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Fri Nov 13, 9:15 PM CT · ESPN · Folsom Field
Our call: Houston by 11.8 · 78% pregame win chance
78%Our win chance22%
Our win chance: Houston 78% · Colorado 22% · experimental, see how it is tested
Model comparison
10 of 10 models favor Houston
| Model | Says | Win chance | Use this |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP+ Houston +14.1 vs Colorado -5.2 | Houston by 16.8 | Houston 89% | Use this |
| Sonny Moore Houston +87.7 vs Colorado +66.9 | Houston by 16.8 | Houston 89% | Use this |
| SRS Houston +15.5 vs Colorado -2.6 | Houston by 15.6 | Houston 87% | Use this |
| The Margin The Margin's model | Houston by 13.6 | Houston 84% | Use this |
| ESPN FPI Houston +14.1 vs Colorado -1.7 | Houston by 13.3 | Houston 83% | Use this |
| Elo Houston 1619 vs Colorado 1268 | Houston by 11.5 | Houston 80% | Use this |
| Market the market's pregame margin | Houston by 10.5 | Houston 78% | Use this |
| Sagarin Houston +81.4 vs Colorado +68.7 | Houston by 10.0 | Houston 77% | Use this |
| Our model · experimental Houston +10.4 vs Colorado +0.8 | Houston by 7.2 | Houston 70% | Use this |
| Record Colorado 3-6, Houston 7-2 | Houston (better record) | – | Use this |
| Our call average of SP+, Elo and Our model | Houston by 11.8 | Houston 78% | Use this |
Each margin is from the same weekly ratings the team pages use: SP+ and Elo from their rating gap, the home team given 2.5 points (none at a neutral site); Our model is this site's experimental rating; Market is the margin the market expected before kickoff; ESPN FPI, SRS, Sagarin and Sonny Moore are rating gaps like SP+'s (each with its own home field), The Margin is that site's own model, and Record names the team with the better record (the home team on equal records). How these work ›
Matchup efficiency
Efficiency matchup · season to date · Colorado 9 games, Houston 9 games
Edge: Colorado wins 4 of 5
Colorado stops plays better, is more disruptive, has the edge on big plays and allows fewer big plays. Houston moves the ball better.
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40% Moves the ballsuccessful plays ✓52%
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41%✓ Stops playssuccessful plays allowed 45%
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20%✓ Disruptionsacks, TFLs, turnovers 18%
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1.25✓ Big playson offense 1.13
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1.18✓ Big plays allowedon defense 1.25
Run game, head to head · season to date
Colorado's runs work 39% of the time; Houston's run defense allows 44%. Houston's runs work 50% of the time; Colorado's run defense allows 43%.
More numbers
| Measure | Colorado | Houston | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off. success rate | 40.5% | 52.3% | Houston |
| Off. explosiveness | 1.25 | 1.13 | Colorado |
| Def. success rate allowed | 40.7% | 44.6% | Colorado |
| Def. explosiveness allowed | 1.18 | 1.25 | Colorado |
| Havoc created | 19.8% | 18.1% | Colorado |
- Run game, success rate: Colorado offense 39.2% · Houston defense allows 43.7% · edge: even
- Run game, success rate: Houston offense 50.0% · Colorado defense allows 42.8% · edge: Houston
- Run game, PPA per play: Colorado offense -0.10 · Houston defense allows +0.04 · edge: Houston
- Run game, PPA per play: Houston offense +0.13 · Colorado defense allows -0.07 · edge: Colorado
- Success rate: how often a play does its job, gaining enough yards to keep the offense on schedule.
- Explosiveness: how big a team's successful plays are on average; a higher number means more big gains.
- Havoc: how often the defense blows up a play with a sack, a tackle for loss, a takeaway or a pass broken up.
- PPA (predicted points added): how many points an average play is worth to the offense; above zero is good for the offense, below zero good for the defense.
How to read this
- Each row compares the two teams on one measure of how well they have played this season, offense and defense, using every game so far with garbage time (plays late in a decided game) left out.
- The run game rows pair one team's rushing offense with the other's run defense. The row goes to whichever side is further from the FBS baseline this season, the offense by how far it runs above it, the defense by how much less it allows (baseline: run success rate 42%, PPA per play +0.07, the midpoint of what FBS offenses gain and FBS defenses allow, since both also play FCS teams), so two strong sides or two weak ones are judged by which is the more so. Edges within 3 points of success rate or 0.05 PPA are even. A strong run offense against a weak run defense is where a team can control the game on the ground.
- In the five rows at the top the longer bar is the better number: bars are scaled within each row, and in the two "allowed" rows the lower number gets the longer bar.
- Success rate is the share of plays that kept the offense on schedule (half the yards needed on first down, most of them on second, all of them on third or fourth). Explosiveness is how big the successful plays were, on average, in points. Havoc is the share of the opponent's snaps the defense wrecked: a tackle for loss, a sack, a takeaway or a pass broken up.
- "Allowed" rows are what each defense gave up, so the lower value wins.
- These are not adjusted for who each team has played, so a light schedule flatters a team, and early in the season they rest on very few games.
- Metrics explained: success rate, explosiveness and havoc ›
The prediction
All 10 models favor Houston.
SP+ has Houston by 16.8, Elo has Houston by 11.5, Our model has Houston by 7.2, ESPN FPI has Houston by 13.3, SRS has Houston by 15.6, Sagarin has Houston by 10.0, Sonny Moore has Houston by 16.8, The Margin has Houston by 13.6, and Market has Houston by 10.5. They are within 9.6 points of each other.
Last 2 meetings
tied 1–1 · last: Houston 36–20, 2025
| Season | Result | Site |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Houston 36–20 | TDECU Stadium |
| 1971 | Colorado 29–17 | neutral site |