Probetrics — Sports Analytics
College Football slate
Washington Huskies
9-4 last yr · #18 Elo
at
Sat, Oct 3, 12:00 AM ET
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
USC Trojans
2-0 · #20 Elo
Spread Total Moneyline

The read

On rating alone Washington Huskies are 2.0 points better (#18 vs #20 of 240), and USC add 0.0 for home field. The clearest mismatch is the rushing game: WASH rushing ranks #10, USC defends it at #87; the other way USC #36 into WASH's #9.

Who has the edge

Rating
Slight edge
WASH
WASH rated 2.0 points better on Elo (#20 vs #18).
Home & rest
Even
USC gets 0.0 points for home field.
Passing game
Slight edge
USC
USC passing ranks #4, WASH defends it at #50; the other way WASH #29 into USC's #41.
context · not in the margin
Rushing game
Clear edge
WASH
WASH rushing ranks #10, USC defends it at #87; the other way USC #36 into WASH's #9.
context · not in the margin
Third down & red zone
Slight edge
WASH
WASH third-down conversion ranks #9, USC defends it at #80; the other way USC #5 into WASH's #56.
context · not in the margin
Form (last 5)
Clear edge
USC
USC +27.5 per game over the last five, WASH +16.6.
context · not in the margin
Market
not priced
No line yet.
context · not in the margin

The margin, factor by factor

Washington HuskiesUSC Trojans
1757 Elo · #18
RatingThe Elo gap in points — the model's core read on who is better, before the situational pieces below.
WASH +2.0 pts
1722 Elo · #20
road
Home field
not priced
home
Rest
even
−0.9 pts vs USC D
Offense vs defenseEach offense's scoring rating against the other defense's — what drives the model total. Shown as an edge, though the winner call runs on Elo.
WASH +0.1 pts
−1.0 pts vs WASH D
W L W W L · +16.6
Form (last 5)Average margin over the last five games. Already inside the ratings — listed so you can see when recent form and the rating disagree.
USC +5.4 pts
W W · +27.5
MarketThe consensus spread, read as points. Compare with the model margin above it.
not priced

Bars are in points toward the favored side. Blue factors are inside the model's margin; grey ones are context it does not add on top (form and offense/defense are already in the ratings; injuries beyond the quarterback are not priced).

Dissect the matchup

CollegeFootballData, garbage time excluded · 2025 season (last season until three games are in)

Biggest mismatches

  • WASH rush success rate (#11) against a USC defense ranked #121 at stopping it
  • WASH completion % (#9) against a USC defense ranked #114 at stopping it
  • WASH line yards / rush (#27) against a USC defense ranked #124 at stopping it
  • WASH pass success rate (#5) against a USC defense ranked #83 at stopping it
  • WASH rushing ppa / play (#10) against a USC defense ranked #87 at stopping it

A mismatch is a rank gap of at least a fifth of the league between an offense and the defense it faces on the same measure. Descriptive rows (pass rate, pace, direction) are shown for reading the game, not ranked. ▲▼ mark where the last three games sit clearly above or below the season number, in the direction that helps that side.

Washington Huskies offense vs USC Trojans defense

ranks of 135
WASH offUSC defEdge
Identity
Pass rate / Pass rate faced48%51%·
Standard-down shareShare of plays on standard downs (staying ahead of the chains).73%71%·
Plays / game5558·
Possession / game29:3529:57·
Passing
Passing PPA / playPredicted points added per pass play (CFBD).+0.38#29+0.18#41·
Pass success rate51%#543%#83WASH
Pass explosivenessPPA on successful pass plays — how big the wins are.1.43#1131.56#76USC
Yards / pass attempt8.6#166.8#54WASH
Completion %69%#966%#114WASH
Interception rate / Interceptions forced3.8%#1092.5%#57USC
Rushing
Rushing PPA / play+0.26#10+0.13#87WASH
Rush success rate49%#1147%#121WASH
Rush explosiveness1.04#390.81#6USC
Line yards / rushYards credited to the offensive line (first 4 yards weighted). Defense column: allowed.3.16#273.29#124WASH
Stuff rate / Stuff rate forcedRushes stopped at or behind the line.18%#5218%#86WASH
Power successConversion rate on 3rd/4th and ≤2, or goal-to-go from the 2.77%#3467%#33·
Yards / rush4.7#414.4#79WASH
Situational
Standard-down PPA+0.22#21+0.08#60WASH
Passing-down PPAObvious passing situations (2nd & 8+, 3rd/4th & 5+).+0.46#18+0.34#93WASH
Third-down conversion50%#940%#80WASH
Points / scoring opportunityPoints per drive that reaches the opponent's 40.4.58#153.53#56WASH
Havoc rate faced / Havoc rateTFLs, forced fumbles, interceptions and passes defensed per play.13.5%#4215.9%#62·
Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game1.08#441.38#56·

