College Football Defensive Rankings

Defense wins championships, although usually only in the SEC. If you are a regular college football bettor, you are aware that defense wins bets as well and not just UNDER wagers. We rate the best college football defenses in more than a dozen key stats on this page, including yards per play, fewest first downs allowed and fewest passing yards per attempt, all of which can give you a real advantage at online sportsbooks.

Click the headings on each column to re-sort the category and see the best college defensive stats page on the Internet. And scroll to the bottom for a listing of the acronyms and what they mean and why they are important to your CFB betting this weekend.

Defensive Rankings Stat Categories

• Score: Self-explanatory – which teams give up the fewest points. Said another way, what is the best defensive team. You will see the League Average as well.
• Y/PL: Yards per play – a key handicapping indicator that indicates how many yards each school gives up per play. The lower the number, the better the defense.
• FD – First downs – which defense allows the fewest first downs. Not always an indicator of time of possession or victories.
• RA – Rushing Attempts – which defense faces the fewest rushing attempts per game. This can indicate a tough run defense or can indicate that the team's offense scores so many points that opponents are forced to pass more.
• RY – Rushing Yards – rankings of best run-stop defenses in college football.
• YR – Yards Per Rush – which defense allows the fewest yards per rush. This is a major handicapping stat and should be checked weekly!
• PA – Passing Attempts – fewest passing attempts per game among college football schools.
• PY – Passing Yards – which defense allows the fewest passing yards per team, ranked by each school.
• YP – Yards per Pass – which teams allow the least yards per pass.
• Time – Time of Possession – which defenses are on the field the least? Which have the best time of possession stats? This is an important category and can mean the defense is very good or it can mean a team's offense holds the ball very well.
• TO – Turnovers – which college teams create the most turnovers? Which schools generate the most takeaways? Often an opportunistic defense can make an average team good and a good team excellent.
• Pen – Penalties – This is an overall ranking of which college teams take the most penalties (it is NOT broken down by offensive or defensive penalties).