← Matchups

Delaware State

· 2-1 · power -8.5 · #279
Our numberDSU -0.1 no book has priced this game

Norfolk State

· 1-2 · power -9.5 · #291
Our side
MoneylineDSU to win ours 50%
Projected score 28–28 DSU – NORF
2026-10-31 · 2:00 PM William "Dick" Price Stadium · Norfolk, VA Conference game Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series Delaware State lead 11–8 · 19 meetings since 2003
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Delaware State Hornets 130 ranks
Delaware State Hornets #6 rush offense Norfolk State Spartans #136 run defense
Pass game even 18 ranks apart
Delaware State Hornets #167 pass offense Norfolk State Spartans #185 pass defense
Run game even 29 ranks apart
Norfolk State Spartans #95 rush offense Delaware State Hornets #124 run defense
Pass game even 38 ranks apart
Norfolk State Spartans #164 pass offense Delaware State Hornets #126 pass defense
Delaware State Hornets Run-heavy · 67% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 47 rush ypg Norfolk State Spartans Balanced · 48% run Ball-control

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Delaware State Hornets
DB Kemari Nix 17 tkl · 1 PD #64 DB
DL Quoy Rainey 13 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL #173 DL
DL Gensley Auguste 11 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #235 DL
WR Jaylin Terzado 10 rec · 185 yds · 1 TD #158 WR
Norfolk State Spartans
DB Josiah Davis 6 tkl · 2 INT #61 DB
DB Jordan Saunders 20 tkl · 1 INT #121 DB
LB Brendan Thompson 23 tkl · 2.0 TFL #141 LB
DL Eugene Allen IV 7 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 2.5 TFL #330 DL

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Delaware State Hornets -8.5 -6.5 -2.0 #279
Norfolk State Spartans -9.5 -3.3 -6.2 #291

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Delaware State offense vs Norfolk State defense-0.4 pts
Norfolk State offense vs Delaware State defense-1.3 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness-1.9 pts
Power projection before adjustment+1.8

The projection carries an efficiency adjustment — a residual from season-to-date EPA, success rate and explosiveness, which earned its place by walk-forward test (margin error 12.90 → 12.72 across seven held-out seasons).