College Football Stat Leaders
Average net passing yards gained per game.
Seasons Covered
2004-2025
Current Leader
Northwestern (303.5)
Best Season
Ohio State 2021 (380.9)
Scope
Big Ten • 2009
Crawl sibling stat pages without leaving the shared leaderboard template.
Route-specific context pulled from the current leaderboard, winner trend, and historical baseline.
Passing yards per game highlights how aggressively a team can move the ball through the air after sacks and negative plays are accounted for, which separates explosive passing attacks from volume-only offenses. On this 2009 leaderboard, the visible range runs 303.5 to 245.1, with Northwestern setting the pace.
Big Ten teams have claimed 100% of the yearly titles in this filtered dataset, and USC is the latest winner at 296.0.
The gap from No. 1 Northwestern to No. 5 Penn State is 58.4, which shows how tightly packed the top of this leaderboard is.
The yearly winning mark improved from 291.9 in 2024 to 296.0 in 2025, a swing of 4.1. Northwestern's current mark of 303.5 sits above the all-time average leader benchmark of 294.0 held by USC.
Top 11 rows for the current route scope.
| 1 | Northwestern | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 303.5 |
| 2 | Michigan State | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 275.5 |
| 3 | Purdue | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 265.8 |
| 4 | Indiana | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 257.6 |
| 5 | Penn State | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 245.1 |
| 6 | Iowa | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 239.9 |
| 7 | Minnesota | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 226.8 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 224.9 |
| 9 | Michigan | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 213.3 |
| 10 | Illinois | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 207.1 |
| 11 | Ohio State | Big Ten Conference | 2009 | 187.9 |
Yearly winning values for the current filter scope.
| Season | Team | Conference | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | USC | Big Ten Conference | 296.0 |
| 2024 | USC | Big Ten Conference | 291.9 |
| 2023 | Maryland | Big Ten Conference | 278.9 |
| 2022 | Ohio State | Big Ten Conference | 298.3 |
| 2021 | Ohio State | Big Ten Conference | 380.9 |
| 2020 | Purdue | Big Ten Conference | 309.0 |
| 2019 | Purdue | Big Ten Conference | 309.9 |
| 2018 | Ohio State | Big Ten Conference | 358.6 |
| 2017 | Penn State | Big Ten Conference | 290.2 |
| 2016 | Purdue | Big Ten Conference | 294.9 |
| 2015 | Indiana | Big Ten Conference | 293.8 |
| 2014 | Michigan State | Big Ten Conference | 265.6 |
| 2013 | Indiana | Big Ten Conference | 306.7 |
| 2012 | Indiana | Big Ten Conference | 311.2 |
| 2011 | Northwestern | Big Ten Conference | 275.8 |
| 2010 | Indiana | Big Ten Conference | 294.8 |
| 2009 | Northwestern | Big Ten Conference | 303.5 |
| 2008 | Illinois | Big Ten Conference | 282.8 |
| 2007 | Northwestern | Big Ten Conference | 324.8 |
| 2006 | Purdue | Big Ten Conference | 302.8 |
| 2005 | Northwestern | Big Ten Conference | 313.6 |
| 2004 | Purdue | Big Ten Conference | 338.4 |
Average across seasons for each team in the current filter scope.
| Rank | Team | Seasons | Average | Best Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USC | 2025, 2024 | 294.0 | 2025 (296.0) |
| 2 | Oregon | 2025, 2024 | 266.6 | 2024 (279.5) |
| 3 | Purdue | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 259.1 | 2021 (355.4) |
| 4 | Washington | 2025, 2024 | 253.1 | 2024 (261.7) |
| 5 | Indiana | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 243.1 | 2012 (311.2) |
| 6 | Ohio State | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 238.9 | 2021 (380.9) |
| 7 | Michigan State | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 236.2 | 2005 (285.5) |
| 8 | Penn State | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 232.7 | 2017 (290.2) |
| 9 | Maryland | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 | 223.6 | 2021 (304.6) |
| 10 | Northwestern | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 221.6 | 2007 (324.8) |
| 11 | Nebraska | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 | 217.7 | 2017 (277.5) |
| 12 | Michigan | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 212.1 | 2010 (255.4) |
| 13 | UCLA | 2025, 2024 | 211.2 | 2024 (242.2) |
| 14 | Illinois | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 204.5 | 2013 (287.7) |
| 15 | Iowa | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 203.4 | 2005 (267.3) |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 195.3 | 2011 (246.7) |
| 17 | Minnesota | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 | 194.7 | 2019 (253.3) |
| 18 | Rutgers | 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 | 174.6 | 2025 (266.1) |
Northwestern ranks first at 303.5 in 2009.
USC owns the strongest all-time average at 294.0 across 2 tracked seasons in this conference scope.
USC is the most recent yearly winner in this conference scope, so the route combines the current leaderboard with a recent trend line instead of showing only one season snapshot.