College football scoring on record pace

• Teams in FBS are scoring a record 29.3 points per game
• Scoring has been on an increasing trend since 2007
• Fast-paced offenses such as Oregon, Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech are pushing scores higher

Major college football is about to make scoring history.

Through Tuesday, the 124 teams in the Bowl Subdivision have scored 36,130 points over 1,232 games, an average of 29.3 points per team per game. If that average holds, it would break the record of 28.4 points a game set in 2007.

"People want to see a lot of scoring," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said Wednesday. "They like seeing football scores like 38-35, they don't like seeing a 3-0 game. I don't think we're going backwards in this deal. What you typically see is offenses take the lead then defenses catch up. It's point-counterpoint, punch-counterpunch. But right now, I don't see the defenses getting to where they'll ever be dominant again."

Thirty-three teams average are averaging at least 35 points – including five from the Pac-12, led by Oregon, which leads the FBS in scoring. Eleven teams are averaging 40 or more points per game.

The climb in scoring has been a trend since the 2007. season. Prior to that fall, the national scoring average had only twice climbed above 26.9 points a game since the NCAA began tracking the statistic in 1937.

Over the past six years, however, FBS scoring average has moved above 28 points a game four times and never dropped below 27.

Programs like No. 2 Oregon, which has scored 30-plus points in an FBS-record 23 consecutive games, are altering the way teams analyze offensive production. The Ducks might lead the FBS in scoring, but they rank 98th nationally in time of possession. For the Ducks, it's about quality, not quantity.

"We don't look at that stat," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said during his weekly press conference. "Time of possession means absolutely nothing to this operation. We were last in the nation last year in time of possession."

Of the nation's top 10 scoring teams, only Kansas State ranks in the top 50 nationally in time of possession; the Wildcats are tied for 16th. Baylor ranks seventh in scoring and 122nd in time of possession. Northern Illinois ranks ninth in scoring and 120th in time of possession. Louisiana Tech ranks second and 101st, respectively.

Teams like Oregon and Louisiana Tech are doing more scoring in less time. Overall, the FBS is simply scoring more, period.

"Offenses," Grobe said, "are here to stay."