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Saturday 2026-11-21 · time TBA · Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
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The units, side by side

MDUSCbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence4387Offence: points per play — defence5214Offence: success rate — offence5997Offence: success rate — defence5734Offence: explosiveness — offence5534Offence: explosiveness — defence5218Run game — offence5239Run game — defence7236Pass game — offence2893Pass game — defence448Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence2865Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence8871Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence4995Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence5394

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

tiecardsMD by 24USC by 56

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). USC wins about 84% of the time at a number like ours.

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%)

USC

Games5
Plays per game72.2
Drives per game9.8
SP+17.8 (13th, offence 3rd, defence 49th)
Returning production59% (pass 91%, rush 78%, receiving 27%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceMDUSC
pass rate, all downs58%10th50%57th
pass rate, standard downs54%5th41%80th
pass rate, 1st down55%7th38%103rd
no-huddle share72%58th82%43rd
pass rate, passing downs68%45th78%10th
pass rate, red zone40%60th41%55th
seconds per play (own drives)26.4114th29.851st

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

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

USC offence

USC offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.30736119 of 138
success rate0.5353615 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.18736191 of 138
rush: points added per play0.08236185 of 138
rush: success rate0.48636136 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.829361107 of 138
pass: points added per play0.56436110 of 138
pass: success rate0.5923614 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.49736186 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.55836122 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.4673613 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.26836149 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.16836172 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.79336143 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.61136131 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.0893618 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.04736110 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.04236142 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)69.30036194 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

USC defence

USC defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.191294119 of 138
success rate0.42229491 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.363294113 of 138
rush: points added per play0.08029489 of 138
rush: success rate0.40029469 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.96129484 of 138
pass: points added per play0.424294127 of 138
pass: success rate0.462294114 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.724294115 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.44629467 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.374294131 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.58729441 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19329468 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.76229494 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.179294119 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.1162949 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.07529430 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.04129421 of 138
opponent average starting field position75.300294125 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