Forgotten Penalties
October 29th, 2008Every college football box score has a line that includes the number of penalties in the game for each team. Here at cfbstats.com, there is a leader board that ranks the FBS teams on the total number of penalties for the season.
The number of penalties in the box scores and the rankings do not reflect the number of penalties actually called, only the number of penalties that are accepted. However, when it comes to assessing a team’s tendency to be called for penalties, the declined and offset penalties should count just as much as the accepted penalties. Other than personal foul penalties and the like, whether a penalty is accepted or not is usually determined by the game situation (down, distance, score, field position, time left in the half, etc.) rather than the penalty itself.
In 510 games so far this season, 6818 penalties have been called, of which 6165 (90.4%) have been accepted and 653 (9.6%) have been declined or offset. Almost 10% of called penalties are declined or offset, and become forgotten penalties as far as the official statistics are concerned.
The FBS teams with the most forgotten penalties this season:
| Team | Total | Accepted | Forgotten | Forgotten % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 70 | 58 | 12 | 17.14% |
| Eastern Michigan | 59 | 47 | 12 | 20.34% |
| Temple | 73 | 62 | 11 | 15.07% |
| Minnesota | 61 | 50 | 11 | 18.03% |
| Kentucky | 53 | 42 | 11 | 20.75% |
| Marshall | 44 | 33 | 11 | 25.00% |
| Florida Atlantic | 71 | 61 | 10 | 14.08% |
| Army | 38 | 28 | 10 | 26.32% |
| Louisiana-Monroe | 68 | 59 | 9 | 13.24% |
| Auburn | 63 | 54 | 9 | 14.29% |
| North Carolina State | 57 | 49 | 8 | 14.04% |
| Middle Tennessee | 57 | 49 | 8 | 14.04% |
| LSU | 52 | 44 | 8 | 15.38% |
| Georgia Tech | 52 | 44 | 8 | 15.38% |
| Kent State | 48 | 40 | 8 | 16.67% |
| Alabama | 45 | 37 | 8 | 17.78% |
| Buffalo | 41 | 33 | 8 | 19.51% |
On the other end, Indiana, UCLA, and Michigan have no forgotten penalties — every penalty against them this season has been accepted.
The FBS teams with the highest percentage of forgotten penalties:
| Team | Total | Accepted | Forgotten | Forgotten % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 38 | 28 | 10 | 26.32% |
| Marshall | 44 | 33 | 11 | 25.00% |
| Ball State | 33 | 26 | 7 | 21.21% |
| Kentucky | 53 | 42 | 11 | 20.75% |
| Eastern Michigan | 59 | 47 | 12 | 20.34% |
| Buffalo | 41 | 33 | 8 | 19.51% |
| Minnesota | 61 | 50 | 11 | 18.03% |
| Alabama | 45 | 37 | 8 | 17.78% |
| Arkansas | 70 | 58 | 12 | 17.14% |
| Wake Forest | 35 | 29 | 6 | 17.14% |
| Kent State | 48 | 40 | 8 | 16.67% |
| Vanderbilt | 38 | 32 | 6 | 15.79% |
| LSU | 52 | 44 | 8 | 15.38% |
| Georgia Tech | 52 | 44 | 8 | 15.38% |
| Temple | 73 | 62 | 11 | 15.07% |
Finally, the FBS teams with the highest number of total penalties (accepted plus forgotten):
| Team | Total | Accepted | Forgotten | Forgotten % | Total Rank | Accepted Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCU | 88 | 83 | 5 | 5.68% | 1 | 1 |
| Georgia | 80 | 76 | 4 | 5.00% | 2 | 2 |
| Hawaii | 76 | 69 | 7 | 9.21% | 3 | 3 |
| South Florida | 75 | 69 | 6 | 8.00% | 4 | 3 |
| Temple | 73 | 62 | 11 | 15.07% | 5 | 11 |
| Florida Atlantic | 71 | 61 | 10 | 14.08% | 6 | 13 |
| Arkansas | 70 | 58 | 12 | 17.14% | 7 | 18 |
| Florida State | 70 | 63 | 7 | 10.00% | 7 | 9 |
| Southern Miss. | 70 | 64 | 6 | 8.57% | 7 | 7 |
| Washington State | 70 | 65 | 5 | 7.14% | 7 | 6 |
| Louisiana-Monroe | 68 | 59 | 9 | 13.24% | 11 | 17 |
| Nebraska | 68 | 64 | 4 | 5.88% | 11 | 7 |
| Texas Tech | 68 | 66 | 2 | 2.94% | 11 | 5 |
| Stanford | 67 | 60 | 7 | 10.45% | 14 | 15 |
| Utah State | 65 | 61 | 4 | 6.15% | 15 | 13 |
| BYU | 65 | 62 | 3 | 4.62% | 15 | 11 |
| Oklahoma State | 65 | 63 | 2 | 3.08% | 15 | 9 |
| USC | 64 | 57 | 7 | 10.94% | 18 | 23 |
| New Mexico | 64 | 60 | 4 | 6.25% | 18 | 15 |
| Auburn | 63 | 54 | 9 | 14.29% | 20 | 29 |
| Florida | 63 | 57 | 6 | 9.52% | 20 | 23 |
| Ohio | 63 | 58 | 5 | 7.94% | 20 | 18 |
The last two columns show the rankings when sorted by total penalties (Total Rank) and the rankings when sorted by accepted penalties (Accepted Rank). Moving into the top 10 are Temple that goes from 11th in accepted penalties to 5th in total penalties, Florida Atlantic that goes from 13th to 6th, and Arkansas that goes from 18th to 7th. Kentucky is the biggest gainer overall, going up 27 spots from 83rd to 55th.
Moving out of the top 10 are Texas Tech that goes from 5th to 11th, Nebraska that goes from 7th to 11th, and Oklahoma State that goes from 9th to 15th. UCLA and Indiana dropped the most overall, both going down 21 spots from 60th to 81st.
The complete list can be downloaded here.
