Last year, freelance researchers Aaron Calhoun and Ryan Orlinski helped me to examine a decade’s worth of college football regular seasons, 2003 through 2012. We used several statistical categories and comparisons in the course of our research. One example appears here.
I’ve just completed a look at the 2013 season, so I now have 11 seasons’ worth of material to present to you. What follows is a look at FBS-versus-FBS regular season games dating back to 2003.
Some numbers might strike you as newsworthy or relevant, while other numbers might turn out to be teases and nothing more than empty calories. At the very least, you have a lot of numbers to look at, helping you to while away these final weeks before college football game action returns.
In today’s installment of college football history since 2003, we’ll look at home-team records and various forms of comebacks. Tomorrow, we’ll provide statistics on scoring margins and overtime records.
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NOTES:
For the 2003 season, 68 box scores weren’t found, 49 of them from weeks 14 and 15. As a result, go-ahead fourth-quarter scores in three games could not be pinpointed at an exact scoreboard time.
In the 2004 season, 27 box scores weren’t located.
In the 2005 season, 12 box scores weren’t located.
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HOME-TEAM RECORDS, 2003-2013
Home-team records by year, not including neutral-site games:
2003: 400-259
2004: 392-222
2005: 355-267
2006: 397-267 (NOTE: You can see the increase in FBS games compared to 2005. This was the year when the FBS moved from an 11-game regular season to a 12-game regular season, explaining the increase. Other fluctuations in these numbers are the product of various shifts in 12-game rules. “Kickoff Classic” games and other licensed, recognized events were “allowable 12th games” teams could add to their 11-game schedules. These contests were played for a few decades, running through 2002.)
2007: 400-266
2008: 396-271
2009: 389-276
2010: 384-280
2011: 396-262
2012: 389-288
2013: 400-283 (NOTE: Increased FBS membership accounts for this uptick over the past two seasons.)
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COMEBACK VICTORIES, 2003-2013
TWO-MINUTE COMEBACKS
Come-from-behind game-winning scores in the final two minutes of regulation
2003: 28
2004: 33
2005: 39
2006: 33
2007: 44
2008: 39
2009: 46
2010: 38
2011: 42
2012: 40
2013: 34
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FOURTH-QUARTER COMEBACKS
Go-ahead game-winning scores in the fourth quarter, outside the final two minutes of regulation
2003: 51
2004: 64
2005: 61
2006: 79
2007: 78
2008: 71
2009: 93
2010: 77
2011: 90
2012: 58
2013: 83
Double-digit comeback? Check. Tiebreaking, game-winning score in the last two minutes? Check. Memory of a lifetime for Auburn fans? Check.
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DOUBLE-DIGIT COMEBACKS WITH HOME-ROAD-NEUTRAL SPLITS
2003: 75 — 37 road, 38 home
2004: 75 — 41 road, 33 home, 1 neutral
2005: 88 — 42 road, 44 home, 2 neutral
2006: 70 — 29 road, 41 home
2007: 84 — 41 road, 43 home
2008: 92 — 46 road, 42 home, 4 neutral
2009: 88 — 43 road, 44 home, 1 neutral
2010: 71 — 31 road, 38 home, 2 neutral
2011: 89 — 38 road, 45 home, 6 neutral
2012: 62 — 29 road, 30 home, 3 neutral
2013: 65 — 37 road, 27 home, 1 neutral
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BONUS STATISTIC: TWO-MINUTE TIEBREAKERS
Tiebreaking, game-winning scores in the final two minutes of regulation
2003: 21
2004: 18
2005: 26
2006: 15
2007: 22
2008: 16
2009: 22
2010: 18
2011: 16
2012: 17
2013: 17
