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Greatest College Football National Champions: Where Does Indiana’s Season Rank?
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- Greatest College Football National Champions: Where Does Indiana’s Season Rank?
Who were the greatest teams in the history of college football? Who had the best seasons ever?
Go ahead and make your claim to any one of a number of amazingly talented teams who deserve to be in the top ten, but different eras, different schedules, and different rules require a uniform way of objectively analyzing teams from the 1800s up to the 2020s.
Did you get a lot of wins, and did you beat a ton of good teams along the way? We explain these rankings here
, and only include the main ways of determining national champions over the 150+ years.
Top 10 National Championship Seasons
Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) reacts on stage after the Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
10. 2016 Clemson
Record: 14-1
All-Time Season Score: 30.8633
Key Season Score Element: 11 Quality Wins
Best Win: Clemson 35, Alabama 31 (CFP National Championship)
Worst Game: Pitt 43, at Clemson 42
Remember that year when the ACC got all chirpy about being the best conference in college football? This was it - eight of the ACC teams on the slate finished with a winning record - and it helped build up Clemson's resumé in one of the five greatest national championship seasons of all-time.
The Tigers started out on the road against a good Auburn team, and then had to get by a Troy squad that went 10-3 and pushed Clemson in a 30-24 loss.
There was a 42-36 struggle against Lamar Jackson
and Louisville - at least in the final score -and it took a 24-17 overtime minor miracle to get past NC State. Pitt - led by that
Nathan Peterman
's five touchdown passes - pulled off a thrilling 43-42 win in Death Valley, and all of a sudden, Clemson didn't appear to be ready for the big show.
And then it all kicked in.
Virginia Tech showed up in the ACC Championship, but after the Pitt loss, Clemson came up with three blowouts in the next four games, including a 31-0 stomping of Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Just when it seemed like Alabama was going to win yet another national title, Deshaun Watson
led Clemson on a drive for the ages to pull out a 35-31 win.
Wins (14): at Auburn (19-13), Troy (30-24), South Carolina State (59-0), at Georgia Tech (26-7), Louisville (42-36), at Boston College (56-10), at Florida State (37-34), Syracuse (54-0), at Wake Forest (35-13), South Carolina (56-7), Virginia Tech (42-35, ACC Championship), Ohio State (31-0, Fiesta Bowl), Alabama (35-31, CFP National Championship)
Losses (1): Pitt (43-42)
Quality Wins (11): at Auburn, Troy, at Georgia Tech, Louisville, at Boston College, NC State, at Florida State, at Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Alabama
Elite Wins (3): at Florida State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State
Bad Wins (1): South Carolina State
Points For: 588
Points Against: 270
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9. 2024 Ohio State
Record: 14-2
All-Time Season Score: 31.5250
Key Season Score Element: 6 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Ohio State 41, Oregon 21 (CFP Playoff Quarterfinal/Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Michigan 13, Ohio State 10
In over 150 years of college football, 2024 would've been the only time Ohio State would've found a way to become the national champion. In any other season before the BCS and College Football Playoff, Oregon and Georgia would've been the top two teams. In the ten-team CFP era, the Buckeyes wouldn't have been in the top four.
But in Year One of the expanded 12-team CFP, they proved they really were the best team despite the losses to Oregon and Michigan.
The defeat to the Wolverines might have been devastating at the time, but it was a break. The team didn't have to play a Big Ten Championship, it was rested and ready to roll in the first round CFP game against Tennessee, and it took out the only team in 2024 - Oregon - to finish the season with just one loss.
A thriller over Texas got the Buckeyes into the national championship, and a strong performance against Notre Dame exorcised a whole lot of demons for Ryan Day with the program's first national title since the first CFP National Championship to end 2014.
