CORE ratings
Context & Opponent-Relative Efficiency (CORE) measures how much value a team creates on offense and allows on defense after accounting for game situation and opponent strength. It is designed to separate team performance from the contexts and schedules in which that performance occurred.
CORE is an efficiency rating, not a forecast, point spread, or percentage.
What goes into the rating
CORE uses qualifying pass and rush plays from completed FBS-versus-FBS games. Each play is first compared with other plays that occurred in similar football situations, including down, distance, field position, score, time remaining, home-field context, and play type. The results are then adjusted across the schedule so that offensive and defensive performance is evaluated relative to the opponents faced.
The model excludes overtime, garbage time, FBS-versus-FCS games, special teams, and non-scrimmage plays. Plays without the context required for a valid comparison are also excluded.
This is intentionally a high-level description. CORE is a proprietary CFBD model, so its fitted parameters and full calculation details are not published.
Reading the values
offenseis points created above average per 100 qualifying offensive plays. Higher is better.defenseis points allowed above average per 100 qualifying defensive plays. Lower is better.overallis offense minus defense. Higher is better.offensePlaysanddefensePlaysshow the samples behind the two components.throughSeasonTypeandthroughWeekidentify the inclusive endpoint of the snapshot.modelVersionidentifies the methodology used for the stored result.
The API returns the stored calculation precision. Round values only for display, and do not label them as percentages.
Coverage and limitations
Public retrospective CORE ratings begin with the 2016 season. Historical ratings are retrospective results from the released methodology rather than a record of what the model would have reported at that point in time.
CORE describes team offense and defense over the qualifying plays in a stored snapshot. It does not include special teams, player ratings, matchup projections, spreads, or win probabilities. Early-season results also carry more uncertainty because they are based on fewer plays and a less connected schedule.
Use the CORE ratings operation to filter by season, team, or conference. A season or team is required.