Putting Up Numbers· college football

USC’s penalty yards with Waymond Jordan and without Waymond Jordan

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, USC was 5.4 yards over with Waymond Jordan and 9.2 yards under without Waymond Jordan over its last 25 games, 14 games against 8. The plain averages are 61.1 and 43.5, a difference of 17.6. All 5 games while unranked were with Waymond Jordan.

Waymond Jordan, running back: 911 rushing yards, 163 carries and 14 receptions in 14 of those 25 games.

penalty yards a game over expected

A +14.6 difference in penalty yards over expected with Waymond Jordan vs without Waymond Jordan is about what you’d expect.

A +17.6 difference in penalty yards with Waymond Jordan vs without Waymond Jordan is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Waymond Jordanwithout Waymond Jordan
USC’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Waymond Jordan or without Waymond Jordan
SideDateGameResultpenalty yardsExpected
Nov 23, 2024@UCLAW2551.3
Nov 30, 2024vsNotre DameL6952.0
Dec 27, 2024vsTexas A&M (neutral)W7050.9
Aug 30, 2025vsMissouri StateW4568.4
Sep 6, 2025vsGeorgia SouthernW9353.2
Sep 13, 2025@PurdueW10349.6
Sep 20, 2025vsMichigan StateW8251.4
Sep 27, 2025@IllinoisL6956.9
Oct 11, 2025vsMichiganW3151.6
Oct 18, 2025@Notre DameL561.7
Nov 1, 2025@NebraskaW4950.8
Nov 7, 2025vsNorthwesternW3054.2
Nov 15, 2025vsIowaW3049.5
Nov 22, 2025@OregonL10350.5
Nov 29, 2025vsUCLAW3051.9
Dec 30, 2025vsTCU (neutral)L5051.1
Aug 29, 2026vsSan Jose StateW3461.1
Sep 4, 2026vsFresno StateW4455.8
Sep 12, 2026vsLouisianaW7858.5
Sep 19, 2026@RutgersW7152.1
Sep 26, 2026vsOregonL4451.4
Oct 3, 2026vsWashingtonW9455.2
Oct 10, 2026@Penn StateW2558.5
Oct 24, 2026@WisconsinL5151.8
Oct 31, 2026vsOhio StateW4255.4

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, 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 45% in 2025, 27% 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.
  • Who played is read from the schools’ box scores’ participation lists for 21 of these 22 games; in the other game a player is counted as in it when the box score has a stat for him.
  • 3 games in 2024 are neither with Waymond Jordan nor without Waymond Jordan: Waymond Jordan had no game for the team that season, and sit out.