College Football Data (CFB)

Before writing queries, consult

references/api-reference.md

Setup

Before first use, check if the CLI is available:

which sports-skills || pip install sports-skills

If

pip install

python3 --version  # check version
# If < 3.10, try: python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
# On macOS with Homebrew: /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills

No API keys required.

Quick Start

Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:

sports-skills cfb get_scoreboard
sports-skills cfb get_rankings
sports-skills cfb get_standings --group=8

CRITICAL: Before Any Query

CRITICAL: Before calling any data endpoint, verify:

• Season year is derived from the system prompt's

  currentDate

  — never hardcoded.
• For standings, the

  group

  parameter is set to the correct conference ID (see

  references/api-reference.md

  ).
• If only a team name is provided, use

  get_teams

  to resolve the team ID.

Choosing the Season

Derive the current year from the system prompt's date (e.g.,

currentDate: 2026-02-28

• If the user specifies a season, use it as-is.
• If the user says "current", "this season", or doesn't specify: The CFB season runs August–January. If the current month is February–July (offseason), use

  season = current_year - 1

  . From August onward, use the current year.

Important: College vs. Pro Differences

• Standings are per-conference — use the

  group

  parameter to filter
• Rankings replace leaders — college uses AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, and CFP rankings
• Ranked teams have a

  rank

  field (null = unranked) on scoreboard competitors
• Week-based schedule — like NFL, college football uses week numbers

Commands

get_scoreboard

get_standings

group

get_teams

get_team_roster

get_team_schedule

get_game_summary

get_rankings

get_news

get_play_by_play

get_schedule

get_injuries

get_futures

get_team_stats

get_player_stats

See

references/api-reference.md

Examples

Example 1: Current rankings User says: "What are the college football rankings?" Actions:

1. Call

   get_rankings()

   Result: AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, and CFP rankings with rank, previous rank, record

Example 2: Conference standings User says: "Show me SEC football standings" Actions:

1. Derive season year from

   currentDate

2. Call

   get_standings(group=8, season=<derived_year>)

   (group 8 = SEC) Result: SEC standings with W-L records per team

Example 3: Team schedule User says: "What's Alabama's schedule this season?" Actions:

1. Derive season year from

   currentDate

2. Call

   get_team_schedule(team_id="333", season=<derived_year>)

   Result: Alabama's full season schedule with opponent, date, score (if played)

Example 4: Weekly scores User says: "Show me this week's college football scores" Actions:

1. Call

   get_scoreboard()

   Result: All live and recent CFB games with scores and ranked status

Example 5: Heisman favorites User says: "Who's the Heisman favorite?" Actions:

1. Call

   get_futures(limit=10)

   Result: Top Heisman Trophy candidates with odds values

Example 6: Team statistics User says: "Show me Alabama's team stats" Actions:

1. Derive season year from

   currentDate

2. Call

   get_team_stats(team_id="333", season_year=<derived_year>)

   Result: Alabama's season stats by category with value, rank, and per-game averages

Commands that DO NOT exist — never call these

• get_odds

  /

  get_betting_odds

  — not available. For prediction market odds, use the polymarket or kalshi skill.

• search_teams

  — does not exist. Use

  get_teams

  instead.

• get_box_score

  — does not exist. Use

  get_game_summary

  instead.

• get_player_ratings

  — does not exist. Use

  get_player_stats

  instead.

• get_bcs_rankings

  /

  get_playoff_rankings

  — does not exist. Use

  get_rankings

  instead.

If a command is not listed in the Commands table above, it does not exist.

Error Handling

When a command fails, do not surface raw errors to the user. Instead:

1. If no events found for a date, check if it's in the off-season (CFB runs August–January)
2. If standings are empty without a group filter, try with a specific conference group
3. Only report failure with a clean message after exhausting alternatives

Troubleshooting

Error:

sports-skills

pip install sports-skills

Error: No games found Cause: CFB is seasonal (August–January); off-season scoreboard will be empty Solution: Use

get_rankings

get_news

get_schedule

Error: Too many teams returned Cause:

get_teams

references/api-reference.md

Error: Rankings empty in off-season Cause: Rankings are only published during the season and early off-season Solution: Use

get_news