Putting Up Numbers· college football

California’s points of margin with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and without Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, California was 1.9 points under with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and 0.5 points under without Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele over its last 25 games, 17 games against 3. The plain averages are -3.9 and -12.3, a difference of 8.4. Both opponents outside the major colleges were with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Both games after a bye were with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. All 11 of Justin Wilcox’s games were with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, quarterback: 5,205 passing yards, 756 pass attempts and 494 completions in 21 of those 25 games.

3 games without Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is still too small a sample for the statistics to say much, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

points of margin a game over expected

A −1.4 difference in points of margin over expected with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele vs without Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is about what you’d expect.

A +8.4 difference in points of margin with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele vs without Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutelewithout Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele
California’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele or without Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele
SideDateGameResultpoints of marginExpected
Nov 23, 2024vsStanfordW311.1
Nov 30, 2024@SMUL-32-12.9
Dec 18, 2024vsUNLV (neutral)L-11-3.9
Aug 30, 2025@Oregon StateW194.5
Sep 6, 2025vsTexas SouthernW32—
Sep 13, 2025vsMinnesotaW13-4.3
Sep 20, 2025@San Diego StateL-34-4.6
Sep 27, 2025@Boston CollegeW40.9
Oct 4, 2025vsDukeL-24-3.8
Oct 17, 2025vsNorth CarolinaW37.6
Oct 24, 2025@Virginia TechL-8-2.3
Nov 1, 2025vsVirginiaL-10-10.3
Nov 8, 2025@LouisvilleW3-18.6
Nov 22, 2025@StanfordL-210.3
Nov 29, 2025vsSMUW3-15.0
Dec 24, 2025@HawaiiL-4-3.2
Sep 5, 2026vsUCLAL-21-22.9
Sep 12, 2026@SyracuseW3-16.8
Sep 19, 2026vsWWagnerW42—
Sep 25, 2026vsClemsonL-14-10.3
Oct 3, 2026@UNLVL-8-4.3
Oct 10, 2026vsVirginia TechW5-10.9
Oct 17, 2026vsWake ForestL-34-20.2
Oct 24, 2026@SMUL-39-10.8
Oct 31, 2026@NC StateL-21-5.5

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, plus 3.1 in 2025, plus 3.7 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 87% in 2025, 79% 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.
  • Texas Southern, Wagner 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.
  • 3 games in 2024 are neither with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele nor without Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had no game for the team that season, and sit out.