Putting Up Numbers· college football

Texas State’s penalty yards with Beau Sparks and without Beau Sparks

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Texas State was 5.0 yards over with Beau Sparks and 31.0 yards over without Beau Sparks over its last 25 games, 22 games against 1. The plain averages are 60.2 and 90.0, a difference of 29.8. All 10 away games were with Beau Sparks. Both neutral-site games were with Beau Sparks. All 4 night games were with Beau Sparks.

Beau Sparks, receiver: 1,713 receiving yards, 124 receptions and 13 receiving touchdowns in 24 of those 25 games.

One game without Beau Sparks is one game, not a sample, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

penalty yards a game over expected

The games

with Beau Sparkswithout Beau Sparks
Texas State’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Beau Sparks or without Beau Sparks
SideDateGameResultpenalty yardsExpected
Nov 16, 2024vsSouthern MissW5553.2
Nov 23, 2024vsGeorgia StateL8055.3
Nov 29, 2024@South AlabamaW8550.7
Jan 3, 2025vsNorth Texas (neutral)W9454.8
Aug 30, 2025vsEastern MichiganW4261.0
Sep 6, 2025@UTSAW5558.6
Sep 13, 2025@Arizona StateL1059.1
Sep 20, 2025vsNNichollsW67—
Oct 4, 2025@Arkansas StateL7566.3
Oct 11, 2025vsTroyL7949.3
Oct 18, 2025@MarshallL8046.7
Oct 28, 2025vsJames MadisonL2054.5
Nov 8, 2025@LouisianaL11454.0
Nov 15, 2025@Southern MissW4165.0
Nov 22, 2025vsLouisiana MonroeW3555.0
Nov 29, 2025vsSouth AlabamaW7851.1
Jan 2, 2026vsRice (neutral)W8749.4
Sep 5, 2026@TexasL3056.7
Sep 12, 2026vsUTSAL9059.0
Sep 19, 2026vsNorth TexasW8051.0
Sep 26, 2026vsIIncarnate WordW51—
Oct 3, 2026@San Diego StateL5153.7
Oct 15, 2026vsColorado StateW3056.1
Oct 24, 2026vsUtah StateW4558.0
Oct 31, 2026@Boise StateL6157.3

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, minus 0.8 in 2024, minus 2.1 in 2025, minus 1.3 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 44% in 2024, 45% in 2025, 27% in 2026 of the difference the model predicts.
  • Nicholls, Incarnate Word 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.