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Utah State vs Colorado State prediction
Kickoff Sat 2:30 PM CT, at Utah State
USU 51% win49% CSU
33Projected26If CSU upsets
vs
32Projected39If CSU upsetsHome
Utah State Aggies
Record 2–5 · #123 in ratings
Away
Colorado State Rams
Record 3–4 · #110 in ratings
Home / away venueNeutral site
Normal (52)
Starts at 52, set by both teams' turnovers and penalties this season. More luck means more upsets.
What goes into luck
| Per game, this season | USU | CSU | FBS avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnovers in their games (lost + forced) | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
| Penalty yards | 68 | 38 | 57 |
Teams whose games have more turnovers and penalties than average play less predictable games, so their matchup starts with more luck. Luck never changes who is favored, only how often the underdog pulls it off. Even at "almost none", single drives still go either way.
Upset watch
Toss-up49%Colorado State wins on the road
If Colorado State plays at home62% ▲
Colorado State: 1 win over a higher-rated team (San Diego State 56–49)
Utah State: no losses to lower-rated teams in 6 FBS games
This season, compared with current ratings.
Upset score (under each projected score): the average final in the simulated games Colorado State won. Injuries aren't included; there's no injury data source.
Most common scores
Out of 10,000 simulated games
- CSU 34, USU 3053 games
- USU 34, CSU 3045 games
- USU 34, CSU 2743 games
- USU 37, CSU 3043 games
- USU 37, CSU 2740 games
- Power index
- 11 vs 20
- Projected
- USU favored
- Differential
- 0.6 pts
Team A conference
HomeSelect team
Team B conference
AwaySelect team
10,000 simulated games at Utah State, luck set to normal. The real game is Sat 2:30 PM CT, at Utah State.
For entertainment purposes only. These are simulated outcomes, not predictions to bet on.
- Projected spread
- Utah State by 0.6
- Projected total
- 64.3
- Decided by 8 or fewer
- 40.5%
- Went to overtime
- 3.1%
- Utah State wins by 21+
- 10.7%
- Colorado State wins by 21+
- 9.6%
- Median score
- 32–31
- Model expectation
- 32.4–31.3
Every final margin
Each bar is a 3-point range. Bars on the right are Utah State wins, bars on the left are Colorado State wins. Hover a bar for its share of games.
Where the edges are
Utah State offense vs Colorado State defenseOffense -9.9Defense -15.0Edge Utah State: its offense is 5.1 points better than Colorado State's defense.
Colorado State offense vs Utah State defenseOffense +8.1Defense +1.1Edge Colorado State: its offense is 7.0 points better than Utah State's defense.
| Stat | Utah State | Colorado State | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected points per play, offense | -0.04 | 0.30 | Higher is better |
| Expected points per play allowed | 0.04 | 0.35 | Lower is better |
| Offensive success rate | 36.1% | 47.8% | Higher is better |
| Success rate allowed | 40.2% | 54.4% | Lower is better |
| Points per game | 14.9 | 38.6 | Raw, not adjusted |
| Points allowed per game | 23.0 | 44.0 | Raw, not adjusted |
How the simulation works
Every team gets an offense and defense rating from this season's scores, adjusted for who they played: scoring 40 against a top defense counts for more than 40 against a weak one. Blowouts count as at most a 35-point win.
Each simulated game gives both teams about 10 possessions. Every possession ends in a touchdown, a field goal or nothing, with odds set by how the offense and defense match up, plus a little game-day randomness. Ties go to overtime.
Running it 10,000 times and counting the wins gives the win probability. Ratings use 2,524 completed games and update every morning.
