We’ve reached the college football halfway point. Michigan and Michigan State are each 5-1 and entering the back end of their conference schedules. It’s a good time to assess where both teams are. With Football Outsiders releasing its full 2017 data, we can do that with advanced stats.
S&P+ creator Bill Connelly cautions that “there’s a lot of volatility” week-to-week in the numbers right now. While the broader predictive metrics are “built to absorb some volatility,” there will be some anomalies at this stage, especially in opponent-adjusted stats. For instance, Michigan State facing three of the nation’s top 12 S&P+ pass defenses – No.