A modest disagreement of 1.7 points.
Across five seasons, cards this close to the market claimed 54% accuracy and delivered 50%. The claim runs a little ahead of the delivery.
How much weight this card's information deserves — not a recommendation.
Why
what the model is reading-
Defense, in points
NDSU +16.3 pts
-
Offense, in points
NDSU +9.4 pts
- Pace and possessions 97 plays · 12th percentile
Be careful about
- One book is quoting this game, so the market number has no depth behind it and may move sharply.
- A 24-point spread. Lopsided games have the widest range of outcomes and the least useful history.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| N Dakota St | −27.5 | −24.5 | −3.0 |
| UTEP | +27.5 | +24.5 | +3.0 |
| Price | −110 | −102 | — |
The spread has moved 3.0 toward UTEP and the total has moved 7.0 down since the open.
| Total | Open | Current | Move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game total | 49.5 | 42.5 | −7.0 |
| Price (over) | −110 | −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 | NDSU −26.2 | NDSU −24.5 | +1.7 |
| Total | 52.9 | 42.5 | +10.4 |
| N Dakota St win probability | 96.0% | 93.1% | +2.9 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: UTEP 7 games, N Dakota St 8 games. Ranks are among 138 FBS teams, 1st the best; the crest marks which side ranks better on each line.
edge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge UTEPedge UTEPedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota Stedge N Dakota StFigures 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) | NDSU by 27.4 | 96% | Oct 28 |
| SP+ | NDSU by 35.6 | — | Oct 29 |
| Elo | NDSU by 29.2 | — | Oct 29 |
| Atlas | NDSU by 26.2 | 96% | live |
| Market | NDSU by 24.5 | — | 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
Solid card
A moderate disagreement in a band where the model's claim and its realized accuracy stay reasonably close.
Atlas sits 1.7 points from the market. The calibration curve, fitted to every completed season out of sample, expects cards at that distance to fall 8.5% short of what they claim — which is where the calibration component above comes from.
The total has moved 3.0 points since it opened. Cards on a market that has moved have calibrated worse in five of six seasons.
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 N Dakota St's defense at +4.8 points a game against FBS average and UTEP's at -11.5, opponent-adjusted, after 7 games this season.
Atlas rates N Dakota St's offense at -2.2 points a game against FBS average and UTEP's at -11.5, opponent-adjusted, after 7 games this season.
A combined 97 plays per game — the 12th percentile of this season's games. Few possessions, which pulls the projected total down.
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 | 49.5 |
| Current number | 42.5 |
| Market direction | down 7.0 |
| 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 | 49.9% | 49.2% |
| Claimed accuracy | 53.8% | 58.0% |
| Calibration gap | −3.9 pts | −8.8 pts |
| Seasons above 50% | 3 of 5 | — |
| Games measured | 739 | 3,864 |