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The units, side by side

NIUNDSUbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence150Offence: points per play — defence2197Offence: success rate — offence823Offence: success rate — defence2051Offence: explosiveness — offence3590Offence: explosiveness — defence2394Run game — offence328Run game — defence2996Pass game — offence1273Pass game — defence2884Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence623Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence4564Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence1577Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence8727

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

tiecardsNIU by 27NDSU by 53

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). NDSU wins about 80% of the time at a number like ours.

NIU

Games4
Plays per game66.2
Drives per game11.5
SP+-23.9 (133rd, offence 133rd, defence 129th)
Returning production44% (pass 138%, rush 29%, receiving 93%)

NDSU

Games4
Plays per game65.0
Drives per game10.2
SP+7.8 (45th, offence 54th, defence 33rd)
Returning production— (pass —, rush —, receiving —)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceNIUNDSU
pass rate, all downs60%4th40%121st
pass rate, standard downs50%13th32%123rd
pass rate, 1st down56%6th29%129th
no-huddle share55%79th8%125th
pass rate, passing downs79%6th58%96th
pass rate, red zone45%36th36%78th
seconds per play (own drives)27.593rd30.240th

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

NIU offence

NIU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.121265137 of 138
success rate0.362265127 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.19026590 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.112265134 of 138
rush: success rate0.381265117 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.87726593 of 138
pass: points added per play0.007265122 of 138
pass: success rate0.366265118 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.414265108 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.442265114 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.215265131 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.560265130 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.210265113 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.76526558 of 138
points per trip inside the 401.545265137 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.177265118 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.132265132 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.04526551 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)72.30026543 of 138

NDSU offence

NDSU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.15726070 of 138
success rate0.400260107 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.41426015 of 138
rush: points added per play0.04026099 of 138
rush: success rate0.349260131 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.08126025 of 138
pass: points added per play0.37726038 of 138
pass: success rate0.48526038 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.79426020 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.456260103 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.275260101 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.826260107 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.19126094 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.69226097 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.08326060 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.11526032 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.06926028 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.04626054 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)70.40026072 of 138

NIU defence

NIU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.159268109 of 138
success rate0.444268111 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.323268106 of 138
rush: points added per play0.11026898 of 138
rush: success rate0.41126876 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.076268113 of 138
pass: points added per play0.26026899 of 138
pass: success rate0.492268128 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.48926855 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.47826892 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.372268130 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.90226877 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.20226879 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.57926819 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.73126896 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.12726819 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.08626847 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.04126819 of 138
opponent average starting field position70.70026842 of 138

NDSU defence

NDSU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.1562405 of 138
success rate0.39224068 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.0242409 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.2312407 of 138
rush: success rate0.39824067 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.70524014 of 138
pass: points added per play-0.03024023 of 138
pass: success rate0.39024067 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.43824040 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.488240100 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.1842404 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.64624051 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.18024048 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.71424068 of 138
points per trip inside the 401.7222404 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.183240101 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.10424077 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.079240112 of 138
opponent average starting field position73.30024097 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