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Final EMU 7 – 35 MSU
Saturday 2026-09-12 15:30 · Spartan Stadium
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The units, side by side

EMUMSUbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence1017Offence: points per play — defence3526Offence: success rate — offence1253Offence: success rate — defence3931Offence: explosiveness — offence206Offence: explosiveness — defence3948Run game — offence2615Run game — defence4142Pass game — offence1933Pass game — defence3735Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence2930Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence3458Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence197Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence3463

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

tiecardsEMU by 26MSU by 54

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). MSU wins about 80% of the time at a number like ours.

EMU

Games5
Plays per game65.2
Drives per game11.2
SP+-18.0 (127th, offence 127th, defence 110th)
Returning production72% (pass 97%, rush 49%, receiving 64%)

MSU

Games4
Plays per game66.5
Drives per game9.8
SP+0.3 (67th, offence 80th, defence 58th)
Returning production21% (pass 16%, rush 19%, receiving 24%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceEMUMSU
pass rate, all downs57%15th46%84th
pass rate, standard downs49%16th39%95th
pass rate, 1st down52%15th42%81st
no-huddle share14%118th21%110th
pass rate, passing downs75%19th68%49th
pass rate, red zone43%44th38%70th
seconds per play (own drives)29.755th32.410th

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

EMU offence

EMU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.016326124 of 138
success rate0.371326122 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.143326110 of 138
rush: points added per play0.036326102 of 138
rush: success rate0.394326109 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.95632674 of 138
pass: points added per play0.058326112 of 138
pass: success rate0.362326121 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.310326126 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.436326121 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.236326123 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.89532698 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.16832668 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.80032637 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.179326114 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.172326112 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.09832694 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.074326116 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)74.80032610 of 138

MSU offence

MSU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.033266115 of 138
success rate0.44426665 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.082266130 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.008266117 of 138
rush: success rate0.41526695 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.848266104 of 138
pass: points added per play0.15526693 of 138
pass: success rate0.48326641 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.347266121 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.50526655 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.27826698 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.92326697 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.204266108 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.71426690 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.346266105 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.192266128 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.128266130 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.06426694 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)68.300266105 of 138

EMU defence

EMU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.11233290 of 138
success rate0.41033284 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.25333284 of 138
rush: points added per play0.06433282 of 138
rush: success rate0.40633272 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.040332105 of 138
pass: points added per play0.20433287 of 138
pass: success rate0.42633296 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.45533250 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.48433296 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.26533255 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.97033292 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.18733255 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.69633257 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.40633272 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.17933291 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.09533261 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.084332122 of 138
opponent average starting field position68.80033223 of 138

MSU defence

MSU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.151232103 of 138
success rate0.42723296 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.23423272 of 138
rush: points added per play0.06023281 of 138
rush: success rate0.455232110 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.85423242 of 138
pass: points added per play0.21223290 of 138
pass: success rate0.37923253 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.723232114 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.48423297 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.30123289 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.75923258 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.260232128 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.63223235 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.60023286 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.15123252 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.09523262 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.05623258 of 138
opponent average starting field position72.30023275 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