Putting Up Numbers· college football

South Alabama’s passing yards with Bishop Davenport and without Bishop Davenport

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, South Alabama was 1.6 yards under with Bishop Davenport and 9.9 yards under without Bishop Davenport over its last 25 games, 13 games against 10. The plain averages are 193.0 and 217.7, a difference of 24.7. Expected was 28.5 yards lower with Bishop Davenport than without Bishop Davenport. 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, 74% of South Alabama’s passing yards in those games.

passing yards a game over expected

A +8.3 difference in passing yards over expected with Bishop Davenport vs without Bishop Davenport is about what you’d expect.

A −24.7 difference in passing yards 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
SideDateGameResultpassing yardsExpected
Nov 2, 2024vsGeorgia SouthernL274264.0
Nov 16, 2024@LouisianaW285210.4
Nov 23, 2024@Southern MissW193247.7
Nov 29, 2024vsTexas StateL230230.0
Dec 14, 2024vsWestern Michigan (neutral)W271250.9
Aug 30, 2025vsMMorgan StateW174—
Sep 6, 2025vsTulaneL231196.5
Sep 13, 2025@AuburnL170171.9
Sep 20, 2025vsCoastal CarolinaL197210.8
Sep 27, 2025@North TexasL192170.7
Oct 4, 2025@TroyL104178.5
Oct 14, 2025vsArkansas StateL118208.0
Oct 23, 2025@Georgia StateW280185.1
Nov 1, 2025vsLouisianaL203196.2
Nov 15, 2025@Louisiana MonroeW162205.3
Nov 22, 2025vsSouthern MissW186208.6
Nov 29, 2025@Texas StateL157206.8
Sep 5, 2026vsSS E LouisianaW154—
Sep 12, 2026@TulaneL296198.9
Sep 19, 2026vsOhioW192249.7
Sep 26, 2026@KentuckyL266195.2
Oct 3, 2026vsLouisiana MonroeW321183.2
Oct 8, 2026@Arkansas StateW76207.1
Oct 20, 2026@MarshallL148250.4
Oct 31, 2026vsLouisiana TechL192238.0

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 2.3 in 2024, plus 1.8 in 2025, plus 4.1 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 72% in 2024, 68% in 2025, 59% 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.