UF Sports Analytics Lab

Stat of the Week!

The Chicago Bears are the first team in the history of the NFL to have a player with 3+ pass TDs (Caleb Williams), another player with 1+ pass TD & 1+ rushing TD (DJ Moore) & a third player with 150+ rush yards (Kyle Monangai).

Students! Check out these sports analytics competitions that are currently open. Each have various information about who's eligible, max team sizes, prizes, travel, etc.

Contact ufsal@hhp.ufl.edu with any questions!

“Thank you to @scott-nestler.bsky.social for playing such a huge role as an advisor for our project."

“As part of a summer group project with Nicholas Arnold, Justin Brown, and Luna Llano, our poster presentation was about analyzing NBA and WNBA game duration in relation to rule changes regarding event length since 1996, the first season of recorded play-by-play data.”

“Between coding models and statistical analysis across many sports, it was fascinating to see how much can be achieved in the ever-growing world of sports analytics.”

Hear from UF student Abhinava Pendyala about his experience presenting at the Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Conference this past weekend:

According to ESPN Analytics, the New York Giants had a 99.8% chance to win the game with 7:12 remaining.

The Broncos had the most 4th quarter points (33) after 3 scoreless quarters in NFL history.

(Set franchise record for most points in a quarter)

Teams that have trailed by 18+ points in the final 6 minutes of the 4th quarter are 2-3,677 since the 1970 merger.
(The two wins are the 2003 Colts over Bucs, 2025 Broncos over Giants)

Bo Nix became the first player in the history of the NFL to have 2 Passing TDS & 2 Rushing TDS in a fourth quarter.

(Nix ended the game with 279 Pass YDS, 2 Pass TDS, 48 Rush YDS, 2 Rush TDS)

The Broncos scored all 33 of their points in the 4th quarter, and completed a 19-point comeback against the Giants after a Will Lutz game-winning FG in the 4th quarter.

Bo Nix standing on a football field.

The Denver Broncos pulled off arguably the greatest regular season comeback in history against the New York Giants in Week 7 of the 2025 season, winning 33-32. Here are the most remarkable stats from this thrilling victory:

Interview with Jim Albert: Part I Published in Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education (Vol. 33, No. 3, 2025)

Check out this interview with Jim Albert, an Emeritus Professor at Bowling Green State University.

Jim dives into the evolution of analytics and reflects on how statistical methods have shaped decision‑making in baseball:

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Both players delivered MVP-level performances this season. If you had to cast your vote, who would you choose as the league's most valuable player?

Napheesa Collier is recognized as an all-around forward who combines efficiency, defense and leadership to influence the game on both ends of the court. She finished the 2025 season averaging 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game with a total of 755 points, 241 rebounds and 105 assists.

A'ja Wilson is known for being a dominant two-way force and an elite post scorer. She finished the 2025 season averaging 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, with a total of 937 points, 405 rebounds, and 122 assists.

Among the MVP finalists, Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx also stood out. Collier has built an impressive resume, including the 2019 Rookie of the Year and the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year awards.

This year, the MVP honor went to A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces. Wilson has now earned the award four times (2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025), making her the first player in WNBA history to achieve this milestone.

A basketball sitting in the middle of an empty court

The 2025 WNBA season has officially wrapped up, with the league announcing the winners of several major awards, including Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Most Valuable Player.

Judge brings unmatched dominance in the AL, while Ohtani delivers historic two-way impact in the NL. Would you take Judge’s pure power at the plate, or Ohtani’s all-around greatness on both sides of the game?

His two-way dominance makes him unlike any player the NL has ever seen.

On the other side of the league, Ohtani is rewriting what's possible for the Dodgers. He's hitting .283/.382/.633 with 53 home runs, 99 RBIs, and a 1.015 OPS, while also contributing on the mound with a 3.29 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 13 starts.

Judge is powering the Yankees with one of his best seasons yet, slashing .326/.438/.685 with 49 home runs, 105 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.123. His rare combination of power and average makes him the most feared hitter in the AL.

The MLB regular season is almost at an end, and the MVP race is coming into focus. Two names stand above the rest: Aaron Judge in the American League and Shohei Ohtani in the National League.

YouTube video by UF Department of Sport Management Voices From The Field Interview featuring, Dr. Scott Nestler!

Take a listen to @scott-nestler.bsky.social in the newest episode of Voices from the Field.

The conversation covers the growing role of analytics in sports, as well as practical career advice for students and young professionals. Check out the episode here: youtu.be/XEPNkaRycvk?...

Finally, it is worth noting that QBR and Passer Rating aren’t as dissimilar as you would expect, as they are highly correlated with one another and do a fairly similar job at predicting themselves. As advanced as QBR is, Passer Rating definitely holds its own.
#statoftheweek

This effectively accounts for winning plays rather than pure efficiency regardless of context.

The main difference between Passer Rating and QBR is that in the previously stated example, the 10-yard completion in the air on 3rd & 10 in the 1st quarter would be weighted much higher than the 10-yard garbage time dump-off.

The exact formula isn't publicly known, but values each play differently based on the context such as down, time left, score differential, starting field position, etc.

QBR uses many more variables to attempt to distinguish the quarterback's success from the talent of his supporting cast by taking things like yards after catch and air yards into consideration.