Putting Up Numbers· college football

UNLV’s carries with Kayden McGee and without Kayden McGee

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, UNLV was 0.4 carries under with Kayden McGee and 0.5 carries over without Kayden McGee over its last 25 games, 19 games against 4. The plain averages are 35.3 and 38.6, a difference of 3.3. All 3 neutral-site games were with Kayden McGee. Both bowl and playoff games were with Kayden McGee.

Kayden McGee, receiver: 491 receiving yards, 22 receptions and 6 receiving touchdowns in 14 of those 25 games, 3% of UNLV’s carries in those games.

carries a game over expected

A −0.9 difference in carries over expected with Kayden McGee vs without Kayden McGee is about what you’d expect.

A −3.3 difference in carries with Kayden McGee vs without Kayden McGee is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Kayden McGeewithout Kayden McGee
UNLV’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Kayden McGee or without Kayden McGee
SideDateGameResultcarriesExpected
Nov 30, 2024vsNevadaW4142.7
Dec 6, 2024@Boise StateL3537.7
Dec 18, 2024vsCalifornia (neutral)W3839.2
Aug 23, 2025vsIdaho StateW41—
Aug 29, 2025vsSam Houston (neutral)W3240.8
Sep 6, 2025vsUCLAW3036.5
Sep 20, 2025@Miami (OH)W4333.0
Oct 4, 2025@WyomingW3834.9
Oct 11, 2025vsAir ForceW2731.2
Oct 18, 2025@Boise StateL4031.0
Nov 1, 2025vsNew MexicoL2934.2
Nov 8, 2025@Colorado StateW4037.7
Nov 15, 2025vsUtah StateW3236.9
Nov 21, 2025vsHawaiiW4132.8
Nov 29, 2025@NevadaW3135.5
Dec 5, 2025@Boise StateL3431.7
Dec 23, 2025vsOhio (neutral)L2933.1
Aug 29, 2026vsMemphisL4137.6
Sep 5, 2026@HawaiiW4235.0
Sep 12, 2026@North TexasL3937.0
Sep 26, 2026@AkronW3336.5
Oct 3, 2026vsCaliforniaW3637.3
Oct 10, 2026vsNNorth Dakota StateW45—
Oct 17, 2026@Air ForceL3227.8
Oct 31, 2026vsNorthern IllinoisW3038.6

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 0.1 in 2024, plus 0.3 in 2025, plus 0.6 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 73% in 2024, 74% in 2025, 61% 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.
  • Idaho State, North Dakota 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 21 of these 25 games; in the other 4 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.