Putting Up Numbers· college football

Texas’ points allowed with Hollywood Smothers and without Hollywood Smothers

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Texas was 4.0 points under with Hollywood Smothers and 0.6 points under without Hollywood Smothers over its last 25 games, 6 games against 2. The plain averages are 15.5 and 22.0, a difference of 6.5. All 5 unranked opponents were with Hollywood Smothers. All 3 nonconference games were with Hollywood Smothers.

Hollywood Smothers, running back: 283 rushing yards, 69 carries and 11 receptions in 6 of those 25 games.

2 games without Hollywood Smothers 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 −3.3 difference in points allowed over expected with Hollywood Smothers vs without Hollywood Smothers is about what you’d expect.

A −6.5 difference in points allowed with Hollywood Smothers vs without Hollywood Smothers is about what you’d expect.

The games

with Hollywood Smotherswithout Hollywood Smothers
Texas’ games, last 25 games, each marked with Hollywood Smothers or without Hollywood Smothers
SideDateGameResultpoints allowedExpected
Dec 7, 2024vsGeorgia (neutral)L2223.5
Dec 21, 2024vsClemsonW2421.0
Jan 1, 2025vsArizona State (neutral)W3121.0
Jan 10, 2025vsOhio State (neutral)L2825.7
Aug 30, 2025@Ohio StateL1431.2
Sep 6, 2025vsSan Jose StateW714.0
Sep 13, 2025vsUTEPW108.4
Sep 20, 2025vsSam HoustonW07.9
Oct 4, 2025@FloridaL2917.4
Oct 11, 2025vsOklahoma (neutral)W624.2
Oct 18, 2025@KentuckyW1321.1
Oct 25, 2025@Mississippi StateW3822.2
Nov 1, 2025vsVanderbiltW3130.6
Nov 15, 2025@GeorgiaL3526.3
Nov 22, 2025vsArkansasW3723.9
Nov 28, 2025vsTexas A&MW1728.7
Dec 31, 2025vsMichigan (neutral)W2724.6
Sep 5, 2026vsTexas StateW720.1
Sep 12, 2026vsOhio StateW2321.8
Sep 19, 2026vsUTSAW617.9
Sep 26, 2026@TennesseeW1721.2
Oct 10, 2026vsOklahoma (neutral)L2712.2
Oct 17, 2026vsFloridaL2722.3
Oct 24, 2026vsOle MissW2724.1
Oct 31, 2026vsMississippi StateW322.7

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, 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.
  • 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.
  • 17 games in 2024 and 2025 are neither with Hollywood Smothers nor without Hollywood Smothers: Hollywood Smothers had no game for the team those seasons, and sit out.