USC Trojans offense vs Washington Huskies defense

ranks of 135
USC offWASH defEdge
Identity
Pass rate / Pass rate faced50%53%·
Standard-down shareShare of plays on standard downs (staying ahead of the chains).73%67%·
Plays / game6156·
Possession / game29:5030:25·
Passing
Passing PPA / playPredicted points added per pass play (CFBD).+0.52#4+0.20#50USC
Pass success rate52%#441%#63USC
Pass explosivenessPPA on successful pass plays — how big the wins are.1.63#361.51#48·
Yards / pass attempt9.2#86.1#18·
Completion %67%#2060%#41·
Interception rate / Interceptions forced2.9%#791.8%#102·
Rushing
Rushing PPA / play+0.18#36−0.03#9WASH
Rush success rate46%#4138%#22·
Rush explosiveness0.95#740.77#2WASH
Line yards / rushYards credited to the offensive line (first 4 yards weighted). Defense column: allowed.3.16#292.88#66USC
Stuff rate / Stuff rate forcedRushes stopped at or behind the line.16%#3616%#113USC
Power successConversion rate on 3rd/4th and ≤2, or goal-to-go from the 2.75%#5067%#35·
Yards / rush5.2#213.3#15·
Situational
Standard-down PPA+0.27#5−0.04#12·
Passing-down PPAObvious passing situations (2nd & 8+, 3rd/4th & 5+).+0.50#10+0.31#73USC
Third-down conversion51%#538%#56USC
Points / scoring opportunityPoints per drive that reaches the opponent's 40.4.66#102.93#15·
Havoc rate faced / Havoc rateTFLs, forced fumbles, interceptions and passes defensed per play.13.2%#3314.6%#96USC
Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game1.23#651.46#45·

Season

WASHUSC
9-4Record2-0
34.1Points for / game40.5
18.7Points against / game13.0
6-2 / 3-2Home / road2-0 / 0-0
7-6Against the spread1-1
6-7Over / underOvers–unders in this team's games. A tendency, not a lean.1-1
W L W W LLast 5W W

Season numbers are from 2025 until this season has games.

Power ratings

WASHUSC
1757Elo1722
#18 of 240Rank#20 of 240
+8.5Offense ratingPoints per game above league average scored, opponent-adjusted.+10.1
+11.1Defense ratingPoints per game below league average allowed, opponent-adjusted. Positive is good.+9.4
Strength of scheduleMean Elo of opponents faced this season.1426

Elo drives the winner call. Offense/defense ratings drive the total.

Advanced

WASHUSC
+15.8SP+ (this season)Bill Connelly's SP+ rating, points above average.
0.287Offense PPA / playPredicted points added per play, garbage time excluded (CFBD).0.329
0.077Defense PPA / playPPA allowed per play — lower is better.0.156
49% / 39%Success rate (off / def)49% / 45%
1.23 / 1.18Explosiveness (off / def)1.32 / 1.17
778Talent composite247Sports team talent composite for the current roster.
54%Returning production

Advanced stats are from 2025 until this season has about three games. Source: CollegeFootballData.

Head to head

2024USC 21 at WASH 26WASH · WASH covered
2023WASH 52 at USC 42WASH · WASH covered

How the margin was built

Rating gap
WASH +2.0 pts
Home field
USC +— pts
Rest
Even
Weather / roof
— pts on the total
Model margin
Model total

Market

Spread
Total
Moneyline

Per-book prices appear once the multi-book feed has this game (about a week out).

Informational only. Winner probabilities are backtested and calibrated; spread and total calls are tracked leans. 21+, 1-800-GAMBLER.