From the 1869 Rutgers-Princeton tilt through the 2003 NCAA football season, The Ultimate Guide to College Football is an authoritative reference that provides a crucial handbook for college football fans, coaches, players, sports reporters, or anyone interested in the history of the game.

James Quick compiles the complete records of all 117 Division 1-A collegiate football teams, major team and conference records, teams' locations, nicknames, school colors, conference affiliations, and even stadium capacity. Quirk also offers a brief history of college football in addition to all bowl game results and the final rankings of teams for each season. Finally, he includes All America teams, other award winners, the records of service teams from more than 130 military bases and camps, and a comprehensive history of rule changes.