Putting Up Numbers· college football

UCF’s points of margin with RJ Jackson Jr. and without RJ Jackson Jr.

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, UCF was 0.2 points over with RJ Jackson Jr. and 5.6 points under without RJ Jackson Jr. over its last 25 games, 15 games against 3. The plain averages are 0.4 and 9.5, a difference of 9.1.

RJ Jackson Jr., defender: 13 of those 25 games.

points of margin a game over expected

A +5.8 difference in points of margin over expected with RJ Jackson Jr. vs without RJ Jackson Jr. is about what you’d expect.

A −9.1 difference in points of margin with RJ Jackson Jr. vs without RJ Jackson Jr. is about what you’d expect.

The games

with RJ Jackson Jr.without RJ Jackson Jr.
UCF’s games, last 25 games, each marked with RJ Jackson Jr. or without RJ Jackson Jr.
SideDateGameResultpoints of marginExpected
Oct 26, 2024vsBYUL-13-4.7
Nov 2, 2024vsArizonaW447.6
Nov 9, 2024@Arizona StateL-4-12.5
Nov 23, 2024@West VirginiaL-104.2
Nov 29, 2024vsUtahL-147.2
Aug 28, 2025vsJacksonville StateW713.1
Sep 6, 2025vsNNorth Carolina A&TW61—
Sep 20, 2025vsNorth CarolinaW254.7
Sep 27, 2025@Kansas StateL-14-12.6
Oct 4, 2025vsKansasL-7-2.6
Oct 11, 2025@CincinnatiL-9-7.4
Oct 18, 2025vsWest VirginiaW32-0.3
Nov 1, 2025@BaylorL-27-2.8
Nov 7, 2025vsHoustonL-3-4.4
Nov 15, 2025@Texas TechL-39-29.4
Nov 22, 2025vsOklahoma StateW316.1
Nov 29, 2025@BYUL-20-19.9
Sep 3, 2026vsBBethune-CookmanW67—
Sep 12, 2026@PittsburghL-5-5.0
Sep 19, 2026vsGeorgia StateW1413.2
Sep 26, 2026vsTCUW8-1.8
Oct 3, 2026@HoustonL-10-14.0
Oct 10, 2026@Oklahoma StateL-14-9.4
Oct 24, 2026vsBYUW8-8.6
Oct 30, 2026vsBaylorL-321.3

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.
  • North Carolina A&T, Bethune-Cookman 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 for 15 of these 20 games; in the other 5 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.
  • 5 games in 2024 are neither with RJ Jackson Jr. nor without RJ Jackson Jr.: RJ Jackson Jr. had no game for the team that season, and sit out.