Putting Up Numbers· college football

UTEP’s total yards with EJ Colson Jr. and without EJ Colson Jr.

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, UTEP was 66.9 yards under with EJ Colson Jr. and 9.0 yards over without EJ Colson Jr. over its last 25 games, 4 games against 2. The plain averages are 261.7 and 336.5, a difference of 74.8. All 4 away games were with EJ Colson Jr.. Both ranked opponents were with EJ Colson Jr.. Both opponents outside the major colleges were with EJ Colson Jr..

EJ Colson Jr., quarterback: 687 passing yards, 99 pass attempts and 66 completions in 7 of those 25 games.

2 games without EJ Colson Jr. is still too small a sample for the statistics to say much, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

total yards a game over expected

A −75.8 difference in total yards over expected with EJ Colson Jr. vs without EJ Colson Jr. is about what you’d expect.

A −74.8 difference in total yards with EJ Colson Jr. vs without EJ Colson Jr. is about what you’d expect.

The games

with EJ Colson Jr.without EJ Colson Jr.
UTEP’s games, last 25 games, each marked with EJ Colson Jr. or without EJ Colson Jr.
SideDateGameResulttotal yardsExpected
Oct 22, 2024@Louisiana TechL251298.0
Nov 2, 2024vsMiddle TennesseeL305424.0
Nov 9, 2024vsKennesaw StateW453366.0
Nov 23, 2024@TennesseeL230227.4
Nov 30, 2024@New Mexico StateW299403.7
Aug 30, 2025@Utah StateL284355.1
Sep 6, 2025vsUUT MartinW472—
Sep 13, 2025@TexasL259216.0
Sep 20, 2025vsLouisiana MonroeL442320.7
Sep 27, 2025vsLouisiana TechL273345.4
Oct 8, 2025vsLibertyL167352.8
Oct 15, 2025vsSam Houston (neutral)W416390.2
Oct 28, 2025@Kennesaw StateL298345.8
Nov 8, 2025vsJacksonville StateL372326.5
Nov 15, 2025@Missouri StateL240323.5
Nov 22, 2025vsNew Mexico StateL399336.3
Nov 29, 2025@DelawareL370336.6
Sep 4, 2026@OklahomaL198240.2
Sep 12, 2026vsTexas SouthernW491—
Sep 19, 2026@MichiganL150251.1
Sep 26, 2026vsOregon StateL222351.0
Oct 3, 2026@New MexicoL271266.2
Oct 10, 2026vsNevadaL211323.0
Oct 17, 2026vsSan Jose StateL462332.0
Oct 31, 2026@NNorth Dakota StateL238—

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 12.1 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 67% 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.
  • 17 games in 2024 and 2025 are neither with EJ Colson Jr. nor without EJ Colson Jr.: EJ Colson Jr. had no game for the team those seasons, and sit out.