Punting on the Decline in College Football
As the clock was winding down in a second straight game during which Archie Wilson didn’t attempt a punt, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule came up with an idea to get the freshman on the field for the first time at Memorial Stadium.
When the Cornhuskers went into victory formation to finish a 52-point win over Houston Christian on Sept. 13, Wilson was out there as the deep man behind the running backs.
Wilson ended up punting four times in last week’s loss to Michigan, but his relative inactivity in the previous two games was a sign of the times.
The punt is in decline.
Football Bowl Subdivision teams are averaging 3.8 punts per game, a figure on track to be the lowest since the NCAA began keeping the statistic in 1937. Punt attempts have dropped for eight straight seasons, and the 2024 average of 4.1 was one full punt per game less than in 2015.
The college numbers mirror those in the NFL, where the average of 3.6 per game is lowest in history.
The sport’s growing reliance on analytics has encouraged coaches to be aggressive on fourth down. Also, field goals from long distances are on the rise. There were six field goals of 60-plus yards in the FBS last season, the most since 1977, and there has been one this season. There have been 52 field goals from 50-59 yards, on pace to match the record 188 last year.
