A large disagreement of 6.2 points.
Across five seasons, cards this far from the market claimed 66% accuracy and delivered 49%. That gap is where this grade comes from.
How much weight this card's information deserves — not a recommendation.
Why
what the model is reading-
Defense, in points
OSU +9.9 pts
- Pace and possessions 111 plays · 55th percentile
-
Offense, in points
OSU +5.7 pts
Be careful about
- Atlas is 6.2 points away from the market on the spread. That is the range where its projection has been least worth leaning on — read the drivers and the market context instead.
- One book is quoting this game, so the market number has no depth behind it and may move sharply.
- Atlas and the market have moved opposite ways on the total since it opened.
Projection built Oct 29, 2026 4:14 AM ETMarket updated Oct 29, 2026 4:14 AM ETData status
New to Atlas? What a card is, and what a grade means
Market detail where the line opened, where it is now, and the prices
| Spread | Open | Current | Move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | −7.5 | −6.5 | +1.0 |
| USC | +7.5 | +6.5 | −1.0 |
| Price | −110 | −105 | — |
The spread has moved 1.0 toward USC and the total has moved 4.0 down since the open.
| Total | Open | Current | Move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game total | 55.5 | 51.5 | −4.0 |
| Price (over) | −105 | −112 | — |
DraftKings · 1 book quoting
Projection detail the projected score, the chance of winning, the total's range and the most likely exact score
Atlas difference
| Measure | Atlas model | Market | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread | OSU −12.7 | OSU −6.5 | −6.2 |
| Total | 54.0 | 51.5 | +2.5 |
| USC win probability | 22.1% | 31.9% | −9.8 pts |
Matchup how each offense compares with the defense it faces, season to date, ranked among 138 FBS teams
Season to date through 24 October: Ohio State 7 games, USC 8 games. Ranks are among 138 FBS teams, 1st the best; the crest marks which side ranks better on each line.
edge Ohio Stateedge Ohio Stateedge USCedge Ohio Stateedge Ohio Stateedge Ohio Stateedge Ohio Stateedge Ohio Stateedge Ohio Stateedge Ohio Stateedge USCedge Ohio Stateedge USCedge USCedge Ohio Stateedge Ohio StateFigures come from completed games only, so every one was known before kickoff. They are raw, not adjusted for opponents - All drivers has Atlas's adjusted view. College counts sack yardage as rushing, as the NCAA does.
Other models what FPI, SP+ and Elo say about this game, beside Atlas and the market
| Model | Margin | Win | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| FPI (ESPN) | OSU by 13.4 | 83% | Oct 28 |
| SP+ | OSU by 11.9 | — | Oct 29 |
| Elo | OSU by 10.6 | — | Oct 29 |
| Atlas | OSU by 12.7 | 78% | live |
| Market | OSU by 6.5 | — | live |
Each model's number for this game as its source published it before kickoff; Win is the favored side's chance to win, where the model gives one. FPI's margin and chance are ESPN's own. SP+ is the difference in the two teams' ratings, plus 2.5 for a home side; Elo is the difference in ratings at 24 points a point, plus 2.6 for a home side, as Atlas measured it on past seasons. None of these is an input to Atlas's number, and none is here to settle anything: they show where Atlas sits among other models.
How this grade was computed the four things that set the letter, out of a hundred
Mixed card
The disagreement is wide enough that the model's historical claim runs well ahead of what it delivered.
Atlas sits 6.2 points from the market. The calibration curve, fitted to every completed season out of sample, expects cards at that distance to fall 14.2% short of what they claim — which is where the calibration component above comes from.
The season is mature enough for the team profiles to have settled, and the market has not moved much since it opened.
The grade describes how much weight the information deserves. It says nothing about which side of a market anyone should take, and Atlas does not publish that. How grades are computed.
All drivers all 4 things the model is reading, and how each team ranks against the rest of the country
Atlas rates Ohio State's defense at +14.7 points a game against FBS average and USC's at +4.8, opponent-adjusted, after 7 games this season.
A combined 111 plays per game — the 55th percentile of this season's games. A middling number of possessions either way.
Atlas rates Ohio State's offense at +13.8 points a game against FBS average and USC's at +8.1, opponent-adjusted, after 7 games this season.
Playing at home is worth 2.6 points in this season's model, fitted, not assumed.
Market movement how far the market has moved since the number opened, and which way
Total, open to current
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Opening number | 55.5 |
| Current number | 51.5 |
| Market direction | down 4.0 |
| Atlas direction | up |
Atlas and the market point opposite ways on this total. That is information, not a verdict.
Two findings that are not in conflict
Atlas has measured disagreement twice, against two different reference points, and they say different things.
| Measured against | What it predicts |
|---|---|
| The closing number | the model's own failure — so a large difference lowers the grade |
| The opening number | which way the line moves — tracked publicly, not graded |
A model far from the close is wrong; a model far from the open is early. The second finding is tracked in the open closing-line record and is deliberately kept out of the grade.
Reliability record what Atlas claimed and what it delivered, across the seasons it never saw while being built
Calibration by disagreement band
Two series, labeled directly. The widening gap is why Atlas grades large disagreements down.
This band, five seasons
| Measure | This band | All cards |
|---|---|---|
| Realized accuracy | 48.7% | 49.2% |
| Claimed accuracy | 66.4% | 58.0% |
| Calibration gap | −17.8 pts | −8.8 pts |
| Seasons above 50% | 1 of 5 | — |
| Games measured | 267 | 3,864 |