What Matters Most in College Football — Wins, Spread & TotalsWhat Matters Most in College Football — Wins, Spread & Totals
What Metrics Determine who Wins & Covers CFB Games
Last updated: Jan 19, 2026 7:30pm
This page is home/away neutral. For each stat, we identify which team “won the battle” (home or away), then show how often that team won and covered.

Totals note: In the Totals section, “above/below average” refers to the game environment metric (pace, combined PPA, etc.) — not whether the betting total itself was high or low.
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🏈 What Wins Games

When a team won this “battle,” how often did that team win the game?
Factor Battle Winner Win % Games
Big-Play Impact (Overall)
Who created more value per play overall
80.2% 2,264
Big-Play Impact (Passing)
Who created more value per pass
77.4% 2,260
Defensive Disruption
Who created more chaos on defense
76.3% 2,248
Down-to-Down Efficiency
Who stayed “on schedule” more often
73.7% 2,251
Finishing Drives
Who turned trips past the 40 into points
70.7% 2,215
Efficiency on Standard Downs
Who stayed on schedule before passing downs
67.6% 2,255
Efficiency on Passing Downs
Who executed better in obvious passing situations
67.0% 2,227
Big-Play Impact (Rushing)
Who created more value per run
62.5% 2,261
Line Yards (Run Blocking)
Who got more push up front
58.3% 2,152

Big-Play Impact (Overall)

Overall PPA differential (similar to EPA). Adjusted for situation and field position.
80.2% Battle winner win rate
2,264 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
65.9% Battle winner cover rate
2,211 ATS games used
Requires spread line

Big-Play Impact (Passing)

Passing PPA differential. Explosive passing creates fast scoring swings.
77.4% Battle winner win rate
2,260 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
67.0% Battle winner cover rate
2,207 ATS games used
Requires spread line

Defensive Disruption

Havoc differential (TFLs, forced fumbles, INTs, PBUs).
76.3% Battle winner win rate
2,248 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
64.2% Battle winner cover rate
2,195 ATS games used
Requires spread line

Down-to-Down Efficiency

Success Rate differential. Sustained efficiency is strongly tied to winning.
73.7% Battle winner win rate
2,251 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
58.8% Battle winner cover rate
2,198 ATS games used
Requires spread line

Finishing Drives

Points per scoring opportunity (drives crossing opponent’s 40). Captures high-leverage execution.
70.7% Battle winner win rate
2,215 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
64.7% Battle winner cover rate
2,164 ATS games used
Requires spread line

Efficiency on Standard Downs

Success Rate differential on standard downs.
67.6% Battle winner win rate
2,255 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
55.7% Battle winner cover rate
2,202 ATS games used
Requires spread line

Efficiency on Passing Downs

Success Rate differential on passing downs (2nd & 7+ / 3rd-4th & 5+).
67.0% Battle winner win rate
2,227 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
59.3% Battle winner cover rate
2,175 ATS games used
Requires spread line

Big-Play Impact (Rushing)

Rushing PPA differential.
62.5% Battle winner win rate
2,261 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
54.9% Battle winner cover rate
2,209 ATS games used
Requires spread line

Line Yards (Run Blocking)

Line yards estimates rushing yards attributable to the offensive line using weighted yardage.
58.3% Battle winner win rate
2,152 Games used
Seasons 2023–2025, min plays 40
50.3% Battle winner cover rate
2,104 ATS games used
Requires spread line

💰 What Beats the Spread

When a team won this “battle,” how often did that team cover? Splits shown by the home line (favorites vs underdogs) for context.
Factor Battle Winner Cover % Home Fav Home Dog Home Dog 7+ Games
Big-Play Impact (Passing)
Who created more value per pass
67.0% 66.2% 68.5% 66.0% 2,207
Big-Play Impact (Overall)
Who created more value per play overall
65.9% 63.4% 70.5% 64.4% 2,211
Finishing Drives
Who turned trips past the 40 into points
64.7% 63.2% 67.6% 67.1% 2,164
Defensive Disruption
Who created more chaos on defense
64.2% 61.4% 69.2% 65.5% 2,195
Efficiency on Passing Downs
Who executed better in obvious passing situations
59.3% 59.2% 59.6% 59.5% 2,175
Down-to-Down Efficiency
Who stayed “on schedule” more often
58.8% 56.6% 62.8% 58.3% 2,198
Efficiency on Standard Downs
Who stayed on schedule before passing downs
55.7% 53.1% 60.4% 57.0% 2,202
Big-Play Impact (Rushing)
Who created more value per run
54.9% 53.1% 58.1% 57.7% 2,209
Line Yards (Run Blocking)
Who got more push up front
50.3% 49.1% 52.4% 51.7% 2,104

Big-Play Impact (Passing)

Passing PPA differential. Explosive passing creates fast scoring swings.
67.0% Cover rate (all)
66.2% Home fav subset
spread < 0
68.5% Home dog subset
spread > 0
66.0% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,207 (all) / 1,421 (home fav) / 786 (home dog) / 376 (home dog 7+)

Big-Play Impact (Overall)

