Putting Up Numbers· college football

UTEP’s third-down conversion rate with Raymond Moore III and without Raymond Moore III

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, UTEP was 13.6 percentage points under with Raymond Moore III and 9.2 percentage points under without Raymond Moore III in 2026, 2 games against 4. The plain averages are 19.2% and 29.8%, a difference of 10.6%. All 4 away games were without Raymond Moore III. Both ranked opponents were without Raymond Moore III. Both opponents outside the major colleges were without Raymond Moore III.

Raymond Moore III, quarterback: 437 passing yards, 78 pass attempts and 48 completions in 8 games this season.

2 games with Raymond Moore III is still too small a sample for the statistics to say much, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

third-down conversion rate a game over expected

A −4.4% difference in third-down conversion rate over expected with Raymond Moore III vs without Raymond Moore III is about what you’d expect.

A −10.6% difference in third-down conversion rate with Raymond Moore III vs without Raymond Moore III is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Raymond Moore IIIwithout Raymond Moore III
UTEP’s games, 2026, each marked with Raymond Moore III or without Raymond Moore III
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Sep 4, 2026@OklahomaL15.4%26.0%
Sep 12, 2026vsTexas SouthernW50.0%—
Sep 19, 2026@MichiganL16.7%33.1%
Sep 26, 2026vsOregon StateL25.0%35.9%
Oct 3, 2026@New MexicoL33.3%32.2%
Oct 10, 2026vsNevadaL7.1%32.4%
Oct 17, 2026vsSan Jose StateL31.3%33.2%
Oct 31, 2026@NNorth Dakota StateL38.5%—

Method

Read against .

  • Expected is an offense and a defense a team, fit over every 2026 game between two teams in the table with the game being read left out, plus 1.4% 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 40% 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.
  • Texas Southern, 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, which name every player who entered the game.
  • With him means he was the team’s quarterback that game, at least half of its pass attempts; a game he left early or came into late reads as without him.