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The units, side by side

ILLMDbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence8043Offence: points per play — defence1352Offence: success rate — offence9359Offence: success rate — defence1957Offence: explosiveness — offence6455Offence: explosiveness — defence3652Run game — offence8652Run game — defence2472Pass game — offence6428Pass game — defence2344Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence8228Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence5788Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence7849Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence8053

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 33MD by 47

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). MD wins about 67% 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%)

MD

Games4
Plays per game73.5
Drives per game12.5
SP+3.9 (55th, offence 56th, defence 54th)
Returning production54% (pass 87%, rush 142%, receiving 26%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceILLMD
pass rate, all downs52%37th58%10th
pass rate, standard downs44%46th54%5th
pass rate, 1st down44%58th55%7th
no-huddle share19%112th72%58th
pass rate, red zone61%4th40%60th
pass rate, passing downs75%18th68%45th
seconds per play (own drives)30.531st26.4114th

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

MD offence

MD offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.13229479 of 138
success rate0.45229457 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.23929463 of 138
rush: points added per play0.13829467 of 138
rush: success rate0.43529484 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.04229440 of 138
pass: points added per play0.12929499 of 138
pass: success rate0.46129456 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.400294115 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.50729453 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.30929473 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.88229499 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.234294126 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.71429489 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.43329498 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.14329471 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.08529464 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.05829478 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)70.20029475 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

MD defence

MD defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.02924567 of 138
success rate0.38024560 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.22124567 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.05124539 of 138
rush: success rate0.36724546 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.87824556 of 138
pass: points added per play0.16924578 of 138
pass: success rate0.41824588 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.57224579 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.41624543 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.319245106 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.33424518 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.227245108 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.70624563 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.150245117 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.15924565 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.11424597 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.04524531 of 138
opponent average starting field position70.30024537 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