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Glossary

Brand new to football, an armchair quarterback leveling up, or reading in one of our 40 supported languages? This is the starting point. No coach-level jargon — just what the terms on this site actually mean, in plain language.

The picks

Spread
A points handicap applied to the favorite so both sides are an equally likely bet. "USC -14.5" means USC has to win by 15+ points to cover; the underdog covers by losing by 14 or fewer, or winning outright.
Total (Over/Under)
The combined predicted score of both teams. Our pick says whether the actual combined score is likely to land over or under that number.
Moneyline
A straight-up pick for who wins the game, with no regard to margin.
ATS
"Against the spread" — a team's win/loss record once the spread handicap is factored in, not just who won straight-up.
Market / Market Line
The spread or total being offered by real sportsbooks, shown next to our own pick for comparison.
Battle Tested Pick
Our two prediction models, Straight Stats and Crowd Favorite, each make their own call on a game. Before either one is posted, we run a 1,000-game simulation that blends both models with real situational factors (travel, rest, matchup tendencies) to see which one holds up. Whichever model's number matches the simulation more closely becomes the Battle Tested Pick you see on the site.
Edge
How far our model's number disagrees with the market line. "Edge: Fresno State +18" means our model thinks the market's line is 18 points off, in Fresno State's favor. No edge shown means our number and the market's are close enough that there's no meaningful disagreement.
Comfort Zone
An NFL-only confidence indicator on the spread pick, showing how comfortably our model expects the favored side to cover — a wider gap than the bare minimum needed to win the bet.
Even - TCTC (Too Close To Call)
Normally our model gives one team a real, specific edge — like "Chiefs -6.5." Every once in a while, the numbers come back and neither team has any edge at all. When that happens, we don't force a guess — we just say so: "Even - TCTC." It means the model looked at both teams and honestly couldn't find a reason to favor either one, not that something's broken or missing.
Streak (W4 / L3)
How many games in a row a team has won or lost coming into this one — "W4" means they've won their last 4 straight, "L3" means they've lost 3 in a row. It's just their recent form, nothing our model calculates or weighs — a quick gut-check on momentum before you look at anything else.

Model Battle

Model Battle (on each game card)
The fourth prediction section on every card, replacing the old sportsbook-based "Market Comparison." Once a game is final, we check both models' predicted margins against what actually happened and name whichever one was closer — Straight Stats, Crowd Favorite, or a Tie if they missed by the exact same amount. No sportsbook line involved — it's purely our two models against the real result.
Straight Stats
One of two prediction models. Built from real offense/defense scoring data and adjusted for actual injury reports — a traditional power-rating approach.
Crowd Favorite
The second prediction model. Its ratings shift after every real result, similar to how a fanbase's confidence swings after a blowout win or a bad loss.
Championship Ring
Bragging rights for whichever model — Straight Stats or Crowd Favorite — finishes the season more accurate.
Backfilled
A tag on Model Battle games that were already final before the Crowd Favorite model existed. Those picks are rating-based reconstructions, not calls made before the actual kickoff.

Access & accounts

Archived week
Any past week whose games are complete. Archived weeks are always free to browse, logged in or not.
Current week
The most recent week with games on the schedule — this is the only content actually behind the paywall.
Device slots
The number of devices that can be logged into your account at once (2 by default). Logging in from an additional device beyond your slots doesn't remove access — it just means the newest login takes priority until you're back under the limit.