Putting Up Numbers· college football

UMass’ rushing yards with T.Y. Harding and without T.Y. Harding

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, UMass was 21.4 yards over with T.Y. Harding and 17.0 yards under without T.Y. Harding over its last 25 games, 9 games against 11. The plain averages are 161.5 and 89.8, a difference of 71.7. All 5 opponents outside the major colleges were with T.Y. Harding. All 3 of Don Brown’s games were with T.Y. Harding. Both of Shane Montgomery’s games were with T.Y. Harding.

T.Y. Harding, receiver: 493 receiving yards, 43 receptions and 4 receiving touchdowns in 12 of those 25 games, 5% of UMass’s rushing yards in those games.

rushing yards a game over expected

A +38.4 difference in rushing yards over expected with T.Y. Harding vs without T.Y. Harding is about what you’d expect.

A +71.7 difference in rushing yards with T.Y. Harding vs without T.Y. Harding is a bit unusual: shuffle which games were with T.Y. Harding and it comes up 17 times in 100.

The games

with T.Y. Hardingwithout T.Y. Harding
UMass’ games, last 25 games, each marked with T.Y. Harding or without T.Y. Harding
SideDateGameResultrushing yardsExpected
Oct 26, 2024vsWWagnerW197—
Nov 2, 2024@Mississippi StateL199192.3
Nov 16, 2024vsLibertyL263174.3
Nov 23, 2024@GeorgiaL22693.5
Nov 30, 2024vsUConnL190164.1
Aug 30, 2025vsTempleL103121.9
Sep 6, 2025vsBBryantL101—
Sep 13, 2025@IowaL2643.0
Sep 27, 2025@MissouriL1925.0
Oct 4, 2025vsWestern MichiganL5790.0
Oct 11, 2025@Kent StateL44137.6
Oct 18, 2025vsBuffaloL187124.4
Oct 25, 2025@Central MichiganL11691.7
Nov 4, 2025@AkronL77117.4
Nov 12, 2025vsNorthern IllinoisL65146.9
Nov 18, 2025@OhioL13076.0
Nov 25, 2025vsBowling GreenL69102.8
Sep 3, 2026@RutgersW206146.2
Sep 12, 2026vsSSacred HeartW152—
Sep 19, 2026vsSStonehillW195—
Sep 26, 2026@SSacramento StateW232—
Oct 3, 2026vsEastern MichiganL106151.8
Oct 10, 2026vsMiami (OH)L65103.9
Oct 17, 2026@BuffaloL171135.5
Oct 23, 2026@UConnL53127.7

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 3.8 in 2024, plus 5.9 in 2025, plus 8.0 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 75% in 2024, 77% in 2025, 60% 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.
  • Wagner, Bryant, Sacred Heart, Stonehill, Sacramento State 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.