What are the top 25 college football programs? Ohio State, Alabama lead rankings
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College football changes fast in the era of the transfer portal. If you blink, the dominant teams of the current era can become afterthoughts. And those that were in the cellar can rise to the elite. That’s why ranking the best programs in the sport needs to be done each offseason. Our list of the top 25 has been shuffled significantly after the 2025 campaign.
Indiana would not have have been part of the conversation two years ago. Last year, they were ascending. Now the Hoosiers are national champions and make the list. Brigham Young, Mississippi and SMU are among the other programs on the rise. On the downside, Clemson and Nebraska are among the teams falling back in the rankings. Wisconsin and have completely fallen out.
So how does our list stack up? Without further ado, here’s our best 25 as voted on by the experts at USA TODAY Sports:
1. Ohio State
We are witnessing one of the greatest runs in college football in Columbus. The Buckeyes are 165-21 since 2012. In 2024, Ryan Day became the program’s third full-time coach in a row to win a national championship. What else is there to say? Ohio State has won at least 10 games of every full season but one since 2005. It is simply the Bowl Subdivision gold standard and the envy of every program in the country in and out of the Big Ten.
2. Alabama
Alabama football is more than a program, and it’s bigger than an international brand. It’s a way of life. The Script A represents tradition and excellence. Alabama fans are plugged in year-round to their favorite sport, and expectations rarely dip. There are also the national championships – 13 among the two major wire services. And the debate over who is the sports greatest coach comes down to Nick Saban or Bear Bryant. Either way, it’s an Alabama coach.
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3. Georgia
The Bulldogs are rising the charts with a bullet as Kirby Smart has made them look like a blue blood without the long extended success of being a national power that others have had. There were glory days when Herschel Walker and Vince Dooley supplied the previous peak in the early 1980s. But now is the best time to be a Georgia fan and success doesn’t seem to be slowing down as long as Smart is in charge.
4. Notre Dame
You can tell the history of college football without a major chapter involving the Fighting Irish. From Rockne to Leahy to Parseghian and Holtz, there have been some of the memorable teams and moments in the sport. There was a dip at the start of the century but Brian Kelly and now Marcus Freeman back where Notre Dame fans expect to be: fighting for a national championship.
5. Texas
Texas has the natural resource of high school talent and a deep war chest that is needed in the NIL era. They’re a traditional power that emerged from an inexcusable, prolonged slumber in between Mack Brown and Steve Sarkisian. Texas enjoyed its heyday in the Southwest Conference under Darrell Royal, but the Longhorns also showed their horns during the Brown era. They belong among the heavy hitters.
6. LSU
LSU is the only program to have three coaches win a national championship in this millennium. Lane Kiffin could become the fourth. Money poured in to fund his roster. LSU’s standards are such that Brian Kelly got fired after winning 71% of his games. In-state talent gravitates to LSU, but the Tigers also built a national brand, and a night game at Tiger Stadium is a college football mecca.
7. Michigan
One of the more consistent programs in the country, the Wolverines also stand out due to their renown stadium and unique helmets. The one blemish on the resume was the ability to break through with a national title this century. They experienced that with Jim Harbaugh in 2023, restoring their place among the elite, though detractors might point to the NCAA violations that occurred during that season.
8. Oklahoma
The crimson and cream have blue blood. Among SEC schools, Oklahoma trails only Alabama for all-time winning percentage. Double-digit win seasons remain the standard, although the 2000 Sooners remain OU’s last national champion. Oklahoma ruled the 1950s under Bud Wilkinson, then ran back their dominance with Barry Switzer’s wishbone in the 1970s and 80s. Seven Heisman winners point to the program’s star power.
9. Miami (Fla.)
Curiously, conference membership hasn’t been quite as much of a boon for the Hurricanes, whose five national championships predate their ACC tenure. That might be about to change given the program’s recent resurgence, and there’s no disputing Miami is a nationally known brand, though that is in part due to its reputation for circumventing the rules on and off the field.
10. Southern California
The dominant power in the Pac-12 through the Pete Carroll tenure, the results haven’t been there for USC since NCAA violations hammered the program. It still hasn’t made the College Football playoff, and the transition to the Big Ten hasn’t been smooth. Things may be looking up after a nine-win 2025 season and the arrival of one of the nation’s top-ranked signing classes. Still, they have several rungs to climb before reaching the top of the Big Ten.
11. Oregon
Probably the best program in the Bowl Subdivision without a national championship to its name, Oregon played for a pair during the Bowl Championship Series era and then advanced to last year’s semifinals before losing to Indiana. Not a traditional power, the Ducks have 16 seasons of at least 10 wins since 2000 and are 46-8 under coach Dan Lanning. The move to the Big Ten led to an unbeaten run to the conference title in their first year and an 8-1 record in 2025.
12. Penn State
Joe Paterno is the symbol of this program as the winningest coach in major college football with 409 victories and also two national titles. The program also defined by its blue and white uniforms was in crisis after NCAA sanctions related to the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Bill O’Brien set the foundation and James Franklin did the heavy lifting to get the Nittany Lions back into the elite of college football. After failing to land a title under Franklin, Penn State will reset under Matt Campbell.
