Historic College Football Plays Per Game Statistics
A commenter on Table Top Sports posted a link to the 2021 NCAA FBS Record book. I thought it would be worth repeating here for those who don’t like diving through old threads on Delphi Forums.
The interesting thing about this book for replayers starts on page 186, where major statistical trends are presented. These go back to 1937:
Interestingly, you can see quite clearly how passing has gradually taken over the sport. Plays per team per game, meanwhile, generally hovered around 65 until 1967.
1967, by the way, is also the first year coaching from the sideline was permitted:
As is the case with all major sports, changes in the rules and in the equipment has more to do with how the game is played than anything else.