What the models see
The licensed CFBD Model Training Pack: 4,520 games, 86 columns, 72 usable features, 2016–2024 (Week 5 onward). Feature importances below are read from the pack's own fitted artifacts — not re-trained here.
Training dataset
Games
4,520
Columns
86
Usable features
72
Seasons
2016–2024 (Week 5 onward)
Opponent-adjusted, no future leakage — each row's stats use games prior to that matchup only.
Ridge margin model
Coefficients predict training Margin (away points minus home points). Negative Margin favors the home team, opposite the dashboard’s Home Margin. Each coefficient is the change per feature unit; raw magnitudes are not directly comparable across differently scaled features. Faded bars are negative coefficients.
XGBoost win probability model
Gain-based importance. Spread alone drives a third of the model.
FastAI model
Fitted artifact present (fastai_home_win_model.pkl) but not loadable in this environment — fastai not installed. Importances not available.
Training notebooks
- 01_linear_regression_margin.ipynbLinear Regression — MarginLinearRegressionFast interpretable baseline for score margin. MAE, RMSE, R², actual-vs-predicted scatter.
- 02_random_forest_team_points.ipynbRandom Forest — Team PointsRandomForestRegressorTwo forests predict each team's score; implied margin from the pair.
- 03_xgboost_win_probability.ipynbXGBoost — Win ProbabilityXGBClassifierAccuracy, AUC, log loss, calibration curve. The fitted xgb_home_win_model.pkl.
- 04_fastai_win_probability.ipynbFastAI — Win Probabilityfastai.tabular_learnerTabular neural net. AUC, accuracy, F1. The fitted fastai_home_win_model.pkl.
- 05_logistic_regression_win_probability.ipynbLogistic Regression — Win ProbabilityLogisticRegressionInterpretable classifier; coefficient plot shows key drivers.
- 06_shap_interpretability.ipynbSHAP — Margin Explanationsshap.ExplainerShapley values on an XGBoost margin model: beeswarm + force plots.
- 07_stacked_ensemble.ipynbStacked EnsembleLogistic + RF + XGB → Logistic stackerStacking meta-model combining three base learners.