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Final NIU 0 – 40 IOWA
Saturday 2026-09-05 16:15 · Kinnick Stadium
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The units, side by side

NIUIOWAbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence153Offence: points per play — defence2195Offence: success rate — offence842Offence: success rate — defence2098Offence: explosiveness — offence3565Offence: explosiveness — defence2392Run game — offence378Run game — defence2996Pass game — offence1240Pass game — defence2864Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence685Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence4569Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence1591Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence8742

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

tiecardsNIU by 22IOWA by 58

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 87% of the time at a number like ours.

NIU

Games4
Plays per game66.2
Drives per game11.5
SP+-23.9 (133rd, offence 133rd, defence 129th)
Returning production44% (pass 138%, rush 29%, receiving 93%)

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

OffenceNIUIOWA
pass rate, all downs60%4th50%52nd
pass rate, standard downs50%13th45%44th
pass rate, 1st down56%6th43%65th
no-huddle share55%79th4%133rd
pass rate, passing downs79%6th64%63rd
pass rate, red zone45%36th50%20th
seconds per play (own drives)27.593rd29.265th

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

NIU offence

NIU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.121265137 of 138
success rate0.362265127 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.19026590 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.112265134 of 138
rush: success rate0.381265117 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.87726593 of 138
pass: points added per play0.007265122 of 138
pass: success rate0.366265118 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.414265108 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.442265114 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.215265131 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.560265130 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.210265113 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.76526558 of 138
points per trip inside the 401.545265137 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.177265118 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.132265132 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.04526551 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)72.30026543 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

NIU defence

NIU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.159268109 of 138
success rate0.444268111 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.323268106 of 138
rush: points added per play0.11026898 of 138
rush: success rate0.41126876 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.076268113 of 138
pass: points added per play0.26026899 of 138
pass: success rate0.492268128 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.48926855 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.47826892 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.372268130 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.90226877 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.20226879 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.57926819 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.73126896 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.12726819 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.08626847 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.04126819 of 138
opponent average starting field position70.70026842 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