Before the 2014 season, College Football by the Numbers was dealt a serious blow when the data I needed disappeared or moved behind an insurmountably high pay wall. I am now hoping to revive the site by developing my own standardized data.
Using the links below you can download standardized play-by-play and drive data from the 2014 season. The data is rough; I consider this product a proof of concept. The project needs further development in four main areas:
1) Locate and scrape play-by-play source data for all FBS games. The system at present locates data for 95% of regular season FBS games for the 2014 season.
2) Develop a streamlined system for reporting and correcting source errors (typos in the original play-by-play record). These errors must be managed manually, so I hope to make that process as painless as possible.
3) Improve the automated interpretation of the source data. For example, this proof of concept version ignores overtime.
4) Make it easier to use. What variables should I include and which are less useful/unnecessary? How do I link games? Drives?
My goal is to have a beta version of the data ready for the start of the 2015 season. I intend to make this data publicly available as long as possible. Let me know if you would be interested in getting involved: scott@cfbtn.com
Change log:
5/17/15 Added bowl games, conference championship games, other regular season games.
5/24/15 Added stadiums for every FBS team (and a few more)
Added game overview file (list of games, location, coverage, summary results)
Added a second, improved drive file
