Despite having their struggles against West Virginia last weekend, Oklahoma State moves in to October as the best team inside the red zone. No team is scoring a higher percentage of touchdowns inside the red zone this season so far than the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who come away form inside the 20-yard line with a touchdown 93.75 percent of the time. Only one other school is averaging a red zone touchdown percentage higher than 90 percent. Take a guess which school.
Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute.
Odds are you are wrong with your guess. It is Wyoming. Wyoming has scored 20 touchdowns on their 22 red zone trips this season, a 90.91 touchdown percentage. The numbers at times can be skewed of course, as UMass is one of the top ten teams in the country when it comes to red zone touchdown percentage. The Minutemen have reached the red zone just five times, but they make the most of their limited opportunities with four touchdowns.
Below is a look at the top 10 teams* in red zone touchdown percentage. Perhaps somewhat surprising, there are no teams from the SEC or Pac 12 in this list. Three ACC teams, two Big Ten and two Big 12 teams crack this list. some of the nation’s top offenses also do not make the cut, which may raise an eyebrow. but then again, when you are scoring points on big plays as often as Baylor and Orgeon do, red zone percentages may not be a real big concern after a small sample size.
Top Red Zone Touchdown Percentage Rates in College Football
School, Touchdowns out of Red Zone Opportunities (Red Zone Touchdown Percentage)
1. Oklahoma State: 15 out of 16 (93.75 percent)
2. Wyoming: 20 out of 22 (90.91)
3. Ohio State: 21 out of 24 (87.50)
4. Clemson: 15 out of 18 (83.33)
5. East Carolina: 16 out of 20 (80.00)
6. Georgia Tech, Penn State: 12 out of 15 (80.00)
7. Rice: 8 out of 10 (80.00)
8. UMass - 5 - 4 - 80.00
9. Duke: 18 out of 23 (78.26)
10. Iowa State: 7 out of 9 (77.27)
* It is actually 11 teams because two teams are tied with the same exact red zone touchdown numbers so far.
Source: CFBStats.com.