Putting Up Numbers· college football

UCF’s total yards with Duane Thomas Jr. and without Duane Thomas Jr.

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, UCF was 4.8 yards over with Duane Thomas Jr. and 39.1 yards under without Duane Thomas Jr. over its last 25 games, 13 games against 5. The plain averages are 380.6 and 354.8, a difference of 25.7. Both top-10 opponents were with Duane Thomas Jr.. All 3 games after a bye were with Duane Thomas Jr..

Duane Thomas Jr., receiver: 572 receiving yards and 60 receptions in 14 of those 25 games.

total yards a game over expected

A +43.9 difference in total yards over expected with Duane Thomas Jr. vs without Duane Thomas Jr. is about what you’d expect.

A +25.7 difference in total yards with Duane Thomas Jr. vs without Duane Thomas Jr. is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Duane Thomas Jr.without Duane Thomas Jr.
UCF’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Duane Thomas Jr. or without Duane Thomas Jr.
SideDateGameResulttotal yardsExpected
Oct 26, 2024vsBYUL379389.7
Nov 2, 2024vsArizonaW602456.8
Nov 9, 2024@Arizona StateL406386.9
Nov 23, 2024@West VirginiaL348454.7
Nov 29, 2024vsUtahL379411.1
Aug 28, 2025vsJacksonville StateW424422.6
Sep 6, 2025vsNNorth Carolina A&TW564—
Sep 20, 2025vsNorth CarolinaW368359.0
Sep 27, 2025@Kansas StateL402352.9
Oct 4, 2025vsKansasL375394.1
Oct 11, 2025@CincinnatiL413390.6
Oct 18, 2025vsWest VirginiaW579370.8
Nov 1, 2025@BaylorL234391.6
Nov 7, 2025vsHoustonL282382.0
Nov 15, 2025@Texas TechL238263.1
Nov 22, 2025vsOklahoma StateW399391.7
Nov 29, 2025@BYUL298322.0
Sep 3, 2026vsBBethune-CookmanW560—
Sep 12, 2026@PittsburghL206352.2
Sep 19, 2026vsGeorgia StateW390414.2
Sep 26, 2026vsTCUW266299.5
Oct 3, 2026@HoustonL332321.3
Oct 10, 2026@Oklahoma StateL375377.1
Oct 24, 2026vsBYUW471280.2
Oct 30, 2026vsBaylorL281380.4

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.
  • North Carolina A&T, Bethune-Cookman 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 15 of these 20 games; in the other 5 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.
  • 5 games in 2024 are neither with Duane Thomas Jr. nor without Duane Thomas Jr.: Duane Thomas Jr. had no game for the team that season, and sit out.