Iowa State · away
at
Final ISU 13 – 16 IOWA
Saturday 2026-09-12 19:30 · Kinnick Stadium
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The units, side by side

ISUIOWAbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence3753Offence: points per play — defence7595Offence: success rate — offence1442Offence: success rate — defence6498Offence: explosiveness — offence8265Offence: explosiveness — defence8292Run game — offence4578Run game — defence7896Pass game — offence4440Pass game — defence6364Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence3585Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence7269Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence2191Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence3842

Percentile among the 138 FBS teams on each measure this season, offence and defence, both teams. Raw values, plays behind them and ranks are in the tables below.

What actually happens around a number like this

tiecardsISU by 38IOWA by 42

Each bar is how often a college game lands on that margin, from 7,877 FBS games 2015–2025, centred on our card line. The spread misses by 12.3 points on average (37% within a touchdown). IOWA wins about 53% of the time at a number like ours.

ISU

Games4
Plays per game60.2
Drives per game11.5
SP+3.4 (58th, offence 86th, defence 39th)
Returning production2% (pass 3%, rush 5%, receiving 0%)

IOWA

Games4
Plays per game65.8
Drives per game11.8
SP+14.8 (19th, offence 51st, defence 10th)
Returning production34% (pass 16%, rush 20%, receiving 56%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceISUIOWA
pass rate, all downs41%119th50%52nd
pass rate, standard downs35%114th45%44th
pass rate, 1st down31%122nd43%65th
no-huddle share36%92nd4%133rd
pass rate, passing downs53%117th64%63rd
pass rate, red zone28%116th50%20th
seconds per play (own drives)30.436th29.265th

choices, from CFBD play-by-play; a choice repeats within a season, a result mostly does not Rank 1 = highest rate / fastest among FBS.

ISU offence

ISU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.11724187 of 138
success rate0.382241119 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.33424125 of 138
rush: points added per play0.10524176 of 138
rush: success rate0.387241114 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.19124110 of 138
pass: points added per play0.20524178 of 138
pass: success rate0.40224196 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.54624170 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.421241127 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.29924186 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.99324190 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.19024192 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.583241122 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.63624129 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.170241109 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.08324157 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.087241133 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)71.10024160 of 138

IOWA offence

IOWA offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.17226365 of 138
success rate0.43026381 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.27926349 of 138
rush: points added per play0.23226331 of 138
rush: success rate0.42626389 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.3422633 of 138
pass: points added per play0.19426383 of 138
pass: success rate0.45026360 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.219263136 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.51126349 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.241263118 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.49526322 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.13226327 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.529263132 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.66726382 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.09926314 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.0462638 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.05326367 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)68.400263103 of 138

ISU defence

ISU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.03824335 of 138
success rate0.37024351 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.09324325 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.08224331 of 138
rush: success rate0.37424349 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.86424344 of 138
pass: points added per play0.06924352 of 138
pass: success rate0.36224334 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.43924341 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.46724385 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.1582431 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.57624340 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19824375 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.70024359 of 138
points per trip inside the 402.0482436 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.17724386 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.128243115 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.04924338 of 138
opponent average starting field position69.80024332 of 138

IOWA defence

IOWA defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.1452438 of 138
success rate0.3002434 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.03824312 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.2442436 of 138
rush: success rate0.31924319 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.3852432 of 138
pass: points added per play0.06824351 of 138
pass: success rate0.3012438 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.787243120 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.3552438 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.20924315 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.60424344 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19324367 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.72724375 of 138
points per trip inside the 402.1672439 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.17324381 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.08224340 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.091243129 of 138
opponent average starting field position77.100243133 of 138

points added per play: CFBD predicted points added (their EPA); positive helps the offence · success rate: share of plays that gain 50% of needed yards on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th · explosiveness: average points added on the plays that succeeded - big-play size · havoc: tackles for loss, forced fumbles, interceptions and breakups as a share of plays · rank: 1 = best among FBS teams in the direction that helps that side · fei: bcftoys.com FEI: opponent-adjusted possession efficiency, offence/defence/special teams, with FBS rank - theirs · fplus: bcftoys.com F+: FEI and SP+ combined, in standard deviations above average - theirs