Overall PPA differential (similar to EPA). Adjusted for situation and field position.
65.9% Cover rate (all)
63.4% Home fav subset
spread < 0
70.5% Home dog subset
spread > 0
64.4% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,211 (all) / 1,424 (home fav) / 787 (home dog) / 376 (home dog 7+)

Finishing Drives

Points per scoring opportunity (drives crossing opponent’s 40). Captures high-leverage execution.
64.7% Cover rate (all)
63.2% Home fav subset
spread < 0
67.6% Home dog subset
spread > 0
67.1% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,164 (all) / 1,393 (home fav) / 771 (home dog) / 371 (home dog 7+)

Defensive Disruption

Havoc differential (TFLs, forced fumbles, INTs, PBUs).
64.2% Cover rate (all)
61.4% Home fav subset
spread < 0
69.2% Home dog subset
spread > 0
65.5% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,195 (all) / 1,415 (home fav) / 780 (home dog) / 371 (home dog 7+)

Efficiency on Passing Downs

Success Rate differential on passing downs (2nd & 7+ / 3rd-4th & 5+).
59.3% Cover rate (all)
59.2% Home fav subset
spread < 0
59.6% Home dog subset
spread > 0
59.5% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,175 (all) / 1,393 (home fav) / 782 (home dog) / 375 (home dog 7+)

Down-to-Down Efficiency

Success Rate differential. Sustained efficiency is strongly tied to winning.
58.8% Cover rate (all)
56.6% Home fav subset
spread < 0
62.8% Home dog subset
spread > 0
58.3% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,198 (all) / 1,415 (home fav) / 783 (home dog) / 374 (home dog 7+)

Efficiency on Standard Downs

Success Rate differential on standard downs.
55.7% Cover rate (all)
53.1% Home fav subset
spread < 0
60.4% Home dog subset
spread > 0
57.0% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,202 (all) / 1,417 (home fav) / 785 (home dog) / 374 (home dog 7+)

Big-Play Impact (Rushing)

Rushing PPA differential.
54.9% Cover rate (all)
53.1% Home fav subset
spread < 0
58.1% Home dog subset
spread > 0
57.7% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,209 (all) / 1,422 (home fav) / 787 (home dog) / 376 (home dog 7+)

Line Yards (Run Blocking)

Line yards estimates rushing yards attributable to the offensive line using weighted yardage.
50.3% Cover rate (all)
49.1% Home fav subset
spread < 0
52.4% Home dog subset
spread > 0
51.7% Home dog 7+ subset
spread ≥ 7
Games used: 2,104 (all) / 1,358 (home fav) / 746 (home dog) / 354 (home dog 7+)

🎯 What Hits the Total

Totals are a game-level outcome. For each metric below, we split games into two groups: Above-average metric vs Below-average metric, then show how often those games went Over.
Game Environment Metric Over% (Metric > Avg) Games Over% (Metric < Avg) Games
Pace (Total Plays)
More plays = more chances to score (home plays + away plays).
Metric average (cutoff): 127
50.1% 1,195 44.7% 1,038
Combined Big-Play Impact (PPA rate)
Adds both teams’ overall PPA (rate). Higher combined play value tends to correlate with Overs.
Metric average (cutoff): 0.341
68.3% 1,084 28.1% 1,149
Combined Big-Play Impact (PPA total impact)
Approximates total game impact: (home PPA × home plays) + (away PPA × away plays).
Metric average (cutoff): 21.7
68.6% 1,099 27.3% 1,134
Combined Scoring Opportunities
Total number of drives crossing the opponent 40 (both teams). More chances = more points.
Metric average (cutoff): 11.54
63.3% 1,093 32.5% 1,140
Combined Explosiveness
Adds both teams’ explosiveness. Explosive games are more likely to spike totals.
Metric average (cutoff): 2.567
60.7% 1,070 35.6% 1,163
Combined Efficiency (Success Rate)
Adds both teams’ success rate. Efficient offenses sustain drives and scoring chances.
Metric average (cutoff): 0.835
62.0% 1,093 33.8% 1,140
“Above/Below Average” refers to the metric (pace, combined PPA, etc.), not the betting total number itself. If you want, we can add a separate “High Total vs Low Total” split later (e.g., totals ≥ 55 vs < 55).

📘 Definitions (Plain English)

Quick glossary for the terms used on this page.
  • PPA (Predicted Points Added): Similar to EPA. Measures play value using down, distance, and field position.
  • Success Rate: % of plays that stay “on schedule” (50% yards on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th, or a TD).
  • Passing Downs: 2nd & 7+ to go, or 3rd/4th & 5+ to go.
  • Standard Downs: All downs that are not passing downs.
  • Scoring Opportunities: Drives that cross the opponent’s 40-yard line.
  • Points per Opportunity: Points scored per scoring opportunity (drive past the 40).
  • Havoc: % of plays with a TFL, forced fumble, interception, or pass breakup.
  • Line Yards: Rushing yards attributable to the offensive line using weighted yardage (losses count extra, big runs count less).
  • “Won the battle”: The team that had the better value in that stat (home minus away > 0 means home; < 0 means away).
These are descriptive validations (what tended to happen when one team outperformed the other). Turning this into a pregame predictor requires season-to-date team ratings and opponent adjustment.
Last updated: Jan 19, 2026 7:30pm