Putting Up Numbers· college football

North Carolina’s points allowed with Melkart Abou Jaoude and without Melkart Abou Jaoude

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, North Carolina was 1.2 points under with Melkart Abou Jaoude and 6.6 points over without Melkart Abou Jaoude in 2026, 6 games against 1. The plain averages are 25.5 and 15.5, a difference of 10.0. Both night games were with Melkart Abou Jaoude. All 3 ranked opponents were with Melkart Abou Jaoude. Both top-10 opponents were with Melkart Abou Jaoude.

Melkart Abou Jaoude, defender: 6 games this season.

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

points allowed a game over expected

A +10.0 difference in points allowed with Melkart Abou Jaoude vs without Melkart Abou Jaoude is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Melkart Abou Jaoudewithout Melkart Abou Jaoude
North Carolina’s games, 2026, each marked with Melkart Abou Jaoude or without Melkart Abou Jaoude
SideDateGameResultpoints allowedExpected
Aug 29, 2026vsTCU (neutral)W1019.9
Sep 12, 2026vsEast Tennessee StateW3—
Sep 19, 2026@ClemsonL2821.4
Oct 3, 2026vsNotre DameL3731.8
Oct 10, 2026@PittsburghW1727.5
Oct 17, 2026@DukeW2025.9
Oct 24, 2026vsSyracuseL3120.3
Oct 31, 2026vsMiami (FL)L3835.0

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, minus 1.9 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 66% 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.
  • East Tennessee 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 7 of these 8 games; in the other game a player is counted as in it when the box score has a stat for him.