13. Clemson
To paraphrase a mantra from another league, football just means more at Clemson among the ACC’s founders. The Tigers’ return to national prominence in the 2010s with two national titles under Dabo Swinney is just a small part of the program’s rich legacy that includes 24 conference titles and nearly 800 wins. A downturn in the past three years has seen Clemson slip from its position near the top.
14. Florida
Few individuals mean more to a program than what Steve Spurrier means to Florida. He revolutionized the Gators from an also-ran into one of the premier programs of the 1990s. The Head Ball Coach branded The Swamp and gave the Gators an identity. They became SEC championship game regulars. Urban Meyer injected more glory with two titles. Florida lacks the consistency and history of some higher-ranked programs, but its peaks are just as lofty.
15. Texas A&M
Trivia question: When did Texas A&M last win a national championship? Answer: 1939. The Aggies possess the financial resources, fan support and recruiting location to be top shelf, but greatness stubbornly eludes them. They have just two 10-win seasons and four finishes in the final US LBM Coaches Poll this century. R.C. Slocum’s Aggies ruled the Southwest Conference in the early 1990s. Is it time for a fresh set of glory days? Mike Elko’s early returns suggest it’s safe for the Aggies to dream of ascending to their potential.
16. Tennessee
Few states can match Tennessee’s unrelenting vigor for college football. Gen. Robert Neyland put the Vols on the map and got his name on the stadium. Johnny Majors earned a place of adoration. Phillip Fulmer’s Vols flourished in the 1990s with a national title coming in 1998. Since Fulmer, Tennessee’s ravenous fans infrequently had a chance to experience title contention. Josh Heupel has helped the program recapture respectability but there’s still work to back to the elite..
17. Indiana
Last year’s unbeaten record and out-of-nowhere national title puts Indiana in rarefied air. This is a program that had two bowl appearances before the Bill Mallory era of the late 1980s and early 1990s established credibility. The bottom fell out before success under Tom Allen in 2019 and 2020 preceded Curt Cignetti’s arrival that has supercharged the program. Even with their lack of long-term history, the Hoosiers have 27 wins in two seasons and looks poised for another playoff run.
18. Florida State
FSU does not have the century-plus history of other schools in the region, having a football program that only dates to 1954. But legendary coach Bobby Bowden built the program into a household name, and the Seminoles arriving in the ACC proved mutually beneficial to both institution and conference, elevating the league’s profile in the sport while keeping FSU was one of the leaders in the national conversation. Success has been difficult to grasp after Jimbo Fisher’s departure, but the program still has the cachet needed to be national contenders.
19. Brigham Young
It’s been a wild ride for the Cougars since their days in the Western Athletic Conference under LaVell Edwards. There were the quarterback of the 1980s and 90s, including Steve Young, Jim McMahon and Ty Detmer, and a national title in 1984. The program joined the Mountain West and then became an independent. The high point was four seasons of 43 combined wins under Bronco Mendenhall from 2006-09. Kelani Sitake’s arrival and move to the Big 12 has pushed the Cougars back into the national conversation as a playoff contender the past two seasons.
20. Nebraska
With the possible exception of 2009, when poor quarterback play offset one of the top defenses in program history, Nebraska hasn’t been a national factor in well over 20 years. A school that won three titles in four years in the 1990s and was a lock to make a bowl game for more than three decades didn’t make the postseason for seven consecutive seasons. There’s been recent progress with two bowl berths in a row even if noted turnaround artist Matt Rhule has yet to win more than seven games.
21. Auburn
These are dark days for Auburn. The Tigers endured five consecutive losing seasons, their bleakest period since the late 1940s. Auburn’s loyal fan base deserves better. Recent woes aside, this accomplished program achieved undefeated seasons under three coaches since the 1990s and won a national title in 2010. From Pat Sullivan to Bo Jackson to Cam Newton, Auburn produced decorated stars. Now, it just needs to pull out of this funk.
22. Washington
The Huskies emerged as one of the top programs in the 1980s and 90s under Don James and won a national championship in 1991. In recent times, Chris Petersen took Washington to the playoff and Kalen DeBoer had them in the national title game in 2023. The Huskies have made a bowl in every non-COVID season but one since 2010 and posted double-digit wins five times.
23. Iowa
Iowa has been a model of consistency dating to the end of the Hayden Fry era. When a then-44-year-old Kirk Ferentz replaced a retiring Fry, the Hawkeyes found greater success. They have just one losing season since 2006 and qualified for bowl games in the last 24 of his 25 seasons. The current run is the best of the Ferentz era: Iowa has won at least seven games in every year since 2013 and has played for two Big Ten crowns since 2021.
24. Mississippi
Those old enough to witness Johnny Vaught remember Ole Miss as a powerhouse. from the 1950 and 60s. Those who watched Archie Manning remember the Rebels with a superstar and his son Eli being a star. But there were also NCAA troubles and lean years that the program from returning winning the SEC. Lane Kiffin’s arrival changed the trajectory of the program, and last year the Rebels reached the semifinals. Now the challenge is continuing the momentum with Kiffin gone to LSU.
25. SMU
The Mustangs have returned to national prominence after their move the ACC. There’s a wild west vibe to the school’s football history, with marquee names like Doak Walker and Eric Dickerson weighed against the infamy of the NCAA death penalty. The program has made it all the way back in the 40 years since, making the College Football Playoff in 2024 and contending for the conference title the following season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What are the top 25 college football programs? Ohio State, Alabama lead rankings
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