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Nevada at UTEP

Saturday, October 10 · 7:00 PM ET · Sun Bowl
Nevada 1-3 30.6
AT
UTEP 1-4 21.9

01 / THE NUMBER

The model makes this Nevada -8.6. The market has it Nevada -9.5, a gap of 0.9 points toward UTEP.

Tested against closing lines on 1,148 games, this model tracks the market rather than beating it. A large gap is a question worth asking, not a signal to follow.

SPREAD
Vegas lineNevada -9.5
ModelNevada -8.6
Difference0.9

02 / PROJECTED SCORE

Nevada30.6UTEP21.9

03 / WHERE THE MARGIN COMES FROM

Elo / track record13.4Home field4.4Pass consistency0.3Passing game0.3Running game0.3Rush consistency0.2Nevada ←→ UTEP

Each bar is that input's contribution to the projected margin, in points, pointing toward the team it favours. They sum to 8.4 toward Nevada, before calibration.

04 / HOW THEY RATE · percentile vs all FBS

Offence
PassingRushingPass cons.Rush cons.Pass ratePace
Defence
PassingRushingPass cons.Rush cons.Pass ratePace
Nevada UTEP
Percentile, 0–100Nevada offUTEP off Nevada defUTEP def
Passing042710
Rushing3012742
Pass cons.318100
Rush cons.26111521
Pass rate50239298
Pace345636

Higher is better on both sides — defence is flipped so the shape reads the same way. Percentiles are taken from the opponent-adjusted ratings, so a number earned against a hard schedule ranks above the same number earned against a soft one.

05 / TEAM RATINGS

Per play, vs averageNevada offUTEP off Nevada defUTEP def
Pass EPA / dropback-0.286-0.165-0.015+0.034
Rush EPA / carry+0.037-0.018+0.021-0.058
Pass success rate-0.067-0.003+0.010+0.042
Rush success rate+0.018-0.003-0.008-0.014
Pass rate-0.014-0.050-0.022-0.033
Plays per game-3.0-2.9-4.3-3.4

Opponent adjusted and shrunk toward last season — after 4 and 5 games, a rating is still part last year. On defence, negative is good.

06 / ELO

RatingNevadaUTEPGap
Elo, years of results1435984 -451

Worth 13.4 points of this projection. Elo carries what three games of play-by-play can't: years of results, so a team that has been bad for a decade isn't rated average in September.

07 / SEASON SO FAR

Nevada 1-3

vs Western Kentucky49–14
vs Montana State7–20
at Middle Tennessee20–27
vs Air Force33–36

UTEP 1-4

at Oklahoma0–51
vs Texas Southern51–10
at Michigan17–52
vs Oregon State7–33
at New Mexico7–61