The UAB Blazers just dropped a perfect ‘100’ on the college football scene, and trust me, it’s not the kind of perfect score any program wants to brag about. This isn’t a touchdown tally, folks; The Action Network compiled a list tracking the “dirtiest” teams in college football from 2020 to 2025, and UAB landed squarely at the top with a maximum “dirty score.” We’re talking about a level of penalty recklessness that should make any coach absolutely pull their hair out.
The Foul Play Hall of Shame
So, what does a perfect ‘100’ dirty score even mean? The Action Network looked at four key stats: penalty yards per game, penalties per game, penalties first downs per game, and penalties per play. UAB’s numbers are wild, almost eight penalties per game, over 70 penalty yards, more than one penalty on first down every single game, and 0.060 penalties per play on average. That’s a ton of self-inflicted wounds! Rounding out this list of teams playing a little too loose are Toledo, New Mexico, Pitt, and Utah State. But it gets even more notable: big names like Miami are sitting at 6th, North Carolina at 7th, Tennessee at 9th, and USC at 11th. When you see programs of that stature routinely racking up that many flags, you gotta wonder what’s going on with discipline.
Cleaning Up Their Act, Or Just Lucky?
On the flip side, some teams are playing squeaky clean. The cleanest program in college football, by a mile, is Army, boasting an incredible 0.74 dirty score. They’re practically saints out there, committing less than four penalties per game and just under 33 penalty yards. That’s a massive difference from UAB’s stats. Army averages 1.18 penalties committed on first down and 0.030 penalties per play, showing some serious control. Air Force, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota join Army among the cleanest programs. Other premier teams like Northwestern (7th), Penn State (10th), Kansas State (12th), Wisconsin (14th), and Indiana (15th) also manage to keep the laundry off the field. You have to respect that kind of discipline.
Where the Heavyweights Stand
What about the other big boys? You know the ones we always talk about. Texas A&M is at 17th, Michigan State at 26th, and Texas at 32nd. Florida State hits 34th, Alabama is 37th, and Oklahoma rounds out the top 40 at 42nd. As you slide further down the list to programs doing a better job, you find Florida at 64th, Oregon at 65th, and LSU at 71st. Nebraska is way down at 99th, Clemson at 106th, Ohio State at 111th, and Georgia is chilling at 120th. Think about that difference between UAB’s perfect ‘100’ and Georgia’s 120th ranking. It’s night and day! These numbers tell a story about coaching, player discipline, and ultimately, whether a team is helping itself or hurting itself on the field. Keep an eye on these penalty trends; they can absolutely make or break a season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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