Wins (14): Akron (52-6), Western Michigan (56-0), Marshall (49-14), at Michigan State (38-7), Iowa (35-7), Nebraska (21-17), at Penn State (20-13), Purdue (45-0), at Northwestern (31-7), Indiana (38-15), Tennessee (42-17) (CFP First Round), Oregon (41-21) CFP Quarterfinal Rose Bowl), Texas (28-14) (CFP Semifinal Cotton Bowl), Notre Dame (34-23) College Football Playoff National Championship)
Losses (2): at Oregon (32-31), Michigan (13-10)
Quality Wins (9): Marshall, Iowa, Nebraska, at Penn State, Indiana, Tennessee, (CFP 1st), Oregon (Rose), Texas (Cotton), Notre Dame (CFP NC)
Elite Wins (6): at Penn State, Indiana, Tennessee, (CFP 1st), Oregon (Rose), Texas (Cotton), Notre Dame (CFP NC)
Bad Wins (1): Purdue
Elite Loss (1): at Oregon
Points For: 571
Points Against: 206
8. 2014 Ohio State
Record: 14-1
All-Time Season Score: 31.6033
Key Season Score Element: 672 points
Best Win: Ohio State 42, Alabama 35 (Sugar Bowl/College Football Playoff)
Worst Game: Virginia Tech 35, at Ohio State 21
And to think, the season was supposedly over after a 35-21 debacle at home against Virginia Tech.
Everything had to go perfectly for Ohio State just to get into the College Football Playoff, and that included TCU not converting on a late fourth down play in a shootout loss to Baylor.
The Buckeye offense kicked it in after the loss to the Hokies - scoring 42 points or more in 11 of the final 13 games - with the 59-0 destruction of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship the final statement to the CFP committee.
Once the Buckeyes got in, they took care of business with a terrific 42-35 win over Ohio State, and a 42-20 win over Heisman winner Marcus Mariota
and Oregon to become the first ever College Football Playoff national champion.
Only three champions (2013 Florida State and 1886 and 1888 Yale) scored more than 2014 Ohio State, and only three (2015 Alabama, and 2016 and 2018 Clemson) had more wins over teams that finished with winning records.
Wins (14): Navy (34-17), Kent State (66-0), Cincinnati (50-28), at Maryland (52-24), Rutgers (56-17), at Penn State (31-24), Illinois (55-14), at Michigan State (49-37), at Minnesota (31-24), Indiana (42-27), Michigan (42-28), Wisconsin (59-0, Big Ten Championship), Alabama (42-35, Sugar Bowl/College Football Playoff), Oregon (42-20, College Football Playoff National Championship)
Losses (1): Virginia Tech (35-21)
Quality Wins (10): Navy, Cincinnati, at Maryland, Rutgers, at Penn State, at Michigan State, at Minnesota, Wisconsin, Alabama, Oregon
Elite Wins (4.5): at Michigan State, Wisconsin, Alabama, Oregon
Bad Wins (1): Kent State
Points For: 672
Points Against: 330
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7. 2022 Georgia
Record: 15-0
All-Time Season Score: 31.77
Key Season Score Element: 4 Elite Wins
Best Win: Georgia 65, TCU 7 (College Football Playoff National Championship)
Worst Game: Georgia 26, Missouri 22
The 2021 Georgia national championship team was far better defensively, the offense did a little more, and ... there was a loss.
The SEC Championship defeat to Alabama put the '21 Dawgs down a few pegs, but the 2022 version came roaring back with an unbeaten season including the biggest blowout in the history of bowl games - at 65-7 win over TCU.
There was a little bit of drama in the late comeback to beat Missouri 26-22, but that was it until a jacked up Ohio State gave the Dawgs everything they could handle.
An epic late scoring drive led by QB Stetson Bennett
- and saved by a missed last second kick from the Buckeyes - pulled the CFP Semifinal out of the fire, and then it became fun-time. Georgia roared with a win over a brutally overmatched TCU for a second straight national championship and the first unbeaten or untied one since 1980.
