Matchup analysis
Our model projects Air Force 39, UTEP 15 at Falcon Stadium in Week 12. That is a heavy edge: Air Force wins about 95% of the time by our estimate, with a projected margin of 24.5 points and 53.8 combined points. Tags: favorite holds, blowout brewing.
UTEP is 1-6 against the 65th-toughest schedule so far, scoring 15.1 and allowing 37.3 points per game (-22.2 per game). Air Force is 5-2 against the 116th-toughest schedule so far, scoring 28.4 and allowing 20.9 points per game (+7.5 per game).
Air Force's below-average defense (88th) should limit UTEP's struggling offense (138th of 139 in our opponent-adjusted ratings, worth about 13.6 points against an average defense). The most lopsided unit battle: Air Force's middle-of-the-pack offense (80th of 139 in our opponent-adjusted ratings, worth about 25.3 points against an average defense) against UTEP's struggling defense (138th).
College football is noisy: even a well-rated projection misses the final margin by about 14 points on average. Based on how real results have scattered around our numbers, the final margin should land somewhere between Air Force by 2 and Air Force by 47 about 80% of the time.
Air Force gets about 2.1 points for playing at home. Even on a neutral field the ratings would still favour Air Force by about 22.4. The game is on CW.
Market lines
Market lines · Source: The Odds API, ESPN, Action Network · Updated Oct 29, 9:25 AM UTC. Shown for information; not an input to our projections.
No market line has been posted for this game yet.
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UTEP vs Air Force: stat comparison
| Stat | UTEP | Air Force |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game | 15.1#136 | 28.4#71 |
| Points allowed per game | 37.3#134 | 20.9#42 |
| Yards per play | 5.41#118 | 5.68#97 |
| Yards per play allowed | 6.48#122 | 6.06#96 |
| Rushing yards per game | 164.4#77 | 341.1#1 |
| Net passing yards per game | 149.4#129 | 68.7#138 |
| Rushing yards allowed per game | 201.7#124 | 141.3#52 |
| Net passing yards allowed per game | 202.6#60 | 174.0#21 |
| Turnovers per game | 1.14#109 | 0.57#35 |
| Takeaways per game | 0.86#80 | 0.86#71 |
| Sacks per game | 1.14#128 | 1.29#115 |
| Sacks allowed per game | 5.00#138 | 0.71#6 |
| Stat | UTEP | Air Force |
|---|---|---|
| EPA per play | -0.11#137 | +0.18#31 |
| EPA per play allowed | +0.17#122 | +0.06#77 |
| Success rate | 35.2%#135 | 48.5%#22 |
| Success rate allowed | 49.1%#134 | 40.8%#69 |
| Explosive play rate | 11.5%#102 | 11.1%#113 |
| Explosive plays allowed | 13.9%#115 | 11.5%#67 |
| Havoc rate | 11.1%#129 | 12.8%#101 |
| Havoc allowed | 18.5%#137 | 8.0%#1 |
| Points per scoring opportunity | 2.85#136 | 4.64#31 |
| Points per opportunity allowed | 4.63#123 | 4.07#97 |
| Average starting field position | own 29#89 | own 30#63 |
| Opponents' starting field position | own 31#119 | own 29#69 |
| Offensive plays per game (pace) | 58.0#132 | 72.1#9 |
| Stat | UTEP | Air Force |
|---|---|---|
| Rushing EPA per play | +0.01#105 | +0.22#7 |
| Passing EPA per play | -0.23#137 | +0.17#43 |
| Rushing EPA allowed | +0.09#100 | +0.05#77 |
| Passing EPA allowed | +0.26#127 | +0.08#82 |
| Rushing success rate | 37.8%#119 | 52.2%#5 |
| Passing success rate | 31.0%#135 | 35.7%#121 |
| Run stuff rate | 19.5%#106 | 9.7%#1 |
| Passing-down success rate | 23.0%#133 | 29.6%#99 |
| Passing-down success allowed | 36.9%#126 | 28.7%#59 |
| Third-down conversion rate | 25.8%#138 | 55.4%#6 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 49.4%#131 | 38.2%#63 |
| Red-zone touchdown rate | 47.5%#127 | 65.1%#57 |
| Red-zone TD rate allowed | 61.7%#82 | 57.9%#61 |
# = rank among 138 FBS teams. Efficiency numbers exclude garbage time. Per-play numbers of teams with a weak schedule are pulled toward their opponent-adjusted values (fully at one standard deviation below an average schedule). Source: play-by-play (cfbfastR / sportsdataverse), aggregated by us.
More: UTEP schedule · Air Force schedule · all Week 12 projections
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