Putting Up Numbers· college football

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

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, South Alabama was 13.7 yards over with Bishop Davenport and 8.9 yards under without Bishop Davenport over its last 25 games, 13 games against 10. The plain averages are 399.2 and 409.6, a difference of 10.4. Expected was 30.2 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.

total yards a game over expected

A +22.6 difference in total yards over expected with Bishop Davenport vs without Bishop Davenport is about what you’d expect.

A −10.4 difference in total 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
SideDateGameResulttotal yardsExpected
Nov 2, 2024vsGeorgia SouthernL458445.3
Nov 16, 2024@LouisianaW380392.7
Nov 23, 2024@Southern MissW380480.6
Nov 29, 2024vsTexas StateL377401.1
Dec 14, 2024vsWestern Michigan (neutral)W540452.0
Aug 30, 2025vsMMorgan StateW367—
Sep 6, 2025vsTulaneL421331.1
Sep 13, 2025@AuburnL310263.7
Sep 20, 2025vsCoastal CarolinaL420435.9
Sep 27, 2025@North TexasL396387.2
Oct 4, 2025@TroyL369355.3
Oct 14, 2025vsArkansas StateL278421.5
Oct 23, 2025@Georgia StateW470393.5
Nov 1, 2025vsLouisianaL368420.4
Nov 15, 2025@Louisiana MonroeW362394.3
Nov 22, 2025vsSouthern MissW452401.7
Nov 29, 2025@Texas StateL362389.9
Sep 5, 2026vsSS E LouisianaW395—
Sep 12, 2026@TulaneL478401.0
Sep 19, 2026vsOhioW458427.8
Sep 26, 2026@KentuckyL369335.1
Oct 3, 2026vsLouisiana MonroeW570425.1
Oct 8, 2026@Arkansas StateW381410.9
Oct 20, 2026@MarshallL326470.6
Oct 31, 2026vsLouisiana TechL397395.9

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 6.1 in 2024, 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 2024, 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.
  • 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.