← Matchups

Montana State

· 3-0 · power +20.4 · #35
Our numberMTST -31.3 no book has priced this game

Northern Colorado

· 0-3 (0-1) · power -10.0 · #295
Our side
MoneylineMTST to win ours 3%
Projected score 42–11 MTST – UNCO
2026-11-14 · 2:00 PM Nottingham Field · Greeley, CO Conference game Early season

The books

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

Series Montana State lead 19–6 · 25 meetings since 1923
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Montana State Bobcats 178 ranks
Montana State Bobcats #16 rush offense Northern Colorado Bears #194 run defense
Pass game edge Montana State Bobcats 85 ranks
Montana State Bobcats #17 pass offense Northern Colorado Bears #102 pass defense
Run game edge Montana State Bobcats 93 ranks
Northern Colorado Bears #216 rush offense Montana State Bobcats #123 run defense
Pass game edge Montana State Bobcats 176 ranks
Northern Colorado Bears #196 pass offense Montana State Bobcats #20 pass defense
Montana State Bobcats Run-heavy · 62% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 47 rush ypg Northern Colorado Bears Balanced · 52% run Avg pace

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
Montana State Bobcats
WR Dane Steel 13 rec · 264 yds · 3 TD #31 WR
K Myles Sansted 5 FG · 14 XP · 29 pts #12 K
RB Adam Jones 198 rush yds · 3 TD · 6 rec #40 RB
WR Taco Dowler 16 rec · 180 yds · 1 TD #107 WR
Northern Colorado Bears
DB Franky Morales 18 tkl · 2 PD · 1 INT #91 DB
DL Dominic Butts 10 tkl · 4.0 TFL #122 DL
DL Blake Weslin 8 tkl · 1.0 TFL #192 DL
DL Ezra Ekuban 6 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL #226 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
Montana State Bobcats +20.4 +11.0 +9.4 #35
Northern Colorado Bears -10.0 -8.0 -2.0 #295

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

Where the number comes from
Montana State offense vs Northern Colorado defense+13.0 pts
Northern Colorado offense vs Montana State defense-17.4 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness-2.7 pts
Power projection before adjustment-28.6
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 484 mi

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).

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.