How big of a deal is home field advantage in college football?
According to an article by Patrick J. Kiger on Discovery.com, from 1869 to 2009 the winning percentage for college football teams playing at home was 63%. This means that the visiting team has only a 37% chance of winning a road game.
It’s a significant advantage, especially given a 12-game season where every win is crucial in making a championship run.
In 2014, FBS teams have between four and seven true road games, meaning some programs will have better odds at going undefeated than others.
Following is a look at the programs who will spend the least amount of time this season traveling.
It’s worth noting that some conferences are more apt to play at home than others. Here’s the breakdown: ACC-one team, Big 12-one team, Big Ten-two teams, Pac-12-zero teams, SEC-seven teams, Independents-two teams, American Athletic-one team, Conference USA-one team, MAC-zero teams, Mountain West-zero teams, Sun Belt-zero teams.
Florida State
Home record since 2011: 18-3 (86%)
Even though Florida State will face Oklahoma State, Notre Dame and Florida in non-conference play this season, it only has four true road games. This doesn’t include the home opener in Arlington, Texas against the Cowboys.
The only real road trips for the ‘Noles in 2014 are NC State, Syracuse, Louisville and Miami (Fla). The other seven games—or 58% of the schedule—will be played at home in Tallahassee.
Texas
Home record since 2011: 12-6 (67%)
Other than a Week 3 clash with UCLA in Arlington and the AT&T Red River Showdown vs. Oklahoma, the Longhorns have only four road trips in 2014: at Kansas, at Kansas State, at Texas Tech and at Oklahoma State.
Texas will play 50% of its regular-season games at home and 75% in the state of Texas.
Penn State
Home record since 2011: 15-6 (71%)
Other than a Week 1 rematch with UCF in Ireland, Penn State will only venture out of Happy Valley four times in 2014.
The Nittany Lions’ only true road games are at Rutgers, at Michigan, at Indiana and at Illinois. This means that Northwestern, Ohio State, Maryland and Michigan State are all home games, as are three other non-conference tilts.
Wisconsin
Home record since 2011: 18-3 (86%)
Another team that opens up at a neutral site, Wisconsin will grapple with LSU in Houston on Aug. 30.
Other than that, the Badgers will play away games only four times in 2014: at Northwestern, at Rutgers, at Purdue and at Iowa.
Florida
Home record since 2011: 15-5 (75%)
One of a whopping seven SEC programs to play only four true road games, Florida at least has its annual clash with Georgia in Jacksonville, FL to make it look legit.
The other bit that balances the scale for the Gators is that their road schedule is a gauntlet, even though it’s a short list: at Alabama, at Tennessee, at Vanderbilt and at Florida State.
Georgia
Home record since 2011: 17-3 (85%)
The other half of the Florida-Georgia equation, the Bulldogs also have only four true road games in 2014.
The only difference is, their away slate is less scary than Florida’s: at South Carolina, at Missouri, at Arkansas (in Little Rock) and at Kentucky.
Vanderbilt
Home record since 2011: 14-6 (70%)
Not only does Vanderbilt have one of the weakest non-conference schedules among power-five teams (Temple, UMass, FCS Charleston Southern and Old Dominion), it only plays four road games. And it doesn’t have a neutrally-sited game.
Here’s the Commodores entire road schedule for 2014: at Kentucky, at Georgia, at Missouri and at Mississippi State.
Vandy is one of only two FBS teams to play 67% of its 2014 schedule at home, which includes the Sept. 6 game vs. Ole Miss at LP Field.
Alabama
Home record since 2011: 19-2 (90%)
After traveling 200 miles to Atlanta to face West Virginia in its opener, Alabama will be in Tuscaloosa for all but four games in 2014.
The Tide’s road slate consists of Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU. Alabama hasn’t dropped a game at home since losing to Texas A&M in 2012.
Arkansas
Home record since 2011: 13-9 (59%)
Even though the Razorbacks are 6-9 at home since 2012, they are just two seasons removed from going 7-0 in front of their home crowd.
In 2014, Arkansas has a Week 5 game with Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas, but other than that has only four true road games: at Auburn, at Texas Tech, at Mississippi State and at Missouri.
This means Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss and Georgia (in Little Rock) are all home games.
LSU
Home record since 2011: 20-1 (95%)
LSU has only lost one home game in three seasons, a four-point loss to Alabama in 2012.
The Tigers will open up the 2014 season in Houston where they will take on Wisconsin in front of what should be a predominately LSU-friendly crowd.
Other than that, road trips are at Auburn, at Florida, at Arkansas and at Texas A&M.
Ole Miss
Home record since 2011: 10-11 (48%)
Ole Miss’ home record over the last three years consists of a 1-6 mark in 2011, a 4-3 finish in 2012 and a 5-2 record in 2013. This all adds up to the Rebels being an up-and-coming home team.
Ole Miss will kick off its 2014 campaign with Boise State in Atlanta and then travels only four times: at Vanderbilt, at Texas A&M, at LSU and at Arkansas.
Navy
Home record since 2011: 11-4 (73%)
Though Navy will play only four true road games in 2014, it has three neutral games on the slate. The Midshipmen will play Ohio State in Baltimore in Week 1, and though this is just a short drive from Annapolis, it’s tough to think this game will be attended by a massive, angry Navy crowd.
Next up is a Nov. 1 date with Notre Dame in Landover, MD, which again is geographically close but still won’t be much of a home game. Then there is the Army-Navy game in Baltimore.
Navy’s true road games are Temple, Texas State, Air Force and South Alabama.
Notre Dame
Home record since 2011: 16-3 (84%)
Notre Dame has just three true road games in 2014, but will one-up Navy with three neutrally-sited contests.
The Irish neutral slate consists of a Sept. 13 clash with Purdue in Indianapolis, a Sept. 27 game with Syracuse in East Rutherford, NJ and a Nov. 1 date with Navy in Landover, MD.
True road games are at Florida State, at Arizona State and at USC, giving Notre Dame plenty of work to do while traveling.
UConn
Home record since 2011: 9-11 (45%)
UConn’s recent struggles mean that even the safe haven of Rentschler Field hasn’t offered much of an advantage.
In 2014, the Huskies will have four true road games: at USF, at Tulane, at East Carolina and at Memphis.
The schedule is balanced with a neutral-site contest with Army on Nov. 8 at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
FIU
Home record since 2011: 5-13 (28%)
Though FIU is the only FBS team other than Vandy to have eight home games in 2014, it hasn’t won at home since beating Akron on Sept. 8, 2012.
In 2014, the Golden Panthers will travel to UAB, UTSA, Old Dominion and North Texas. The other 67% of the schedule will be played at FIU Stadium in Miami.