The trenches
| Pass rush | sack rate | stopped behind the line | faces | sacks allowed | pairing |
|---|
| MSU pass rush | 6.8% 10341st | 9.8% 22446th | faces NEB | 3.2% 9333rd | 5.0% ~1.7 sacks |
| NEB pass rush | 7.2% 8332nd | 9.5% 16953rd | faces MSU | 10.2% 118130th | 8.7% ~2.9 sacks |
sacks from CFBD play-by-play; college has no charted pressure, and these rates are not opponent-adjusted Measured on 7,926 team-games 2022–25: a college line's sacks-allowed rate carries +0.27 into its next game and a defence's sack rate only +0.10 — the line is most of this. The pairing predicts the game's sack rate +0.27, yards per dropback −0.16 and points added per play −0.15. Heaviest quarter of pairings against lightest: 7.8% vs 4.2% sack rate, 6.1 vs 7.2 yards per dropback.
NEB with the ball
| NEB offence vs MSU defence | NEB offence | MSU defence | rank gap |
|---|
| points added per play | 0.4146th | 0.151103rd | +97 |
| success rate | 0.49825th | 0.42796th | +71 |
| explosiveness (points added on successful plays) | 1.4398th | 1.23472nd | +64 |
| rush: points added per play | 0.3445th | 0.06081st | +76 |
| rush: success rate | 0.49429th | 0.455110th | +81 |
| rush: explosiveness | 1.2595th | 0.85442nd | +37 |
| pass: points added per play | 0.49917th | 0.21290th | +73 |
| pass: success rate | 0.50031st | 0.37953rd | +22 |
| pass: explosiveness | 1.65845th | 1.723114th | +69 |
| standard downs: success rate | 0.51744th | 0.48497th | +53 |
| passing downs: success rate | 0.4494th | 0.30189th | +85 |
| line yards per rush (the O-line) | 3.40828th | 2.75958th | +30 |
| rushes stopped at or behind the line | 0.15251st | 0.260128th | +77 |
| short-yardage conversion rate | 0.72087th | 0.63235th | -52 |
| points per trip inside the 40 | 5.1929th | 3.60086th | +77 |
| havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play) | 0.11023rd | 0.15152nd | +29 |
| havoc allowed by the front seven | 0.07134th | 0.09562nd | +28 |
| havoc allowed by the secondary | 0.03932nd | 0.05658th | +26 |
| average starting field position (yards from own goal) | 69.70087th | — | — |
MSU with the ball
| MSU offence vs NEB defence | MSU offence | NEB defence | rank gap |
|---|
| points added per play | 0.033115th | -0.01843rd | -72 |
| success rate | 0.44465th | 0.36646th | -19 |
| explosiveness (points added on successful plays) | 1.082130th | 1.24178th | -52 |
| rush: points added per play | -0.008117th | 0.00260th | -57 |
| rush: success rate | 0.41595th | 0.35537th | -58 |
| rush: explosiveness | 0.848104th | 1.050106th | +2 |
| pass: points added per play | 0.15593rd | -0.10712th | -81 |
| pass: success rate | 0.48341st | 0.34926th | -15 |
| pass: explosiveness | 1.347121st | 1.34220th | -101 |
| standard downs: success rate | 0.50555th | 0.46482nd | +27 |
| passing downs: success rate | 0.27898th | 0.1907th | -91 |
| line yards per rush (the O-line) | 2.92397th | 2.89875th | -22 |
| rushes stopped at or behind the line | 0.204108th | 0.18251st | -57 |
| short-yardage conversion rate | 0.71490th | 0.800108th | +18 |
| points per trip inside the 40 | 3.346105th | 2.61124th | -81 |
| havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play) | 0.192128th | 0.204121st | -7 |
| havoc allowed by the front seven | 0.128130th | 0.136119th | -11 |
| havoc allowed by the secondary | 0.06494th | 0.06890th | -4 |
| average starting field position (yards from own goal) | 68.300105th | — | — |
Rank gap = the defence's FBS rank minus the offence's on the same measure: +60 means the offence ranks 60 places better than the defence it faces. Unit against unit only — college has no player charting to name a matchup by.