The trenches
| Pass rush | sack rate | stopped behind the line | faces | sacks allowed | pairing |
|---|
| NDSU pass rush | 4.9% 8276th | 8.2% 18279th | faces NIU | 10.7% 122133rd | 7.8% ~2.6 sacks |
| NIU pass rush | 3.9% 10292nd | 9.6% 19848th | faces NDSU | 2.8% 7223rd | 3.4% ~1.1 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.
NIU with the ball
| NIU offence vs NDSU defence | NIU offence | NDSU defence | rank gap |
|---|
| points added per play | -0.121137th | -0.1565th | -132 |
| success rate | 0.362127th | 0.39268th | -59 |
| explosiveness (points added on successful plays) | 1.19090th | 1.0249th | -81 |
| rush: points added per play | -0.112134th | -0.2317th | -127 |
| rush: success rate | 0.381117th | 0.39867th | -50 |
| rush: explosiveness | 0.87793rd | 0.70514th | -79 |
| pass: points added per play | 0.007122nd | -0.03023rd | -99 |
| pass: success rate | 0.366118th | 0.39067th | -51 |
| pass: explosiveness | 1.414108th | 1.43840th | -68 |
| standard downs: success rate | 0.442114th | 0.488100th | -14 |
| passing downs: success rate | 0.215131st | 0.1844th | -127 |
| line yards per rush (the O-line) | 2.560130th | 2.64651st | -79 |
| rushes stopped at or behind the line | 0.210113th | 0.18048th | -65 |
| short-yardage conversion rate | 0.76558th | 0.71468th | +10 |
| points per trip inside the 40 | 1.545137th | 1.7224th | -133 |
| havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play) | 0.177118th | 0.183101st | -17 |
| havoc allowed by the front seven | 0.132132nd | 0.10477th | -55 |
| havoc allowed by the secondary | 0.04551st | 0.079112th | +61 |
| average starting field position (yards from own goal) | 72.30043rd | — | — |
NDSU with the ball
| NDSU offence vs NIU defence | NDSU offence | NIU defence | rank gap |
|---|
| points added per play | 0.15770th | 0.159109th | +39 |
| success rate | 0.400107th | 0.444111th | +4 |
| explosiveness (points added on successful plays) | 1.41415th | 1.323106th | +91 |
| rush: points added per play | 0.04099th | 0.11098th | -1 |
| rush: success rate | 0.349131st | 0.41176th | -55 |
| rush: explosiveness | 1.08125th | 1.076113th | +88 |
| pass: points added per play | 0.37738th | 0.26099th | +61 |
| pass: success rate | 0.48538th | 0.492128th | +90 |
| pass: explosiveness | 1.79420th | 1.48955th | +35 |
| standard downs: success rate | 0.456103rd | 0.47892nd | -11 |
| passing downs: success rate | 0.275101st | 0.372130th | +29 |
| line yards per rush (the O-line) | 2.826107th | 2.90277th | -30 |
| rushes stopped at or behind the line | 0.19194th | 0.20279th | -15 |
| short-yardage conversion rate | 0.69297th | 0.57919th | -78 |
| points per trip inside the 40 | 4.08360th | 3.73196th | +36 |
| havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play) | 0.11532nd | 0.12719th | -13 |
| havoc allowed by the front seven | 0.06928th | 0.08647th | +19 |
| havoc allowed by the secondary | 0.04654th | 0.04119th | -35 |
| average starting field position (yards from own goal) | 70.40072nd | — | — |
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.