The only reason the 2022 team isn't higher is the lack of Quality Wins - wins over teams that finished with a winning record. There were just two until November, and then it all kicked in with six in the final seven.
Wins (15): Oregon (49-3), Samford (33-0), at South Carolina (48-7), Kent State (39-22), Missouri (26-22), Auburn (42-10), Vanderbilt (55-0), Florida (42-20), Tennessee (11-2), at Mississippi State (45-19), at Kentucky (16-6), Georgia Tech (37-14), LSU (50-30, SEC Championship), Ohio State (42-41, CFP, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), TCU (65-7, CFP National Championship)
Losses (0): None
Quality Wins (8): Oregon, at South Carolina Tennessee, at Mississippi State, Kentucky, LSU (SEC Championship), Ohio State (CFP Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), TCU (CFP National Championship)
Elite Wins (4): Oregon, Tennessee, Ohio State (CFP Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), TCU (CFP National Championship)
Bad Wins (1): Samford
Points For: 616
Points Against: 214
6. 2023 Michigan
Record: 15-0
All-Time Season Score: 32.3200
Key Season Score Element: 156 points allowed
Best Win: Washington 34-13 (CFP National Championship)
Worst Game: Michigan 31, Maryland 24
Methodical.
Through a suspension of Jim Harbaugh to start the season, and a suspension of Jim Harbaugh at the end of the regular season, and a whopper of a controversy that took over the second half of the campaign, Michigan never flinched.
It worked its way though a shockingly easy first nine games, had a shockingly easy time beating Penn State, and then worked through the adversity - and tough games Maryland, Ohio State, and in the Big Ten Championship over Iowa - by being ...
Methodical.
Great line play, minimal mistakes, fantastic tackling, it all worked in playoff wins over Alabama and Washington for the national title. It wasn't flashy, it was ...
Wins (15): East Carolina (30-3), UNLV (35-7), Bowling Green (31-6), Rutgers (31-7), at Nebraska (45-7), at Minnesota (52-10), Indiana (52-7), at Michigan State (49-0), Purdue (41-13), at Penn State (24-15), at Maryland (31-24), Ohio State (30-24), Iowa (26-0, Big Ten Championship), Alabama (27-20, Rose Bowl/College Football Playoff), Washington (34-13, College Football Playoff National Championship)
Losses (0): None
Quality Wins (9): UNLV, Bowling Green, Rutgers, at Penn State, at Maryland, Ohio State, Iowa, Alabama, Washington
Elite Wins (4): at Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Washington
Bad Wins (2): East Carolina, Indiana
Points For: 538
Points Against: 156
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5. 2015 Alabama
Record: 14-1
All-Time Season Score: 32.4233
Key Season Score Element: 12 Quality Wins
Best Win: Alabama 45, Clemson 40 (College Football Playoff National Championship)
Worst Game: Ole Miss 43, at Alabama 37
Ole Miss 42, Alabama 37.
That wild and crazy shootout with a whole lot of strange bounces, twists and turns went the wrong way for the Crimson Tide in the SEC opener. Had they won and gone on to win the rest of their games, they would've had the greatest season in the history of college football.
Instead, Bama finished in the top three thanks to 12 Quality Wins - victories over teams that finished with winning records - the most by any national champion.
There were two easy games, but again, 12 of the 15 games were against teams that at least ended up going bowling, and one of the other battles was that loss to the Ole Miss team that finished 10-3.
