There are multiple different stats in college football that you should be aware of, both to inform your bets and monitor the performances of players and teams. Here are the key stats you should bear in mind for college football betting:
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Score: To score in an NCAAF game means to complete to action that earns points for a team e.g. a touchdown, field goal, or safety. An individual touchdown is also known as a score, meaning that the running back who carries the ball into the end zone for a touchdown is said to have completed a scoring run.
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Yards per Play: This is the number of total yards accrued from the line of scrimmage divided by the total number of plays. For instance, if a quarterback attempts 30 passes in an NCAAF game and accrues 150 passing yards in the process, he is averaging 5.0 yards per play.
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First Downs: Teams on offense in college football have four attempts to move the ball 10 yards down the field. Each attempt is called a down and if they succeed in progressing 10 yards within those four downs, they earn a fresh set of four downs, starting with the first down. First downs are tracked for stats purposes, and can be used to measure an NCAAF team’s ability to move the ball down the field during games.
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Rushing Attempts: These count how many times a team’s offense has attempted to move the ball by running with it, as opposed to passing it. If an NCAAF team has a large number of rushing attempts, that suggests they are relying on their ground game to generate offensive opportunities.
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Rushing Yards: This is the number of yards that the ball has been carried for. This can apply to either a single player or the entire offense, meaning it can be used to look at individual plays or as a cumulative stat for all carries over the course of an NCAAF game.
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Yards per Rush: Similar to Yards per Play, this is determined by dividing the total number of rushing yards by the total number of rushing plays. For example, if a running back carries the ball 30 times in a NCAAF game and compiles 225 total rushing yards in the process, their Yards per Rush for the match is 7.5.
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Passing Attempts: This is simply how many times the quarterback throws a pass. A pass is considered as an attempt regardless of whether or not it is caught by the receiver or intercepted by a defensive player.
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Passing Yards: This is how many yards were gained from a successful pass (or passes). This stat can be applied to individual plays or an entire NCAAF game, and is used to measure the performance of a quarterback.
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Yards per Pass Completion: This is calculated by dividing the total number of passing yards by the total number of successful passes. For example, if a quarterback completes 20 passes in an NCAAF game for 200 yards, their Yards per Pass Completion is 10.0.
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Yards per Pass Attempt: A more widely used stat than Yards per Pass Completion, this is calculated by dividing the total passing yards by the total passing attempts, regardless of whether they are successful. Therefore, if a quarterback attempted 40 passes in an NCAAF game for 200 yards, their Yards per Pass Attempt is 5.0.
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Time of Possession: This is a cumulative measurement of how much time each team has been on offense over the course of an NCAAF game.
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Turnovers: A turnover is recorded when the team playing offense loses possession of the ball to the team playing defense. This is most commonly via fumbles (when an offensive player drops the ball during a live play) and interceptions (when a defensive player catches a pass attempt).
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Penalties: Penalties are imposed for rule infractions, with the offending team usually being penalized by a loss of yards, a loss of downs, or a loss of a timeout. Common penalties include offside, unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing the passer, pass interference, holding, and illegal blocking.
