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The units, side by side

JMUUSMbar = FBS percentile, longer is better · dotted tick = median teamOffence: points per play — offence8226Offence: points per play — defence10032Offence: success rate — offence7040Offence: success rate — defence10042Offence: explosiveness — offence5015Offence: explosiveness — defence1335Run game — offence8272Run game — defence879Pass game — offence729Pass game — defence9436Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — offence6191Line yards (O-line vs D-line) — defence8518Havoc (allowed vs created) — offence8835Havoc (allowed vs created) — defence3680

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

tiecardsJMU by 49USM by 31

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). JMU wins about 72% of the time at a number like ours.

JMU

Games4
Plays per game67.2
Drives per game12.2
SP+9.9 (36th, offence 48th, defence 27th)
Returning production8% (pass 9%, rush 7%, receiving 9%)

USM

Games4
Plays per game71.5
Drives per game12.5
SP+-18.4 (128th, offence 115th, defence 132nd)
Returning production90% (pass 97%, rush 102%, receiving 82%)

What each side chooses to do

OffenceJMUUSM
pass rate, all downs46%89th53%32nd
pass rate, standard downs41%76th46%38th
pass rate, 1st down46%46th42%79th
no-huddle share90%22nd59%72nd
pass rate, passing downs59%95th70%35th
pass rate, red zone33%92nd26%121st
seconds per play (own drives)27.790th25.1127th

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

JMU offence

JMU offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.29326926 of 138
success rate0.47626942 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.22326970 of 138
rush: points added per play0.24526926 of 138
rush: success rate0.49726927 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.00526955 of 138
pass: points added per play0.36826940 of 138
pass: success rate0.45826957 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.52726975 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.52526942 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.33826954 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.23126954 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.15426954 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.77326954 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.56226936 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.10426917 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.06726924 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.03726922 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)65.900269124 of 138

USM offence

USM offencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.063286103 of 138
success rate0.43028683 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.125286117 of 138
rush: points added per play0.19028640 of 138
rush: success rate0.47028650 of 138
rush: explosiveness0.824286109 of 138
pass: points added per play0.000286125 of 138
pass: success rate0.40828693 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.440286103 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.49328668 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.272286105 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.58228613 of 138
rushes stopped at or behind the line0.0902862 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.84228618 of 138
points per trip inside the 404.09128659 of 138
havoc allowed (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.15728690 of 138
havoc allowed by the front seven0.07028632 of 138
havoc allowed by the secondary0.087286134 of 138
average starting field position (yards from own goal)75.0002869 of 138

JMU defence

JMU defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play-0.1972871 of 138
success rate0.2752871 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.380287120 of 138
rush: points added per play-0.14228719 of 138
rush: success rate0.2612872 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.061287108 of 138
pass: points added per play-0.1302879 of 138
pass: success rate0.2812873 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.687287108 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.3112871 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.23028730 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)2.36928722 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.19628773 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.818287112 of 138
points per trip inside the 402.47828718 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.17828789 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.118287106 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.05928763 of 138
opponent average starting field position72.60028782 of 138

USM defence

USM defencevalueplaysFBS rank
points added per play0.12329894 of 138
success rate0.40629881 of 138
explosiveness (points added on successful plays)1.27329890 of 138
rush: points added per play0.189298125 of 138
rush: success rate0.453298109 of 138
rush: explosiveness1.039298104 of 138
pass: points added per play0.20929888 of 138
pass: success rate0.36329837 of 138
pass: explosiveness1.731298117 of 138
standard downs: success rate0.42529850 of 138
passing downs: success rate0.363298125 of 138
line yards per rush (the O-line)3.197298114 of 138
rushes stopped (by this defence) at or behind the line0.18029850 of 138
short-yardage conversion rate0.70629865 of 138
points per trip inside the 402.96029846 of 138
havoc created (TFL, forced fumbles, breakups per play)0.13129829 of 138
havoc created by the front seven0.08729849 of 138
havoc created by the secondary0.04429829 of 138
opponent average starting field position72.60029883 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