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Wednesday 2026-11-18 · time TBA · UB Stadium
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The units, side by side

CMUBUFbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence1112Offence: points per play — defence1834Offence: success rate — offence71Offence: success rate — defence469Offence: explosiveness — offence3748Offence: explosiveness — defence805Run game — offence5113Run game — defence2554Pass game — offence118Pass game — defence4630Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence5514Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence128Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence3230Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence7062

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

tiecardsCMU by 42BUF by 38

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). CMU wins about 54% of the time at a number like ours.

CMU

Games4
Plays per game57.0
Drives per game10.2
SP+-18.7 (129th, offence 136th, defence 100th)
Returning production54% (pass 9%, rush 123%, receiving 65%)

BUF

Games4
Plays per game76.5
Drives per game14.0
SP+-17.2 (124th, offence 129th, defence 107th)
Returning production-1% (pass 9%, rush 9%, receiving -7%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceCMUBUF
pass rate, all downs35%133rd49%62nd
pass rate, standard downs25%133rd41%74th
pass rate, 1st down32%121st39%97th
no-huddle share2%137th82%44th
pass rate, passing downs56%107th65%58th
pass rate, red zone20%129th45%35th
seconds per play (own drives)32.69th24.4133rd

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

CMU offence

CMU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.000228123 of 138
success rate0.351228129 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.19622887 of 138
rush: points added per play0.13522868 of 138
rush: success rate0.401228102 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.10722822 of 138
pass: points added per play-0.180228137 of 138
pass: success rate0.263228138 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.423228107 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.395228131 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.254228112 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.18122863 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.12922822 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.82622825 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.000228119 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.16222894 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.09622887 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.06622899 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)71.40022851 of 138

BUF offence

BUF offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.000306122 of 138
success rate0.333306136 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.21930672 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.027306120 of 138
rush: success rate0.340306133 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.91830682 of 138
pass: points added per play0.047306114 of 138
pass: success rate0.324306132 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.50230683 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.379306134 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.240306119 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.704306119 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.19230695 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.80030634 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.25030653 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.16330697 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.10130698 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.06230690 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)72.60030639 of 138

CMU defence

CMU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.166264114 of 138
success rate0.473264132 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.11826429 of 138
rush: points added per play0.118264104 of 138
rush: success rate0.496264133 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.86226443 of 138
pass: points added per play0.15326475 of 138
pass: success rate0.434264102 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.32926417 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.522264126 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.366264126 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.534264137 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.13526414 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.933264136 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.39326470 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.14426442 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.06826414 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.076264107 of 138
opponent average starting field position68.30026419 of 138

BUF defence

BUF defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.11627691 of 138
success rate0.36627644 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.445276131 of 138
rush: points added per play0.01727664 of 138
rush: success rate0.38527656 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.92627673 of 138
pass: points added per play0.25127697 of 138
pass: success rate0.36727643 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.955276135 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.42927654 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.25727647 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.039276100 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19227665 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.62527632 of 138
points per trip inside the 403.53627681 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.15227653 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.07627631 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.076276106 of 138
opponent average starting field position68.20027615 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