The College Football Playoff semifinals feature four of the winningest programs in college football history. Notre Dame has already added to its total with an Orange Bowl win over Penn State. On Friday night, Ohio State and Texas will have the same opportunity in the Cotton Bowl.
On Thursday night, Penn State and Notre Dame produced a thriller in the first semifinal game. The Irish came back from a 10-0 deficit and a 24-17 deficit to win the game, 27-24, on a late field goal by Mitch Jeter. With that win, the Fighting Irish not only advanced to the national championship but also picked up their 962nd all-time win. That broke a fourth-place tie with Texas, which gets a chance to even up on Friday.
The Nittany Lions will remain at 943 wins until next season, which is good enough for seventh place all-time.
Ohio State has 976 wins throughout its history, and a win over Texas will push them closer to rival Michigan at the top of the list. The Buckeyes currently trail the Wolverines by 36 wins.
In terms of the semifinal matchups, these teams have scored at least one win against each other. Notre Dame's win over Penn State broke a tie in the all-time series, with the Irish now owning a 10-9-1 edge over the Nittany Lions.
Texas and Ohio State have only met three times previously, but all of them have come since 2005. The most recent clash between these two iconic programs was in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. Mack Brown's Longhorns came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Jim Tressel's Buckeyes 24-21.
Before Ohio State and Texas attempt to boost their gaudy all-time win totals, here are top 10 winningest FBS programs going into the second College Football Playoff Semifinal matchup.
FBS all-time winningest programs
1. Michigan | 1,012 wins
2. Ohio State | 976 wins
3. Alabama | 974 wins
4. Notre Dame | 962 wins
5. Texas | 961 wins
6. Oklahoma | 950 wins
7. Penn State | 943 wins
8. Nebraska | 924 wins
9. Georgia | 892 wins
10. USC | 882 wins
