.9
Sep 17, 2026vsSyracuseW370395.5
Sep 26, 2026vsBucknellW766—
Oct 2, 2026@Virginia TechW298409.8
Oct 10, 2026vsNorth CarolinaL369411.6
Oct 17, 2026@Boston CollegeL392336.9
Oct 24, 2026@Miami (FL)L403352.9
Oct 31, 2026vsGeorgia TechW462443.9

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.
  • Duquesne, Bucknell 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 21 of these 22 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.
  • 3 games in 2024 are neither with Mason Heintschel nor without Mason Heintschel: Mason Heintschel had no game for the team that season, and sit out.