Pittsburgh · away
at
—
Saturday 2026-10-17 · time TBA · Alumni Stadium (Chestnut Hill, MA)
Boston College · home
GameNewsMismatchesTeamPersonnelBetting

The units, side by side

PITTBCbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence828Offence: points per play — defence8864Offence: success rate — offence8217Offence: success rate — defence9949Offence: explosiveness — offence5727Offence: explosiveness — defence1446Run game — offence3817Run game — defence9256Pass game — offence8920Pass game — defence8045Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence7226Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence9931Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence9113Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence3440

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

tiecardsPITT by 59BC by 21

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). PITT wins about 89% of the time at a number like ours.

PITT

Games4
Plays per game73.0
Drives per game11.5
SP+14.7 (20th, offence 36th, defence 15th)
Returning production40% (pass 59%, rush 67%, receiving 24%)

BC

Games4
Plays per game65.5
Drives per game12.0
SP+-4.6 (90th, offence 106th, defence 65th)
Returning production16% (pass 8%, rush -62%, receiving 23%)

What each side chooses to do

OffencePITTBC
pass rate, all downs53%31st46%87th
pass rate, standard downs47%26th32%124th
pass rate, 1st down47%36th30%125th
no-huddle share23%107th51%81st
pass rate, passing downs68%44th74%22nd
pass rate, red zone57%8th36%80th
seconds per play (own drives)26.5110th30.146th

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

PITT offence

PITT offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.29429225 of 138
success rate0.49729226 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.24929260 of 138
rush: points added per play0.07829286 of 138
rush: success rate0.46029262 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.809292111 of 138
pass: points added per play0.50729216 of 138
pass: success rate0.53029214 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.59529258 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.52829240 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.41229213 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.30929239 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.18229288 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.632292115 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.23329255 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.09629213 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.05829220 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.03829227 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)70.40029273 of 138

BC offence

BC offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.032262127 of 138
success rate0.389262115 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.164262101 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.006262115 of 138
rush: success rate0.43926281 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.93526279 of 138
pass: points added per play0.063262110 of 138
pass: success rate0.357262126 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.53326274 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.46026299 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.244262116 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.847262103 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.252262134 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.68826298 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.091262118 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.179262120 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.111262112 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.069262107 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)71.20026258 of 138

PITT defence

PITT defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.10724018 of 138
success rate0.2872402 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.379240119 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.17824012 of 138
rush: success rate0.2782407 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.99524092 of 138
pass: points added per play-0.01224028 of 138
pass: success rate0.30624011 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.62024093 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.3452406 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.20024010 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)1.7772402 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.320240137 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.53824012 of 138
points per trip inside the 401.6882403 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.17924092 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.117240104 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.06324075 of 138
opponent average starting field position75.300240124 of 138

BC defence

BC defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.00227651 of 138
success rate0.39527671 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.23727675 of 138
rush: points added per play0.00727661 of 138
rush: success rate0.39027659 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.030276101 of 138
pass: points added per play0.15527676 of 138
pass: success rate0.42227692 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.49227656 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.39827627 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.388276133 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.01627696 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19527672 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.65027641 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.39127669 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.17427683 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.120276107 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.05427648 of 138
opponent average starting field position69.70027629 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