← Matchups

Northwestern State

· 0-3 (0-1) · power -27.1 · #392
Our numberLAM -30.2 no book has priced this game

Lamar

· 2-1 · power -2.1 · #202
Our side
MoneylineLAM to win ours 97%
Projected score 11–42 NWST – LAM
2026-10-03 · 7:00 PM Provost Umphrey Stadium · Beaumont, TX Conference game Early season

The books

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

Series Northwestern State lead 10–7 · 17 meetings since 1976
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Lamar Cardinals 222 ranks
Northwestern State Demons #259 rush offense Lamar Cardinals #37 run defense
Pass game edge Lamar Cardinals 232 ranks
Northwestern State Demons #265 pass offense Lamar Cardinals #33 pass defense
Run game even 37 ranks apart
Lamar Cardinals #228 rush offense Northwestern State Demons #265 run defense
Pass game even 37 ranks apart
Lamar Cardinals #225 pass offense Northwestern State Demons #262 pass defense
Northwestern State Demons Run-heavy · 63% run Ball-control Lamar Cardinals Run-heavy · 61% 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
Northwestern State Demons
DL Geoffrey Ojeh 7 tkl · 1.0 TFL #296 DL
DB Joe Natali 14 tkl #481 DB
LB Danny Sears 14 tkl · 0.5 sacks · 0.5 TFL #370 LB
DB Diego Sanchez 9 tkl · 1 PD #676 DB
Lamar Cardinals
DB Mar Mar Evans 16 tkl · 4 PD #54 DB
TE Davin Driskell 10 rec · 99 yds · 3 TD #12 TE
DB Lanar Kelley 11 tkl · 1 INT #86 DB
DB Bryce McDonald 17 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT #146 DB

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
Northwestern State Demons -27.1 -9.6 -17.4 #392
Lamar Cardinals -2.1 -8.1 +6.0 #202

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

Where the number comes from
Northwestern State offense vs Lamar defense-15.6 pts
Lamar offense vs Northwestern State defense+9.3 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness+1.5 pts
Power projection before adjustment+28.7

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).