Top Two-Loss Team in College Football: Illinois, Notre Dame or Tennessee?

The Illini, Fighting Irish and Volunteers are much better than their records may imply – but which of them is best?

Oct 4, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman adjusts his radio against the Boise State Broncos at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Through Week 8, there have been a handful of clear college football powerhouses, along with a few very good squads with a couple of blemishes to their names – but may still be built to succeed down the stretch, and are certainly College Football Playoff-worthy.

With that in mind, let's do a deep dive on three of the best two-loss teams in the country – and rank them accordingly.

Ranking the best two-loss teams in college football 

Illinois

Oct 4, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema watches warm ups before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Key wins: at Duke (45-19) and vs. USC (34-32)
Losses: at Indiana (63-10) and vs. Ohio State (34-16)

At a glance, Illinois’ resume looks spectacular for a two-loss team. A win at Duke, along with a victory over USC at home, with both losses having come against the nation’s current top two squads in No. 2 Indiana and No. 1 Ohio State.

Unfortunately, that face-plant against the Hoosiers can’t just be chalked up as a tough road loss against perhaps the best team in the country. Instead, it was a lopsided 53-point massacre that will tarnish the Illini’s resume for the remainder of the season. Bret Bielema’s club was anything but competitive in that Week 4 outing – and no one is going to forget that.

On the flip side, Illinois looked quite competitive against Ohio State three weeks later. Even with three turnovers (essentially four if we include punter Keelan Crimmins’ knee-down debacle), the Illini managed to stay within striking distance behind a quietly exceptional offensive performance and a solid showing on defense.

Luke Altmyer got creative with this pass 👀

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/3mpxtontrO

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 11, 2025

Somehow, despite failing to bring their A-game, Bielema’s squad may have been somewhat outmatched but were never overwhelmed by the Buckeyes. Although that Ohio State game showed the country Illinois can, in fact, play with the big boys, it didn't come close to negating the Indiana showing.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates after the defense scored a safety in the second half of a NCAA football game against NC State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Key wins: at Arkansas (56-13) and vs. USC (34-24)
Losses: at Miami (27-24) and vs. Texas A&M (41-40)

Notre Dame, like Illinois, has dropped games only to top-notch squads: Miami and Texas A&M. But what truly sets Marcus Freeman’s team apart – especially from Illinois – is how competitive it played in those two outings, losing the pair by a combined four points.

Quarterback CJ Carr continues to come into his own – although he still will make the occasional head-scratching play, such as Saturday’s red-zone interception against USC – and has turned this Notre Dame offense into a truly explosive unit.

Especially after the proof they provided in Week 8, running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are indisputably the best running back combo in the nation – and Notre Dame's dominant offensive line paving the way certainly makes life even easier for them.

JEREMIYAH LOVE DOING JEREMIYAH LOVE THINGS 🫶#GoIrish☘️ | @JeremiyahLove pic.twitter.com/GcKpSbIZHD

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 18, 2025

Defensively, the Fighting Irish have found their footing in the past few weeks after struggling early. Christian Gray and Leonard Moore remain a premier one-two punch in the secondary, while the rest of the unit is slowly coming around.

Tennessee

Oct 18, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel looks on in the second quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images | David Leong-Imagn Images

Key wins: at Mississippi State (41-34) and vs. Arkansas (34-31)
Losses: vs. Georgia (44-41) and at Alabama (37-20)

For the final squad in this discussion, we go to the SEC. Tennessee’s best showing of the year came against Georgia – an outing the Volunteers lost 44-41 in overtime at Neyland Stadium. Quarterback Joey Aguilar was tremendous, throwing for 371 yards and four scores (albeit with two interceptions).

Against Alabama, Tennessee stuck around in the first half, and even seemed poised to enter the break with some momentum. But the Vols essentially found themselves out of the game following a 99-yard interception return from Bama as time expired in the second quarter, leaving them in a 23-7 hole.

In their pair of SEC wins, the Volunteers haven’t exactly won anyone over, needing overtime to sneak past Mississippi State – which has lost 15 straight conference games – and barely escaping Arkansas (also winless in SEC play) in Knoxville. (Worth a mention: Both Mississippi State and Arkansas have been surprisingly competitive all season.)

Joey Aguilar ties it up vs. Alabama 👀

Watch now on ABC and the ESPN App: https://t.co/Nz7AG4DFyf pic.twitter.com/CEnc0zlxNb

— ESPN (@espn) October 19, 2025

Offense isn’t a problem for Tennessee, but building any level of consistency on defense remains a concern moving forward.

Two-loss power rankings: