Probetrics — Sports Analytics
College Football slate
Stanford Cardinal
1-1 · #81 Elo
at
Sat, Nov 21, 12:00 AM ET
California Memorial Stadium
Spread Total Moneyline

The read

On rating alone Stanford Cardinal are 0.0 points better (#81 vs #83 of 240), and CAL add 0.0 for home field. The clearest mismatch is the rushing game: STAN rushing ranks #130, CAL defends it at #121; the other way CAL #132 into STAN's #11.

Who has the edge

Rating
Even
STAN rated 0.0 points better on Elo (#83 vs #81).
Home & rest
Even
CAL gets 0.0 points for home field.
Passing game
Clear edge
CAL
CAL passing ranks #77, STAN defends it at #109; the other way STAN #97 into CAL's #23.
context · not in the margin
Rushing game
Clear edge
STAN
STAN rushing ranks #130, CAL defends it at #121; the other way CAL #132 into STAN's #11.
context · not in the margin
Third down & red zone
Slight edge
CAL
CAL third-down conversion ranks #61, STAN defends it at #103; the other way STAN #90 into CAL's #98.
context · not in the margin
Form (last 5)
Clear edge
STAN
CAL −21.0 per game over the last five, STAN −14.5.
context · not in the margin
Market
not priced
No line yet.
context · not in the margin

The margin, factor by factor

Stanford CardinalCalifornia Golden Bears
1494 Elo · #81
RatingThe Elo gap in points — the model's core read on who is better, before the situational pieces below.
even
1493 Elo · #83
road
Home field
not priced
home
Rest
even
−0.3 pts vs CAL 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.
CAL +1.0 pts
+0.7 pts vs STAN D
L W · −14.5
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.
STAN +3.3 pts
L · −21.0
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

  • STAN power success (#7) against a CAL defense ranked #130 at stopping it
  • STAN defense (#11 rushing ppa / play allowed) against a CAL offense ranked #132
  • CAL defense (#15 passing-down ppa allowed) against a STAN offense ranked #111
  • STAN defense (#46 yards / rush allowed) against a CAL offense ranked #132
  • CAL defense (#34 pass success rate allowed) against a STAN offense ranked #116

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.

Stanford Cardinal offense vs California Golden Bears defense

ranks of 135
STAN offCAL defEdge
Identity
Pass rate / Pass rate faced51%51%·
Standard-down shareShare of plays on standard downs (staying ahead of the chains).67%68%·
Plays / game5965·
Possession / game29:4929:46·
Passing
Passing PPA / playPredicted points added per pass play (CFBD).+0.20#97+0.14#23CAL
Pass success rate37%#11638%#34CAL
Pass explosivenessPPA on successful pass plays — how big the wins are.1.55#651.40#10CAL
Yards / pass attempt6.8#886.4#25CAL
Completion %57%#11562%#66CAL
Interception rate / Interceptions forced0.8%#52.4%#68STAN
Rushing
Rushing PPA / play−0.03#130+0.21#121·
Rush success rate37%#12547%#117·
Rush explosiveness0.75#1330.98#81CAL
Line yards / rushYards credited to the offensive line (first 4 yards weighted). Defense column: allowed.2.63#1203.32#128·
Stuff rate / Stuff rate forcedRushes stopped at or behind the line.18%#6213%#133STAN
Power successConversion rate on 3rd/4th and ≤2, or goal-to-go from the 2.82%#785%#130STAN
Yards / rush2.6#1344.8#106CAL
Situational
Standard-down PPA+0.00#118+0.17#113·
Passing-down PPAObvious passing situations (2nd & 8+, 3rd/4th & 5+).+0.19#111+0.16#15CAL
Third-down conversion38%#9042%#98·
Points / scoring opportunityPoints per drive that reaches the opponent's 40.3.02#1213.69#71CAL
Havoc rate faced / Havoc rateTFLs, forced fumbles, interceptions and passes defensed per play.17.2%#10415.1%#81·
Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game1.42#901.00#102·

California Golden Bears offense vs Stanford Cardinal defense

ranks of 135
CAL offSTAN defEdge
Identity
Pass rate / Pass rate faced60%57%·
Standard-down shareShare of plays on standard downs (staying ahead of the chains).68%67%·
Plays / game6965·
Possession / game30:1430:11·
Passing
Passing PPA / playPredicted points added per pass play (CFBD).+0.23#77+0.34#109CAL
Pass success rate43%#5743%#84CAL
Pass explosivenessPPA on successful pass plays — how big the wins are.1.45#1071.58#83·
Yards / pass attempt7.1#737.8#113CAL
Completion %64%#5066%#119CAL
Interception rate / Interceptions forced1.6%#252.7%#51·
Rushing
Rushing PPA / play−0.04#132−0.02#11STAN
Rush success rate38%#11742%#70STAN
Rush explosiveness0.89#1030.88#24STAN
Line yards / rushYards credited to the offensive line (first 4 yards weighted). Defense column: allowed.2.64#1192.88#67STAN
Stuff rate / Stuff rate forcedRushes stopped at or behind the line.18%#5717%#89CAL
Power successConversion rate on 3rd/4th and ≤2, or goal-to-go from the 2.70%#8274%#88·
Yards / rush2.8#1323.8#46STAN
Situational
Standard-down PPA+0.01#112+0.09#65STAN
Passing-down PPAObvious passing situations (2nd & 8+, 3rd/4th & 5+).+0.36#49+0.35#95CAL
Third-down conversion40%#6142%#103CAL
Points / scoring opportunityPoints per drive that reaches the opponent's 40.3.70#653.46#52·
Havoc rate faced / Havoc rateTFLs, forced fumbles, interceptions and passes defensed per play.16.4%#9114.6%#94·
Turnovers / game / Takeaways / game1.23#661.08#94CAL

Season

STANCAL
1-1Record0-1
21.5Points for / game24.0
36.0Points against / game45.0
1-1 / 0-0Home / road0-1 / 0-0
1-1Against the spread0-1
2-0Over / underOvers–unders in this team's games. A tendency, not a lean.1-0
L WLast 5L

Power ratings

STANCAL
1494Elo1493
#81 of 240Rank#83 of 240
+0.8Offense ratingPoints per game above league average scored, opponent-adjusted.+2.9
+2.1Defense ratingPoints per game below league average allowed, opponent-adjusted. Positive is good.+1.1
1684Strength of scheduleMean Elo of opponents faced this season.

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

Advanced

STANCAL
SP+ (this season)Bill Connelly's SP+ rating, points above average.
0.064Offense PPA / playPredicted points added per play, garbage time excluded (CFBD).0.123
0.173Defense PPA / playPPA allowed per play — lower is better.0.169
36% / 42%Success rate (off / def)41% / 42%
1.20 / 1.29Explosiveness (off / def)1.25 / 1.18
Talent composite247Sports team talent composite for the current roster.
Returning production

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

Head to head

2025CAL 10 at STAN 31STAN · STAN covered
2024STAN 21 at CAL 24CAL · STAN covered
2023CAL 27 at STAN 15CAL · CAL covered

How the margin was built

Rating gap
STAN +0.0 pts
Home field
CAL +— 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.