Matchup analysis
Before kickoff our model projected Central Connecticut 35.4, New Haven 23 at Arute Field in Week 8. That is a solid edge: Central Connecticut wins about 79% of the time by our estimate, with a projected margin of 12.3 points and 58.4 combined points.
New Haven is 2-5, scoring 14.6 and allowing 27.1 points per game (-12.5 per game). Central Connecticut is 3-3, scoring 33.2 and allowing 37.5 points per game (-4.3 per game).
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 New Haven by 10 and Central Connecticut by 35 about 80% of the time.
Central Connecticut gets about 2.1 points for playing at home. Even on a neutral field the ratings would still favour Central Connecticut by about 10.2.
Result: New Haven 20, Central Connecticut 42. The model had the right winner; the margin was off by 9.7 points and the total by 3.6.
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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Original projection vs new formula
| Projection | Score | Win prob | Margin miss | Total miss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original projection | New Haven 23.0, Central Connecticut 35.4 | Central Connecticut 79%right winner | 9.7 | 3.6 |
| New formula | Not recorded for this game | |||
Final: New Haven 20, Central Connecticut 42. Original = the number we posted before kickoff. New formula (2026-10-21 matchup terms) = the current model re-run with only the games played before this one.
New Haven vs Central Connecticut: stat comparison
2025 season numbers (this season's sample is still too small).
| Stat | New Haven | Central Connecticut |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game | 27.9 | 26.7 |
| Points allowed per game | 28.6 | 22.9 |
| Yards per play | 6.26 | 5.64 |
| Yards per play allowed | 5.47 | 5.97 |
| Rushing yards per game | 154.6 | 140.3 |
| Net passing yards per game | 242.0 | 241.6 |
| Rushing yards allowed per game | 175.9 | 156.3 |
| Net passing yards allowed per game | 182.6 | 226.2 |
| Turnovers per game | 1.22 | 0.62 |
| Takeaways per game | 1.22 | 0.85 |
| Sacks per game | 2.78 | 2.15 |
| Sacks allowed per game | 0.89 | 1.23 |
| Stat | New Haven | Central Connecticut |
|---|---|---|
| EPA per play | -0.03 | -0.00 |
| EPA per play allowed | +0.00 | +0.03 |
| Success rate | 40.4% | 41.1% |
| Success rate allowed | 39.8% | 42.0% |
| Explosive play rate | 12.1% | 11.7% |
| Explosive plays allowed | 13.2% | 14.2% |
| Havoc rate | 12.8% | 12.8% |
| Havoc allowed | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| Points per scoring opportunity | 0.00 | 3.53 |
| Points per opportunity allowed | 0.00 | 4.20 |
| Average starting field position | opp 0 | opp 6 |
| Opponents' starting field position | opp 0 | opp 6 |
| Offensive plays per game (pace) | 63.3 | 67.7 |
| Stat | New Haven | Central Connecticut |
|---|---|---|
| Rushing EPA per play | -0.04 | -0.13 |
| Passing EPA per play | -0.02 | +0.11 |
| Rushing EPA allowed | -0.00 | +0.06 |
| Passing EPA allowed | -0.00 | +0.01 |
| Rushing success rate | 41.3% | 38.5% |
| Passing success rate | 40.3% | 45.7% |
| Run stuff rate | 22.1% | 21.1% |
| Passing-down success rate | 29.9% | 30.5% |
| Passing-down success allowed | 24.6% | 30.7% |
| Third-down conversion rate | 37.8% | 40.7% |
| Third-down rate allowed | 31.1% | 40.0% |
| Red-zone touchdown rate | 0.0% | 49.2% |
| Red-zone TD rate allowed | 0.0% | 63.9% |
# = rank among 136 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: New Haven schedule · Central Connecticut schedule · all Week 8 projections
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Projections are statistical estimates for entertainment and analysis only. They are not betting advice and nothing here guarantees any result.
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