Putting Up Numbers· college football

North Texas’ rushing yards with Brendon Haygood and without Brendon Haygood

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, North Texas was 3.2 yards over with Brendon Haygood and 57.9 yards over without Brendon Haygood in 2026, 6 games against 1. The plain averages are 172.7 and 241.5, a difference of 68.8. All 5 day games were with Brendon Haygood.

Brendon Haygood, running back: 171 rushing yards, 41 carries and 1 reception in 6 games this season, 17% of North Texas’s rushing yards in those games.

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

rushing yards a game over expected

A −68.8 difference in rushing yards with Brendon Haygood vs without Brendon Haygood is a bit unusual: shuffle which games were with Brendon Haygood and it comes up 19 times in 100.

The games

with Brendon Haygoodwithout Brendon Haygood
North Texas’ games, 2026, each marked with Brendon Haygood or without Brendon Haygood
SideDateGameResultrushing yardsExpected
Sep 5, 2026@IndianaL152111.8
Sep 12, 2026vsUNLVW185205.0
Sep 19, 2026@Texas StateL82152.7
Sep 26, 2026vsHHouston ChristianW254—
Oct 1, 2026@TulsaW229171.1
Oct 10, 2026vsCharlotteW198188.1
Oct 24, 2026@NavyW176126.3
Oct 29, 2026vsFlorida AtlanticW243232.6

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 8.0 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 60% 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.
  • Houston Christian 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, which name every player who entered the game.