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Ranking College Football's 10 Best Teams All-Time

These are the schools that have dominated college football history, past and present
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The more than 150 year history of college football has produced its share of genius and accomplishment, with a few schools sticking out from the pack right away. And while it's hard to stay on top of your game for that long, some schools have almost gone the distance, with most starting dynasties in the last century.

How can you calculate which are the most successful programs? Winsipedia set out to answer that question, creating an "Unweighted Average Ranking" of all 131 schools, taking the following accomplishments into account.

  • Winning percentage
  • National championships
  • Conference championships
  • Bowl games
  • Total wins
  • Bowl record
  • All-Americans
  • Heisman Trophy winners
  • NFL Draft picks
  • First-round draft picks
  • Weeks at No. 1 in AP poll
  • Total AP Top 25 appearances

What college football programs are the most successful all-time? Let's find out by taking the average of the 10 best when considering those categories.

10. LSU

Joe Burrow started his college football career at Ohio State before a momentous transfer to LSU that made history.

LSU ranks 14th all-time with a .654 total win percentage, is 6th nationally with three Heisman Trophy winners, 8th with 375 total NFL Draft selections, and 9th in first-round NFL Draft picks all-time.

9. Nebraska

Scott Frost transferred from Stanford to Nebraska and finished one of college football's greatest quarterbacks.

Nebraska ranks second all-time with 46 conference championships, is 10th among all college football teams with a .678 total win percentage,, 6th with three Heisman Trophy winners, and is 8th all-time with 730 total weeks in the AP top 25 rankings.

8. Georgia

Georgia Bulldogs coach Vince Dooley standing on the sideline during a college football game in the SEC.

The last three seasons have helped build Georgia's all-time reputation. Already one of college football's more accomplished programs, the Bulldogs are 10th with 371 NFL Draft selections, rank 9th all-time with 881 total wins, and are top-15 among schools with a .666 total win percentage.

7. Texas

Texas Longhorns running back Earl Campbell on a rushing attempt during a college football game.

Texas ranks 5th all-time among college football programs with 948 total wins and 7th with a .702 total win percentage, while posting 7th best numbers in both consensus All-Americans (63) and weeks in the AP top 25 rankings (773).

6. Michigan

Michigan Wolverines quarterback and 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady during a college football game.

No college football program has won more games than Michigan in the more than 150 years of the sport, as the Wolverines were the first to surpass 1,000 total wins this past season, its national championship run. UM is 3rd with 88 All-Americans, 2nd with 919 weeks in the AP poll, 5th with 501 NFL Draft picks, and 2nd in both win percentage (.734) and claimed titles (12).

5. Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Joe Montana attempts a pass during a college football game.

The Golden Domers rank 1st among all college football teams with 109 All-Americans, 7 Heisman Trophy winners, and 525 all-time NFL Draft selections. They're 4th with 873 weeks in the AP poll, 4th with a .730 win percentage, 4th with 948 all-time victories, and 3rd with 11 claimed national championships.

4. Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach and College Football Hall of Famer Woody Hayes kneels on the field at Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State leads all college football teams in three key categories: total win percentage, Heisman Trophy winners, and weeks in the AP poll (982). And the Buckeyes are 2nd with 93 consensus All-Americans, 3rd with 485 NFL Draft picks, 3rd with 964 total victories, and 6th with 8 claimed national titles.

3. Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners legend Baker Mayfield started his college football career at Texas Tech before a landmark transfer.

OU is also 1st all-time with 7 Heisman Trophy winners in addition to a record 50 conference championships, while posting the 3rd most weeks in the AP poll (898), and 4th most NFL Draft selections (414), and is 5th in win percentage and 6th in all-time wins and All-Americans.

2. USC

USC Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart won the Heisman Trophy by leading college football's first dynasty in the 21st century.

USC ranks 6th all-time with 813 weeks in the AP top 25 rankings, is 2nd among all schools with 524 NFL Draft picks, ranks 8th nationally with a .695 win percentage, and is 3rd with 11 claimed national titles.

1. Alabama

Nick Saban has led Alabama to domination in the Top 25 college football rankings and the national championship race.

The kings of college football thanks to a pair of historic dynasties led by Bear Bryant and then Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide are 1st all-time with 18 national championships, 3rd with a .733 win percentage, 2nd with 965 total wins, 4th with 86 consensus All-Americans, 5th with 401 NFL Draft picks, and 4th with 873 weeks in the AP poll. Bama is also 1st with 46 all-time first-round NFL Draft selections.

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