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Final BUF 13 – 55 PSU
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The units, side by side

BUFPSUbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence1261Offence: points per play — defence3487Offence: success rate — offence132Offence: success rate — defence6993Offence: explosiveness — offence4870Offence: explosiveness — defence566Run game — offence1344Run game — defence5447Pass game — offence1877Pass game — defence3099Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence1424Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence2877Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence3077Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence6218

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

tiecardsBUF by 3PSU by 77

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). PSU wins about 99% of the time at a number like ours.

BUF

Games4
Plays per game76.5
Drives per game14.0
SP+-17.2 (124th, offence 129th, defence 107th)
Returning production-1% (pass 9%, rush 9%, receiving -7%)

PSU

Games4
Plays per game68.8
Drives per game12.2
SP+16.9 (15th, offence 28th, defence 12th)
Returning production8% (pass 3%, rush -2%, receiving 14%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceBUFPSU
pass rate, all downs49%62nd43%111th
pass rate, standard downs41%74th35%116th
pass rate, 1st down39%97th29%131st
no-huddle share82%44th85%36th
pass rate, passing downs65%58th65%57th
pass rate, red zone45%35th33%93rd
seconds per play (own drives)24.4133rd27.984th

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

BUF offence

BUF offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.000306122 of 138
success rate0.333306136 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.21930672 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.027306120 of 138
rush: success rate0.340306133 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.91830682 of 138
pass: points added per play0.047306114 of 138
pass: success rate0.324306132 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.50230683 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.379306134 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.240306119 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.704306119 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.19230695 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.80030634 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.25030653 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.16330697 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.10130698 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.06230690 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)72.60030639 of 138

PSU offence

PSU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.22027555 of 138
success rate0.41827594 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.29927542 of 138
rush: points added per play0.10227578 of 138
rush: success rate0.40927599 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.92927581 of 138
pass: points added per play0.39127532 of 138
pass: success rate0.43427572 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.81327517 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.47327592 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.270275106 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.835275105 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.13627534 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.72727582 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.96727566 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.11627533 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.05827519 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.05827579 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)65.800275126 of 138

BUF defence

BUF defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.11627691 of 138
success rate0.36627644 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.445276131 of 138
rush: points added per play0.01727664 of 138
rush: success rate0.38527656 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.92627673 of 138
pass: points added per play0.25127697 of 138
pass: success rate0.36727643 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.955276135 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.42927654 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.25727647 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.039276100 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19227665 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.62527632 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.53627681 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.15227653 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.07627631 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.076276106 of 138
opponent average starting field position68.20027615 of 138

PSU defence

PSU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.10324119 of 138
success rate0.31524110 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.17124147 of 138
rush: points added per play0.04024174 of 138
rush: success rate0.33924131 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.129241125 of 138
pass: points added per play-0.1642413 of 138
pass: success rate0.2962416 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.2072414 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.36524111 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.22424123 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.52924133 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.229241109 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.66724150 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.63624188 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.195241114 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.11224194 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.083241120 of 138
opponent average starting field position76.300241131 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