Does College Football Have a Quality Problem?
That's the number that caught our attention.
Across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the average team in the final RCFR Consensus Top 25 played just 19.9% of its games against other Top 25 teams.
Flip the number around:
College football may have its own version of the 80/20 rule. Only about one out of every five games played by the nation's Top 25 teams was against another Top 25 opponent.
What the RCFR Data Shows
RCFR tracks Top 25 Games every week as part of its seven-criteria ranking methodology. It is Ranking Criterion #3, following Top 25 Wins and Best Top 25 Win.
Using the final Week 16 RCFR data from the 2024 and 2025 rankings, we calculated:
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | 2-Year Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Top 25 Games | 2.24 | 2.72 | 2.48 |
| Quality Game % | 17.9% | 22.0% | 19.9% |
| Non-Top-25 Game % | 82.1% | 78.0% | 80.1% |
Two seasons aren't enough to establish a trend. In fact, the percentage increased in 2025.
But the RCFR data does establish an initial baseline:
The individual team data makes that number even more interesting.
2025 Quality Game %
| # | Team | Top 25 Games | Games | Quality Game % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | 6 | 13 | 46.2% |
| 2 | Texas | 5 | 12 | 41.7% |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 5 | 12 | 41.7% |
| 4 | Alabama | 5 | 13 | 38.5% |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 4 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 6 | Tennessee | 4 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 7 | BYU | 4 | 13 | 30.8% |
| 8 | Ole Miss | 3 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 9 | USC | 3 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 10 | Vanderbilt | 3 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 11 | Michigan | 3 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 3 | 13 | 23.1% |
| 13 | Ohio State | 3 | 13 | 23.1% |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 15 | Oregon | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 16 | Utah | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 17 | Navy | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 18 | Indiana | 2 | 13 | 15.4% |
| 19 | Tulane | 2 | 13 | 15.4% |
| 20 | North Texas | 2 | 13 | 15.4% |
| 21 | Miami | 1 | 12 | 8.3% |
| 22 | Arizona | 1 | 12 | 8.3% |
| 23 | Georgia Tech | 1 | 12 | 8.3% |
| 24 | James Madison | 0 | 13 | 0.0% |
| 25 | Virginia | 0 | 13 | 0.0% |
| AVERAGE | 2.72 | 22.0% |
The range is remarkable: Georgia played six Top 25 opponents. James Madison and Virginia played none.
All finished in the Consensus Top 25. Their opportunities to build a quality resume were dramatically different.
2024 Quality Game %
| # | Team | Top 25 Games | Games | Quality Game % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | 6 | 13 | 46.2% |
| 2 | Alabama | 4 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 3 | South Carolina | 4 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 4 | Oregon | 4 | 13 | 30.8% |
| 5 | Ohio State | 3 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 6 | Boise State | 3 | 13 | 23.1% |
| 7 | Clemson | 3 | 13 | 23.1% |
| 8 | Penn State | 3 | 13 | 23.1% |
| 9 | UNLV | 3 | 13 | 23.1% |
| 10 | Ole Miss | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 11 | Syracuse | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 12 | Tennessee | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 13 | BYU | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 14 | Illinois | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 15 | Missouri | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| 16 | Arizona State | 2 | 13 | 15.4% |
| 17 | Texas | 2 | 13 | 15.4% |
| 18 | SMU | 2 | 13 | 15.4% |
| 19 | Notre Dame | 1 | 12 | 8.3% |
| 20 | Indiana | 1 | 12 | 8.3% |
| 21 | Army | 1 | 12 | 8.3% |
| 22 | Miami | 1 | 12 | 8.3% |
| 23 | Iowa State | 1 | 13 | 7.7% |
| 24 | Memphis | 0 | 12 | 0.0% |
| 25 | Colorado | 0 | 12 | 0.0% |
| AVERAGE | 2.24 | 17.9% |
Once again, Georgia was at 46.2% while two Top 25 teams were at 0%.
What the Numbers Tell Us
A win always counts as one win in the standings.
But not all wins represent the same accomplishment.
And not all schedules create the same opportunity to earn quality wins. That's precisely why RCFR measures the resume.
Quality vs. Quantity
The data also raises a larger question: what type of scheduling does college football's postseason system encourage?
QUANTITY
↓
Avoid Losses
↓
Reduce Risk
QUALITY
↓
Beat Better Teams
↓
Build a Better Resume
Every quality opponent creates an opportunity for a quality win — but also another opportunity for a loss.
If the system places greater value on accumulating wins and avoiding losses than on challenging schedules and quality wins, programs have an incentive to reduce scheduling risk.
Better schedules → Better games → Better product → More value
A New Number to Watch
This analysis gives RCFR another useful data point to track:
Two seasons aren't enough to establish a trend. They are enough to establish a baseline.
We'll add 2026, 2027 and future seasons to the data and let the results tell the story.
We'll see if the data proves us right.
College football's best teams are building their resumes against dramatically different levels of competition. RCFR believes those differences should matter.
Play better teams. Beat better teams. Build a better resume.