Fourth downs
CFBD · 2003–2026 · 260,088 decisions
Aggregate decisions across 2003–2026. Go rate is the share of decisions to attempt a conversion; higher is more aggressive, not necessarily better. Unknown buckets retain decisions with out-of-range source distance or field position; those decisions remain in overall totals.
2026 contributes a partial regular season through provider Week 8.
Decisions
260,088
Overall go rate
21%
Seasons
24
View bucket values
| Bucket | Go rate | Decisions |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 yds | 46.16% | 70,198 |
| 4 yds | 20.84% | 19,437 |
| 5-7 yds | 14.26% | 57,140 |
| 8-10 yds | 10.97% | 49,638 |
| 11+ yds | 7.35% | 63,673 |
| Unknown | 100.00% | 2 |
Share of 4th downs where the offense kept the ball, by yards to go.
View bucket values
| Bucket | Go rate | Decisions |
|---|---|---|
| Opp 20+ (red zone) | 31.59% | 38,668 |
| Opp 40-20 | 43.33% | 47,973 |
| Midfield | 21.79% | 65,184 |
| Own 40-20 | 8.06% | 80,590 |
| Own 20- | 3.73% | 27,672 |
| Unknown | 100.00% | 1 |
By yards to goal at the snap. The 40-20 'go zone' is where teams gamble most.
View bucket values
| Bucket | Go rate | Decisions |
|---|---|---|
| Trailing 14+ | 33.15% | 45,122 |
| Trailing 7-13 | 23.79% | 40,703 |
| Within 6 | 16.23% | 102,746 |
| Leading 7-13 | 15.75% | 34,213 |
| Leading 14+ | 21.52% | 37,304 |
Score differential from the offense's perspective.
View bucket values
| Bucket | Go rate | Decisions |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 20.01% | 7,542 |
| 2004 | 18.64% | 7,373 |
| 2005 | 17.96% | 9,021 |
| 2006 | 18.52% | 9,081 |
| 2007 | 18.27% | 10,220 |
| 2008 | 18.87% | 10,475 |
| 2009 | 17.90% | 10,722 |
| 2010 | 18.64% | 10,593 |
| 2011 | 19.06% | 10,902 |
| 2012 | 19.99% | 11,394 |
| 2013 | 18.90% | 11,919 |
| 2014 | 18.93% | 12,143 |
| 2015 | 19.56% | 12,424 |
| 2016 | 20.17% | 12,022 |
| 2017 | 19.46% | 12,312 |
| 2018 | 21.36% | 12,357 |
| 2019 | 21.56% | 12,254 |
| 2020 | 23.85% | 8,011 |
| 2021 | 23.85% | 12,191 |
| 2022 | 24.32% | 12,868 |
| 2023 | 24.19% | 12,292 |
| 2024 | 25.53% | 12,108 |
| 2025 | 27.40% | 12,552 |
| 2026 | 26.18% | 7,312 |
Share of clean fourth-down decisions where the offense went for it, by season. Partial-season coverage is noted above.
Team go rates
| # | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Army | 35% | 66% | 19% | 14% | 1838 |
| 2 | Navy | 32% | 62% | 17% | 12% | 1823 |
| 3 | Air Force | 32% | 60% | 18% | 11% | 1734 |
| 4 | Delaware | 31% | 74% | 32% | 7% | 152 |
| 5 | Baylor | 29% | 62% | 24% | 12% | 2182 |
| 6 | Texas Tech | 28% | 63% | 23% | 10% | 2047 |
| 7 | App State | 27% | 59% | 21% | 8% | 1193 |
| 8 | Oregon | 26% | 56% | 17% | 11% | 1959 |
| 9 | South Alabama | 26% | 57% | 20% | 11% | 1473 |
| 10 | Florida Atlantic | 26% | 53% | 22% | 12% | 1897 |
| 11 | Charlotte | 26% | 55% | 24% | 12% | 1124 |
| 12 | Houston | 25% | 53% | 19% | 11% | 1876 |
| 13 | North Texas | 25% | 50% | 20% | 11% | 1904 |
| 14 | Western Michigan | 25% | 52% | 18% | 9% | 1955 |
| 15 | USC | 24% | 53% | 16% | 10% | 1892 |
| 16 | Old Dominion | 24% | 50% | 23% | 10% | 1229 |
| 17 | Kennesaw State | 24% | 53% | 15% | 12% | 447 |
| 18 | Massachusetts | 24% | 49% | 24% | 11% | 1530 |
| 19 | Nevada | 24% | 51% | 20% | 10% | 1860 |
| 20 | Hawai'i | 24% | 51% | 20% | 11% | 1913 |
| 21 | Liberty | 24% | 57% | 16% | 9% | 795 |
| 22 | Georgia Tech | 24% | 54% | 17% | 11% | 2020 |
| 23 | Ole Miss | 24% | 49% | 18% | 11% | 2098 |
| 24 | Western Kentucky | 24% | 47% | 20% | 11% | 1730 |
| 25 | Bowling Green | 24% | 51% | 20% | 12% | 2078 |
Top 25 of 136. Min 100 decisions. Click a column to sort.
Method
Penalties, timeouts, kickoffs and end-of-period plays excluded.