The trenches
| Pass rush | sack rate | stopped behind the line | faces | sacks allowed | pairing |
|---|
| MSU pass rush | 6.8% 10341st | 9.8% 22446th | faces NU | 8.9% 56121st | 7.9% ~2.6 sacks |
| NU pass rush | 4.9% 6174th | 7.0% 129109th | faces MSU | 10.2% 118130th | 7.5% ~2.5 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.
NU with the ball
| NU offence vs MSU defence | NU offence | MSU defence | rank gap |
|---|
| points added per play | 0.30421st | 0.151103rd | +82 |
| success rate | 0.46349th | 0.42796th | +47 |
| explosiveness (points added on successful plays) | 1.29445th | 1.23472nd | +27 |
| rush: points added per play | 0.15654th | 0.06081st | +27 |
| rush: success rate | 0.41098th | 0.455110th | +12 |
| rush: explosiveness | 0.97865th | 0.85442nd | -23 |
| pass: points added per play | 0.54013th | 0.21290th | +77 |
| pass: success rate | 0.53713th | 0.37953rd | +40 |
| pass: explosiveness | 1.64946th | 1.723114th | +68 |
| standard downs: success rate | 0.48578th | 0.48497th | +19 |
| passing downs: success rate | 0.41114th | 0.30189th | +75 |
| line yards per rush (the O-line) | 2.835104th | 2.75958th | -46 |
| rushes stopped at or behind the line | 0.19093rd | 0.260128th | +35 |
| short-yardage conversion rate | 0.81829th | 0.63235th | +6 |
| points per trip inside the 40 | 5.11112th | 3.60086th | +74 |
| havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play) | 0.13356th | 0.15152nd | -4 |
| havoc allowed by the front seven | 0.112117th | 0.09562nd | -55 |
| havoc allowed by the secondary | 0.0214th | 0.05658th | +54 |
| average starting field position (yards from own goal) | 72.40041st | — | — |
MSU with the ball
| MSU offence vs NU defence | MSU offence | NU defence | rank gap |
|---|
| points added per play | 0.033115th | 0.08380th | -35 |
| success rate | 0.44465th | 0.441106th | +41 |
| explosiveness (points added on successful plays) | 1.082130th | 1.12032nd | -98 |
| rush: points added per play | -0.008117th | 0.112100th | -17 |
| rush: success rate | 0.41595th | 0.472124th | +29 |
| rush: explosiveness | 0.848104th | 0.86846th | -58 |
| pass: points added per play | 0.15593rd | 0.03538th | -55 |
| pass: success rate | 0.48341st | 0.40574th | +33 |
| pass: explosiveness | 1.347121st | 1.40633rd | -88 |
| standard downs: success rate | 0.50555th | 0.515123rd | +68 |
| passing downs: success rate | 0.27898th | 0.22827th | -71 |
| line yards per rush (the O-line) | 2.92397th | 3.429131st | +34 |
| rushes stopped at or behind the line | 0.204108th | 0.14217th | -91 |
| short-yardage conversion rate | 0.71490th | 0.59122nd | -68 |
| points per trip inside the 40 | 3.346105th | 2.42117th | -88 |
| havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play) | 0.192128th | 0.16272nd | -56 |
| havoc allowed by the front seven | 0.128130th | 0.0637th | -123 |
| havoc allowed by the secondary | 0.06494th | 0.099131st | +37 |
| 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.