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How offenses move the ball: 2026 College Football Chart

College Football Charts
Data updatedOct 31, 2026

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How offenses move the ball

Explosive play rate (up) against Success rate (across). 134 teams with data.

Up and right are always better: metrics where lower is better (like ranks or points allowed) run in reverse. Dashed lines are the averages of the teams shown and split the chart into four groups. There's no trend line or gray band here: the chart compares two separate skills, so no spot is "expected." The lists rank teams on both skills together. Tap or click a team to open it in Head to head.

What this shows

How an offense moves the ball. Success rate rewards staying on schedule; explosive rate rewards big plays. The best offenses do both.

There is a moderate relationship here (r = +0.66; r runs from −1 to +1, and positive means the two go together): teams better on Success rate tend to be better on Explosive play rate. Success rate accounts for about 43% of the differences in Explosive play rate across the 134 teams shown.

Split by the averages: Efficient and explosive 46, Boom or bust 19, Grind it out 22, Struggling 47.

Most efficient and explosive: Wake Forest (1st and 4th), Georgia (5th and 3rd), Utah (2nd and 6th). Least efficient and explosive: Kent State (133rd and 132nd), Buffalo (132nd and 131st), Central Michigan (128th and 134th). Ranks are among the 134 teams shown, Success rate first, then Explosive play rate.

Pac-12: 2 of 8 in Efficient and explosive, 3 in Struggling. Top of the list: Oregon State (14th and 23rd of 134).

Mountain West: 1 of 10 in Efficient and explosive, 7 in Struggling. Top of the list: Wyoming (25th and 19th of 134).

Where the data comes from. Explosive play rate: play-by-play from CollegeFootballData.com (the public cfbfastR files), games through Oct 24, 2026. Success rate: play-by-play from CollegeFootballData.com (the public cfbfastR files), games through Oct 24, 2026.

Most efficient and explosive

  1. Wake Forest 1st and 4th of 134
  2. Georgia 5th and 3rd of 134
  3. Utah 2nd and 6th of 134
  4. Oklahoma State 10th and 5th of 134
  5. Miami 9th and 7th of 134
  6. Liberty 12th and 8th of 134

Least efficient and explosive

  1. Kent State 133rd and 132nd of 134
  2. Buffalo 132nd and 131st of 134
  3. Central Michigan 128th and 134th of 134
  4. Old Dominion 134th and 124th of 134
  5. Eastern Michigan 126th and 133rd of 134
  6. California 130th and 128th of 134

About the stats on this chart

What is success rate?

Share of plays that stay on schedule: 50% of the yards needed on 1st down, 70% on 2nd, all of it on 3rd and 4th.

Why does success rate matter?

Success rate tells you if an offense stays on schedule. Teams that live in 2nd-and-5 win a lot more than teams that live in 2nd-and-10.

Where does the success rate data come from?

From play-by-play from CollegeFootballData.com (the public cfbfastR files), games through Oct 24, 2026.

What is explosive play rate?

Share of plays that are explosive: runs of 12+ yards or completions of 16+ yards.

Why does explosive play rate matter?

Big plays are how bad teams pull upsets and good teams turn wins into blowouts. They swing more week to week than efficiency, so don't overreact to one game.

Where does the explosive play rate data come from?

From play-by-play from CollegeFootballData.com (the public cfbfastR files), games through Oct 24, 2026.