Putting Up Numbers· college football

Virginia’s third-down conversion rate with Solomon Beebe and without Solomon Beebe

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Virginia was 9.0 percentage points under with Solomon Beebe and 4.4 percentage points under without Solomon Beebe over its last 25 games, 4 games against 4. The plain averages are 24.6% and 35.1%, a difference of 10.5%. Both ranked opponents were with Solomon Beebe. Both games while ranked were without Solomon Beebe. All 3 nonconference games were without Solomon Beebe.

Solomon Beebe, running back: 9 rushing yards, 4 carries and 5 receptions in 3 of those 25 games.

third-down conversion rate a game over expected

A −4.7% difference in third-down conversion rate over expected with Solomon Beebe vs without Solomon Beebe is about what you’d expect.

A −10.5% difference in third-down conversion rate with Solomon Beebe vs without Solomon Beebe is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Solomon Beebewithout Solomon Beebe
Virginia’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Solomon Beebe or without Solomon Beebe
SideDateGameResult3rd downsExpected
Nov 23, 2024vsSMUL20.0%36.0%
Nov 30, 2024@Virginia TechL38.5%34.7%
Aug 30, 2025vsCoastal CarolinaW50.0%46.8%
Sep 6, 2025@NC StateL68.4%44.2%
Sep 13, 2025vsWilliam & MaryW56.3%—
Sep 20, 2025vsStanfordW53.8%42.4%
Sep 26, 2025vsFlorida StateW53.8%44.7%
Oct 4, 2025@LouisvilleW40.0%40.3%
Oct 18, 2025vsWashington StateW33.3%44.2%
Oct 25, 2025@North CarolinaW38.9%46.9%
Nov 1, 2025@CaliforniaW52.6%45.5%
Nov 8, 2025vsWake ForestL21.4%44.1%
Nov 15, 2025@DukeW63.2%44.5%
Nov 29, 2025vsVirginia TechW50.0%47.0%
Dec 6, 2025vsDuke (neutral)L46.7%46.5%
Dec 27, 2025vsMissouri (neutral)W56.5%38.9%
Aug 29, 2026vsNC StateW21.4%37.3%
Sep 11, 2026vsNNorfolk StateW50.0%—
Sep 19, 2026vsWest Virginia (neutral)L37.5%34.3%
Sep 26, 2026vsDelawareW46.7%34.2%
Oct 3, 2026@Florida StateL20.0%37.2%
Oct 10, 2026vsSyracuseW30.0%36.7%
Oct 17, 2026@SMUL30.8%29.7%
Oct 23, 2026vsDukeL29.4%31.5%
Oct 31, 2026@Wake ForestL8.3%36.7%

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 two sides are the games before and after one date, so the shuffle moves any game between them.
  • Norfolk State has no other game in the table, so that game has no expected number and sits out the second figure.
  • Who played is read from the schools’ box scores’ participation lists for 8 of these 9 games; in the other game a player is counted as in it when the box score has a stat for him.
  • 16 games in 2024 and 2025 are neither with Solomon Beebe nor without Solomon Beebe: Solomon Beebe had no game for the team those seasons, and sit out.