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The units, side by side

NUOSUbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence8595Offence: points per play — defence4284Offence: success rate — offence6596Offence: success rate — defence2377Offence: explosiveness — offence6883Offence: explosiveness — defence7754Run game — offence6166Run game — defence2870Pass game — offence9199Pass game — defence7396Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence2558Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence555Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence6083Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence489

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

tiecardsNU by 7OSU by 73

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). OSU wins about 98% of the time at a number like ours.

NU

Games3
Plays per game62.7
Drives per game11.0
SP+7.3 (50th, offence 59th, defence 34th)
Returning production89% (pass 94%, rush 88%, receiving 86%)

OSU

Games4
Plays per game67.8
Drives per game11.5
SP+28.8 (2nd, offence 1st, defence 2nd)
Returning production68% (pass 94%, rush 55%, receiving 50%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceNUOSU
pass rate, all downs45%92nd51%44th
pass rate, passing downs47%132nd79%7th
no-huddle share11%120th10%121st
pass rate, standard downs44%45th43%59th
pass rate, 1st down49%23rd44%64th
pass rate, red zone48%24th39%64th
seconds per play (own drives)30.826th30.242nd

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

NU offence

NU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.30418821 of 138
success rate0.46318849 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.29418845 of 138
rush: points added per play0.15618854 of 138
rush: success rate0.41018898 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.97818865 of 138
pass: points added per play0.54018813 of 138
pass: success rate0.53718813 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.64918846 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.48518878 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.41118814 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.835188104 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.19018893 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.81818829 of 138
points per trip inside the 405.11118812 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.13318856 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.112188117 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.0211884 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)72.40018841 of 138

OSU offence

OSU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.3942718 of 138
success rate0.5242717 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.34227124 of 138
rush: points added per play0.17527148 of 138
rush: success rate0.45027168 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.02427144 of 138
pass: points added per play0.6632713 of 138
pass: success rate0.6072712 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.57927164 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.57227110 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.36527137 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.20127158 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.16827170 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.78327148 of 138
points per trip inside the 405.11127113 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.11127124 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.06327123 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.04827159 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)68.200271107 of 138

NU defence

NU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.08322280 of 138
success rate0.441222106 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.12022232 of 138
rush: points added per play0.112222100 of 138
rush: success rate0.472222124 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.86822246 of 138
pass: points added per play0.03522238 of 138
pass: success rate0.40522274 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.40622233 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.515222123 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.22822227 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.429222131 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.14222217 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.59122222 of 138
points per trip inside the 402.42122217 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.16222272 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.0632227 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.099222131 of 138
opponent average starting field position72.00022267 of 138

OSU defence

OSU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.08126923 of 138
success rate0.35326933 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.21126964 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.04226942 of 138
rush: success rate0.435269100 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.94526980 of 138
pass: points added per play-0.1372697 of 138
pass: success rate0.2752692 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.58826983 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.39826928 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.28226971 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.79126962 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19426969 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.66726949 of 138
points per trip inside the 402.77826933 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.208269125 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.10426978 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.104269135 of 138
opponent average starting field position75.700269128 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