RotoWire.com is breaking down the most penalized college football teams during the 2025 season. Your source for the best college football betting promos will update this weekly for the most up-to-date stats, to see which teams are the most disciplined. Using TeamRankings.com, we ranked teams based on a discipline score, which is found by taking Penalties per game + Penalty yards per game and dividing it by two. [(Penalties per game + penalty yards per game)/2]
Here's where things stand through Week 4 of the college football season. Check out our CFB futures odds page too.
2025's Most Penalized College Football Teams: Weekly Rankings & Analysis
Rank | Team | Discipline Score |
1 |
| 56.3 |
2 |
| 52.2 |
3 |
| 50.9 |
4 |
| 50.3 |
5 |
| 48.8 |
6 |
| 47.4 |
7 |
| 46.8 |
8 |
| 46.7 |
9 |
| 46.7 |
10 |
| 46.5 |
11 |
| 46.0 |
12 |
| 44.8 |
13 |
| 44.0 |
14 |
| 43.4 |
15 |
| 43.3 |
16 |
| 42.5 |
17 |
| 42.4 |
18 |
| 41.9 |
19 |
| 41.8 |
20 |
| 41.0 |
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (-) 
Mississippi State Bulldogs (↑5) 
UCLA Bruins (↑1) 
Pittsburgh Panthers (↑2) 
Texas Tech Red Raiders (↑19) 
UNLV Rebels (↓4) 
Florida Atlantic Owls (↑2) 
Duke Blue Devils (↑9) 
SMU Mustangs (↓4) 
James Madison Dukes (↓7) 
Boise State Broncos (↑37) 
App State Mountaineers (↓2) 
South Carolina Gamecocks (↑15) 
Texas Longhorns (↓3) 
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (↑1) 
Miami (OH) RedHawks (↑1) 
USC Trojans (↓2) 
Georgia State Panthers (↑33) 
Old Dominion Monarchs (-) 
Missouri State Bears (-) This combination of stats is brought to you by RotoWire.com, where we give you a snapshot of the best U.S. sportsbooks so you can decide where to wager.
Who Are America's Most-Penalized CFB Teams?
While the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs managed to limit their penalties in the team's 38-20 home win over Southern Mississippi on Saturday, that wasn't enough to keep the C-USA program from ranking atop the nation when it came to on-field infractions.
In total, Sonny Crumbie's team had a discipline score of 56.3, finishing ahead of other college football teams that have struggled to avoid such infractions, such as the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who have the second worst discipline score nationally, at 52.2, followed by the UCLA Bruins, who check in at 50.9.
In the Bulldogs case, at least Crumbie's team is 3-1 this season, with the team's lone loss coming at the hands of fourth ranked LSU, who beat Louisiana Tech, 23-7, in Week 2, which is more than most of the teams at or near the top of our list can say.
The exception is the other Bulldogs from Starkville, as MSU has jumped out to a 4-0 start with wins over Southern Miss, Arizona State, Alcorn State and Northern Illinois, finishing the non-conference slate with an unblemished record ahead of Saturday's SEC opener against Tennessee at home on Saturday.
Things haven't been as rosy inside the Rose Bowl, as UCLA is 0-3 and in need of a new head coach after the Bruins canned DeShaun Foster on the heels of the team's 35-10 on-field demolition against New Mexico earlier this month.
The story is much the same for the fourth team on our discipline list, with the 2-1 Pittsburgh Panthers beating a pair of featherweights, in FCS program Duquesne and MAC member Central Michigan before falling in 'The Backyard Brawl' to West Virginia, 31-24, with a home clash against unranked Louisville awaiting them this weekend.
The fifth team on our list (Texas Tech) has managed to thrive despite the team's lack of discipline on the field, with a 4-0 record and a 34-10 road conquest over Utah to their name, pulling in at No. 12 in this week's AP top 25 despite a discipline score of 48.8.
Looking at the College Football Playoff betting frontrunners on Bet365, the only team to make this week's discipline board that's at or near the top is the Texas Longhorns, who hold +750 CFP title odds while ranking 14th nationally with a discipline score of 43.4.
Outside of Austin, the team with the best CFP odds that's on this week's list is the USC Trojans, who check in at +4000 to win it all this season despite ranking 17th in this week's rankings with a discipline score of 42.4 in the City of Angels.
Across the country, the teams with the best CFP odds on Bet365 after Week 4 of the regular season are the Ohio State Buckeyes, who check in at +550 to repeat this season, while the Penn State Nittany Lions and Oregon Ducks are co-listed at +650 apiece ahead of their showdown inside Beaver Stadium on Saturday, followed by Georgia (+700), Texas (+750) and LSU (+1100).
Bookmark RotoWire's Heisman Trophy odds as the season rolls along.
College Football Penalty Rankings Q&A
Q: What are the most penalized college football teams in 2025?
A: Each week of the 2025 season, RotoWire updates its rankings of the most penalized college football teams using penalty data from TeamRankings.com. Teams are ranked by their discipline score, which combines both penalties per game and penalty yards per game. The teams with the highest scores are considered the most penalized and least disciplined.
Q: How is the discipline score calculated?
A: The discipline score is designed to balance both the frequency of penalties and their impact. The formula is: (Penalties per game + Penalty yards per game) / 2. This ensures that a team that commits a lot of penalties and/or racks up significant yardage losses, gets reflected properly in the ranking.
Q: Why do penalties matter in college football?
A: Penalties can change the outcome of games. They can stall offensive drives, extend opponents' possessions and swing momentum. Teams that consistently rank among the most penalized often struggle in close games, while disciplined teams are more likely to avoid costly mistakes in high-pressure situations.