Wins (14): Wisconsin (35-17, in Arlington), Middle Tennessee (37-10), ULM (34-0), at Georgia (38-10), Arkansas (27-14), at Texas A&M (41-23), Tennessee (19-14), LSU (30-16), at Mississippi State (31-6), Charleston Southern (56-6), at Auburn (29-13), Florida (29-15, SEC Championship), Michigan State (38-0, CFP Cotton Bowl), Clemson (45-40, CFP Championship)
Losses (1): Ole Miss (43-37)
Quality Wins (12): Wisconsin, Middle Tennessee, at Georgia, Arkansas, at Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU, at Mississippi State, at Auburn, Florida (SEC Championship), Michigan State (CFP Cotton Bowl), Clemson (CFP National Championship)
Elite Wins (4): Wisconsin, at Georgia, Michigan State (CFP Cotton Bowl), Clemson (CFP National Championship)
Bad Wins (2): ULM, Charleston Southern
Points For: 526
Points Against: 227
4. 2018 Clemson
Record: 15-0
All-Time Season Score: 33.1700
Key Season Score Element: 467 point differential
Best Win: Clemson 44, Alabama 16 (CFP Championship)
Worst Game: Clemson 27, Syracuse 23
The 15-0 Tigers were pushed hard by Texas A&M in a 28-26 thriller in College Station, and survived a scary 27-23 battle with Syracuse.
But that was about it. There wasn't a lick of drama over the last ten games, closing out with an epic finishing kick.
Clemson rolled past Pitt in the ACC Championship, an unbeaten Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl part of the College Football Playoff semifinals, and a seemingly all-timer of an Alabama squad in the CFP national championship by a combined score of 116-29.
This was the proverbial team that got better as the season went on. That's not supposed to happen in a 15-win season.
Wins (15): Furman (48-7), at Texas A&M (28-26), Georgia Southern (38-7), at Georgia Tech (49-21), Syracuse (27-23), at Wake Forest (63-3), NC State (41-7), at Florida State (59-10), Louisville (77-16), at Boston College (27-7), Duke (35-6), South Carolina (56-35), Pitt (42-10, ACC Championship), Notre Dame (30-3, Cotton Bowl/College Football Playoff), Alabama (44-16, CFP National Championship)
Losses (0): None
Quality Wins (11): at Texas A&M, Georgia Southern, at Georgia Tech, Syracuse, at Wake Forest, NC State, at Boston College, Duke, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Alabama
Elite Wins (2): Notre Dame, Alabama
Bad Wins (2): Furman, Louisville
Points For: 664
Points Against: 197
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3. 1894 Yale
Record: 16-0
All-Time Season Score: 33.7200
Key Season Score Element: 16 wins
Best Win: Yale 12, Harvard 4
Worst Game: Yale, 10, Crescent Athletic Club 0
Wins, wins, wins, wins, wins.
College football might be night-and-day different now from what it was back in the 1800s, but the 1894 Yale team still managed to have one of the best seasons by any national champion in the history of the sport. And why? 16 wins beating opponents by a combined score of 485-13.
There were a whole slew of Bad Wins against athletic clubs, but the nine Quality Wins helped make up for it in the overall score. The more games against good teams, the more chances for a loss, and the more chances for something to go wrong.
Other teams in history played 16 games or more - the 1889 Yale team played 17 - but no one ever pulled off a season this strong ... at least for the era.
Wins (16): at Trinity (42-0), Brown (28-0), Crescent Athletic Club (10-0), Williams (23-4), Lehigh (34-0), Dartmouth (34-0), Orange Athletic Club (24-0), Boston Athletic Club (24-0), at Army (12-5), Volunteer Athletic Club (42-0), at Brown (12-0), Tufts (67-0), Lehigh (50-0), Chicago Athletic Club (48-0), Harvard (12-0), Princeton (24-0)
Losses (0): None
Quality Wins (9): at Trinity, Brown, Williams, Dartmouth, at Army, at Brown, Tufts, Harvard, Princeton
Elite Wins (4.5): at Trinity, at Army, Harvard, Princeton
Bad Wins (6): Crescent Athletic Club, Orange Athletic Club, Boston Athletic Club, Volunteer Athletic Club, Chicago Athletic Club
Points For: 485
Points Against: 13
2. 2019 LSU
Record:15-0
All-Time Season Score: 34.7300
Key Season Score Element: 726 points
Best Win: LSU 42, Clemson 25 (CFP National Championship)
Worst Game: LSU 23, Auburn 20
Some national champions played tougher games, but no one ever did it this way with the flair, the scoring, and all against SO many amazing teams.
