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The units, side by side

ILLMSUbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence8017Offence: points per play — defence1326Offence: success rate — offence9353Offence: success rate — defence1931Offence: explosiveness — offence646Offence: explosiveness — defence3648Run game — offence8615Run game — defence2442Pass game — offence6433Pass game — defence2335Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence8230Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence5758Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence787Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence8063

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

tiecardsILL by 46MSU by 34

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). ILL wins about 64% of the time at a number like ours.

ILL

Games4
Plays per game61.5
Drives per game9.5
SP+8.5 (41st, offence 24th, defence 69th)
Returning production21% (pass 3%, rush 34%, receiving 31%)

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

OffenceILLMSU
pass rate, all downs52%37th46%84th
pass rate, standard downs44%46th39%95th
pass rate, 1st down44%58th42%81st
no-huddle share19%112th21%110th
pass rate, red zone61%4th38%70th
pass rate, passing downs75%18th68%49th
seconds per play (own drives)30.531st32.410th

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

ILL offence

ILL offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.28424628 of 138
success rate0.51624611 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.27324651 of 138
rush: points added per play0.26124620 of 138
rush: success rate0.51824616 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.02224645 of 138
pass: points added per play0.32324651 of 138
pass: success rate0.52424618 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.47524690 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.56424615 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.38524624 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.45124626 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.11424611 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.667246103 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.03724663 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.11424631 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.0452467 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.069246109 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)71.60024648 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

ILL defence

ILL defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.193274120 of 138
success rate0.445274112 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.26927488 of 138
rush: points added per play0.123274105 of 138
rush: success rate0.41427480 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.039274103 of 138
pass: points added per play0.279274107 of 138
pass: success rate0.489274127 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.47827452 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.490274102 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.329274111 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.76627460 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.20727483 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.783274103 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.864274105 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.13127428 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.06927415 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.06227470 of 138
opponent average starting field position71.60027459 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