FBS all-time winningest college football programs: Ohio State, Notre Dame add to totals in CFP semifinals

Ohio State and Notre Dame have added to their already gaudy totals

By Austin Nivison

Jan 11, 2025 at 12:18 pm ET • 1 min read

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The College Football Playoff semifinals are over, and the national championship matchup is set. Either Ohio State or Notre Dame, two of the most successful programs in college football history, will add another massive win to its already impressive total.

Ohio State notched its 977th all-time win on Friday night when it ground out a 28-14 win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns were knocking on the door of a game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter when Buckeyes linebacker Jack Sawyer ran his own strip sack back 83 yards for a touchdown. That sealed a 28-14 win and a national title berth for Ohio State.

Now, the Buckeyes sit 35 wins behind rival Michigan, which has the most wins in college football history with 1,012. Ohio State can get one win closer if it can get past Notre Dame and win the national championship on Jan. 20.

One night prior to Ohio State's win, Notre Dame and Penn State 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.

When it comes to the national championship matchup between the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish, those two storied programs have met eight times before. Notre Dame won the first two meetings, in 1935 and 1936, but Ohio State has won six in a row. The most recent matchup was in 2023, when the Buckeyes went to South Bend and scored the game-winning touchdown with one second remaining in a 17-14 victory.

Before either Notre Dame or Ohio State add another win and championship to its all-time resume, here are the current top 10 winningest FBS programs in college football history.