Game Possessions

updated January 26, 2026

Football games are contested between two teams as a series of alternating possessions. The vast majority of game possessions consist of one or more offensive scrimmage plays in which the team in control of the ball attempts to advance it in order to score while its opponent attempts to deny that effort. Less frequent possession types include defensive, special teams, and overtime possessions.

From 2007 to 2025, games between FBS opponents averaged 25.9 total possessions with a median total of 26 possessions per game (13 for each team). The chart below illustrates the distribution of possession counts per game over the 19-season span (14,130 games played between FBS opponents).

Styles of play favored by certain teams can lend themselves to outlier game possession totals, but several significant changes in game and play clock rules have impacted the sport as a whole. New rules in 2008 instituted a 40-second play clock and eliminated clock stoppages on out-of-bounds plays. In 2023, a new rule eliminated clock stoppages on first downs. Rule changes in combination with pace of play trends have impacted the distribution and median number of possessions per game over the last 19 seasons.

Game possession counts have declined steadily over the last decade. Among 2025 games between FBS opponents, 18.1% had 20 or fewer possessions (10 for each team), 60.5% had 24 or fewer possessions (12 for each team), and 89.2% had 28 or fewer possessions (14 for each team).

Games with very few possessions generally feature long drives by methodical, ball-control offenses that drain the game clock between snaps. On November 8, 2025, Army defeated Temple by a final score of 14-13 in a game that had only 12 total game possessions (6 possessions for each team), the fewest number of possessions in an FBS game since at least 2007.

Games with many possessions generally feature frequent game clock stoppages, often due to a combination of incomplete passes, three-and-outs, and quick scoring drives. Overtime games also tally up extra possessions, though the FBS game with the highest number of possessions since 2007 was settled in regulation. On November 14, 2015, Arkansas State defeated UL Monroe by a final score of 59-21 in a game that had 46 total game possessions (23 possessions for each team).