College Football Stat Leaders

Third Down Conversion Rate Leaders: All-Time

Share of offensive third downs converted.

Seasons Covered

2004-2025

Current Leader

Air Force (46.5%)

Best Season

Alabama 2020 (60.0%)

Scope

All Conferences

Browse Metrics

Crawl sibling stat pages without leaving the shared leaderboard template.

Total Yards Per Game Passing Yards Per Game Rushing Yards Per Game Points Per Game Yards Allowed Per Game Sacks Per Game Tackles For Loss Per Game Third Down Conversion Rate Points Per Opportunity Offensive PPA Defensive PPA Turnover Margin Havoc Rate

Season Selector

All-Time 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004

Conference Selector

All Conferences ACC American Big 12 Big Ten Conference USA MAC Mountain West Pac-12 SEC Sun Belt

What The Numbers Say

Route-specific context pulled from the current leaderboard, winner trend, and historical baseline.

How Third Down Conversion Rate Reads

Third down conversion rate shows how often an offense extends drives after reaching the money down, which helps separate efficient possession teams from boom-or-bust attacks. On this all-time average table, the visible range runs 46.5% to 44.6%, with Air Force setting the pace.

Conference Context

Mountain West Conference places 2 of the current top 5 teams, while Big Ten Conference owns the most recent yearly winner slot in the trend table.

Spread At The Top

The gap from No. 1 Air Force to No. 5 Alabama is 1.9%, which shows how tightly packed the top of this leaderboard is.

Historical Baseline

The yearly winning mark improved from 55.6% in 2024 to 56.3% in 2025, a swing of 0.7%. Air Force's best season reached 54.6% in 2006, compared with an all-time average of 46.5% across 22 seasons.

Leaderboard

Top 25 rows for the current route scope.


1	Air Force	Mountain West Conference	2006	46.5%
2	Ohio State	Big Ten Conference	2019	45.9%
3	Boise State	Mountain West Conference	2018	45.3%
4	Navy	American Athletic Conference	2016	44.7%
5	Alabama	Southeastern Conference	2020	44.6%
6	Texas Tech	Big 12 Conference	2008	44.4%
7	Oklahoma	Big 12 Conference	2012	44.1%
8	USC	Pac-12 Conference	2022	43.8%
9	BYU	Mountain West Conference	2006	43.6%
10	Oregon	Pac-12 Conference	2023	43.6%
11	Texas A&M	Southeastern Conference	2020	43.2%
12	Georgia	Southeastern Conference	2023	43.0%
13	Western Kentucky	Conference USA	2014	42.8%
14	Liberty	Conference USA	2023	42.8%
15	LSU	Southeastern Conference	2013	42.8%
16	Houston	Conference USA	2009	42.7%
17	Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt Conference	2021	42.6%
18	Army	NCAA Division I FBS independent schools	2018	42.6%
19	Notre Dame	NCAA Division I FBS independent schools	2020	42.4%
20	Tulsa	Conference USA	2008	42.3%
21	Missouri	Big 12 Conference	2008	42.3%
22	Texas	Big 12 Conference	2008	42.1%
23	TCU	Mountain West Conference	2010	42.1%
24	Wisconsin	Big Ten Conference	2011	42.0%
25	Clemson	Atlantic Coast Conference	2012	41.9%

Trend Chart

Yearly winning values for the current filter scope.

Yearly Winners

Season	Team	Conference at time	Value
2025	Indiana	Big Ten Conference	56.3%
2024	Miami	Atlantic Coast Conference	55.6%
2023	LSU	Southeastern Conference	54.6%
2022	Washington	Pac-12 Conference	56.8%
2021	Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt Conference	53.8%
2020	Alabama	Southeastern Conference	60.0%
2019	Ohio State	Big Ten Conference	55.2%
2018	Army	NCAA Division I FBS independent schools	56.9%
2017	Army	NCAA Division I FBS independent schools	55.2%
2016	Navy	American Athletic Conference	54.5%
2015	Texas Tech	Big 12 Conference	51.7%
2014	Georgia Tech	Atlantic Coast Conference	57.9%
2013	LSU	Southeastern Conference	57.1%
2012	Texas A&M	Southeastern Conference	54.6%
2011	Wisconsin	Big Ten Conference	54.7%
2010	Stanford	Pacific-10 Conference	57.6%
2009	BYU	Mountain West Conference	55.6%
2008	Tulsa	Conference USA	57.0%
2007	Florida	Southeastern Conference	53.4%
2006	BYU	Mountain West Conference	56.0%
2005	USC	Pacific-10 Conference	51.6%
2004	Oklahoma	Big 12 Conference	50.0%

Historical Leaderboard

Average across seasons for each team in the current filter scope.

Rank	Team	Seasons	Average	Best Season
1	Air Force	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	46.5%	2006 (54.6%)
2	Ohio State	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	45.9%	2019 (55.2%)
3	Boise State	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	45.3%	2018 (52.5%)
4	Navy	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	44.7%	2016 (54.5%)
5	Alabama	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	44.6%	2020 (60.0%)
6	Texas Tech	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	44.4%	2008 (54.4%)
7	Oklahoma	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	44.1%	2012 (51.9%)
8	USC	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	43.8%	2022 (54.2%)
9	BYU	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	43.6%	2006 (56.0%)
10	Oregon	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	43.6%	2023 (51.0%)
11	Texas A&M	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	43.2%	2020 (54.9%)
12	Georgia	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	43.0%	2023 (53.9%)
13	Western Kentucky	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007	42.8%	2014 (51.1%)
14	Liberty	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018	42.8%	2023 (49.4%)
15	LSU	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.8%	2013 (57.1%)
16	Houston	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.7%	2009 (51.3%)
17	Coastal Carolina	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017	42.6%	2021 (53.8%)
18	Army	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.6%	2018 (56.9%)
19	Notre Dame	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.4%	2020 (48.5%)
20	Tulsa	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.3%	2008 (57.0%)
21	Missouri	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.3%	2008 (53.4%)
22	Texas	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.1%	2008 (54.9%)
23	TCU	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.1%	2010 (53.5%)
24	Wisconsin	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	42.0%	2011 (54.7%)
25	Clemson	2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004	41.9%	2012 (51.5%)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads college football in all-time average third down conversion rate?

Air Force ranks first in the all-time average table at 46.5%.

Which program shows the most sustained dominance in third down conversion rate?

Air Force holds the best average at 46.5% across 22 tracked seasons, which is the strongest sustained profile in this history view.

Which eras are covered on this third down conversion rate history page?

The leaderboard spans 2004-2025 for the top historical program and includes yearly winners for every available season in the filtered dataset.