# College Football 2013 Week 1 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 30, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581 "2013-08-30T15:27:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/41 "2013-09-03T21:26:01Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Cal started a true freshman QB, who wound up throwing 63 times for 445 yards (#2 in school history). Not a bad debut. Which one was the #2 record? The attempts or the yards? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/42 "2013-09-03T21:43:46Z")
Florida state! Florida state! Florida state! Woooooooooo! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/43 "2013-09-03T21:50:39Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Which one was the #2 record? The attempts or the yards? Yards (although it may also be attempts, but I don’t have the record book in front of me). The #1 came in a 4OT game, so he now holds the record for yards in regulation. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/44 "2013-09-03T23:13:34Z")
Speaking of records, just saw on ESPN that Jameis Winston now holds the record for best debut QBR in the BCS era - a perfect 158.3 on the NFL scale. **Snowboarder Bo** , 'Nole Nation! The gauntlet is coming, @Clemson, v NC State, v Miami back-to-back-to-back. But if we play like we did last night… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/45 "2013-09-03T23:20:51Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Speaking of records, just saw on ESPN that Jameis Winston now holds the record for best debut QBR in the BCS era - a perfect 158.3 on the NFL scale. On what kind of screwed-up scale is 158.3 “perfect”? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/46 "2013-09-04T11:17:39Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > On what kind of screwed-up scale is 158.3 “perfect”? 🙂 Yeah, I know. Frankly, I’ve never understood (or cared to understand) what goes into QBR. I just sort of use it as a rough yardstick of performance and go on from there. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/47 "2013-09-04T15:15:49Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > On what kind of screwed-up scale is 158.3 “perfect”? 🙂 Not perfect, just record performance for rookie. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/48 "2013-09-04T18:43:23Z")
I saw it in an article on Business Insider and trusted it, but now you’ve made me look it up, dammit! 😉 According to [this website](http://www.nfl.com/help/quarterbackratingformula), the 4 categories have a max score of 2.375 each. When you add them together, divide by 6, and multiply by 100, you get 158.3. So, 25 of 27 complete (93% completion rate - 77.5% is max pts) = 2.375 4 of 27 touchdowns (15% rate - 11% is max pts) = 2.375 0 INTs (0% rate - 0% is max pts) = 2.375 27 pass attempts for 356 yds (13.1 Yards per Attempt - 12.5 yds is max pts) = 2.375 That’s perfect by the NFL scale. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/49 "2013-09-04T18:59:50Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > I saw it in an article on Business Insider and trusted it, but now you’ve made me look it up, dammit! 😉 > > According to [this website](http://www.nfl.com/help/quarterbackratingformula), the 4 categories have a max score of 2.375 each. When you add them together, divide by 6, and multiply by 100, you get 158.3. > > So, > 25 of 27 complete (93% completion rate - 77.5% is max pts) = 2.375 > 4 of 27 touchdowns (15% rate - 11% is max pts) = 2.375 > 0 INTs (0% rate - 0% is max pts) = 2.375 > 27 pass attempts for 356 yds (13.1 Yards per Attempt - 12.5 yds is max pts) = 2.375 > > That’s perfect by the NFL scale. I was sure you were wooshing me. It was the ridiculous “divide by 6, and multiply by 100” part that convinced me. Then I checked your link. It’s like they said “What’s the most convoluted way we can set it so that 100 is really, really good, but not perfect? Let’s get a bored statistician as well as a psychic to channel Fahrenheit.” ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/50 "2013-09-05T00:42:06Z")
So… some games are more perfect than others. In the NFL, it’s artificially capped. In the college formula, going 1/1 for a 99 yard td is the same rating as going 2/2 for 198 yards 2 tds, or really infinity for infinity for infinity yards and infinite touchdowns. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581/51 "2013-09-05T19:38:48Z")
Both the NFL and college quarterback rating formulas are, in effect, modified completion percentages. The NFL rating counts every 20 yards as 1 completion, every TD as 4 completions, and every interception as -5, with minimum and maximum caps on all of the values (including actual completion percentage) and then that “multiply by 100 and divide by 6” thing - in fact, it’s more along the lines of “modified completion percentage x 5/6 - 25”. The college rating counts every 11.9 yards as 1 completion, every TD as 3.3 completions, and every interception as -2. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-football-2013-week-1/667581.md?page=2)