The 2019 LSU team beat the four preseason top four-ranked teams, and it rolled through big game after big game against one of the toughest schedules of all-time.
At Texas? Got it. At Alabama? Survive and advance. LSU beat Sugar Bowl champion Georgia, Big 12 champion Oklahoma, and ACC and Peach Bowl winner Clemson all away from Baton Rouge.
But that wasn't enough.
The Tigers beat Orange Bowl champion Florida. They beat Auburn and Texas A&M, too.
The 15 wins tied 2018 Clemson - welcome to the College Football Playoff era - and were only one behind 1894 Yale. The 726 points were the most scored by any national champion in the history of college football, and again, they came against a schedule that was next-level brutal.
By the way, this ranking isn't just a function of the day and age - had Clemson won the 2019 national championship, it would've finished just inside the top ten.
It all worked out for the SEC Tigers - 2019 LSU had one of the greatest seasons of all-time.
Wins (15): Georgia Southern (55-3), at Texas (45-38), Northwestern State (65-14), at Vanderbilt (66-38), Utah State (42-6), Florida (42-28), at Mississippi State (36-13), Auburn (23-20). at Alabama (46-41), at Ole Miss (58-37), Arkansas (56-20), Texas A&M (50-7), Georgia (37-10, SEC Championship), Oklahoma (63-28, CFP Playoff/Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), Clemson (42-25, CFP National Championship)
Losses (0): None
Quality Wins (10): Georgia Southern, at Texas, Utah State, Florida, Auburn, at Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson
Elite Wins (5.5): Florida, at Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson
Bad Wins (3): Northwestern State, at Vanderbilt, Arkansas
Points For: 726
Points Against: 328
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1. 2025 Indiana
Record:16-0
All-Time Season Score: 34.7300
Key Season Score Element: 16 wins
Best Win: Indiana 27, Miami 21 (CFP National Championship)
Worst Game: Indiana 27, Penn State 24
Easily the most improbable college football story of all-time, not only did Indiana go from nothing to national champion in two years under Curt Cignetti, but it became the first team since 1894 Yale to go 16-0.
No, it didn't have the explosion and talent of 2019 LSU, and certainly several other CFP National Champions were more talented, but ... 16-0. Not one slip, not one blip, not one wrong move as the only unbeaten team going into the CFP, and the only unbeaten team at the end.
The schedule wasn't anything amazing early - no non-conference games against Power Four programs - and even with a win at Oregon and a blowout against Illinois, there were still plenty of naysayers. And why?
It took too much work to get by Iowa and Penn State. But that all went away with a Big Ten Championship win over Ohio State, a Rose Bowl domination of Alabama, a blowout over Oregon, and a thriller of a national championship win over Miami.
Indiana won 16 games. That will probably happen again, but there will never be another story like 2025 Indiana.
Wins (16): Old Dominion (27-14), Kennesaw State (56-9), Indiana State (73-0), Illinois (63-10), at Iowa (20-15), at Oregon (30-20), Michigan State (38-13), UCLA (56-6), at Maryland (55-10), at Penn State (27-24), Wisconsin (31-7), at Purdue (56-3), Ohio State (13-10, Big Ten Championship), Alabama (38-3, CFP/Rose Bowl), Oregon 56-22, CFP/Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), Miami (27-21, CFP National Championship)
Losses (0): None
Quality Wins (10): Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, Illinois, at Iowa, at Oregon, at Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, Miami
Elite Wins (4.5): at Oregon, Ohio State, Oregon, Miami
Bad Wins (3): Indiana State, UCLA, at Purdue
Points For: 666
Points Against: 187
- CFN Season Historical Formula
This story was originally published by College Football News on Jan 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
