Putting Up Numbers· college football

South Alabama’s carries with Bishop Davenport and without Bishop Davenport

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, South Alabama was 1.7 carries over with Bishop Davenport and 0.3 carries over without Bishop Davenport over its last 25 games, 13 games against 10. The plain averages are 44.1 and 37.5, a difference of 6.6. Both opponents outside the major colleges were with Bishop Davenport.

Bishop Davenport, quarterback: 2,851 passing yards, 386 pass attempts and 261 completions in 19 of those 25 games, 20% of South Alabama’s carries in those games.

carries a game over expected

A +1.4 difference in carries over expected with Bishop Davenport vs without Bishop Davenport is about what you’d expect.

A +6.6 difference in carries with Bishop Davenport vs without Bishop Davenport is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Bishop Davenportwithout Bishop Davenport
South Alabama’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Bishop Davenport or without Bishop Davenport
SideDateGameResultcarriesExpected
Nov 2, 2024vsGeorgia SouthernL3632.0
Nov 16, 2024@LouisianaW2733.8
Nov 23, 2024@Southern MissW2737.0
Nov 29, 2024vsTexas StateL2735.6
Dec 14, 2024vsWestern Michigan (neutral)W3534.6
Aug 30, 2025vsMMorgan StateW41—
Sep 6, 2025vsTulaneL4137.3
Sep 13, 2025@AuburnL4237.3
Sep 20, 2025vsCoastal CarolinaL4443.5
Sep 27, 2025@North TexasL4544.6
Oct 4, 2025@TroyL5640.6
Oct 14, 2025vsArkansas StateL3643.7
Oct 23, 2025@Georgia StateW4542.9
Nov 1, 2025vsLouisianaL3644.1
Nov 15, 2025@Louisiana MonroeW5341.0
Nov 22, 2025vsSouthern MissW5043.7
Nov 29, 2025@Texas StateL3841.7
Sep 5, 2026vsSS E LouisianaW59—
Sep 12, 2026@TulaneL4043.8
Sep 19, 2026vsOhioW5040.0
Sep 26, 2026@KentuckyL3035.5
Oct 3, 2026vsLouisiana MonroeW4643.5
Oct 8, 2026@Arkansas StateW4639.8
Oct 20, 2026@MarshallL4239.3
Oct 31, 2026vsLouisiana TechL4435.5

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 0.1 in 2024, plus 0.3 in 2025, plus 0.7 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 73% in 2024, 74% in 2025, 61% 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.
  • Morgan State, S E Louisiana 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 20 of these 25 games; in the other 5 a player is counted as in them 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.