FBS Rankings based on 2001-2025 seasons

What happens when 25 years of college football are treated as one enormous season? I combined every result from the 2001 through 2025 seasons, and ran all 95,261 games through my power-rating system.

The result is a ranking of the 138 schools classified as FBS for the 2026 season. Ohio State finishes first, edging out Alabama, who led all FBS schools with 6 national championships. Georgia, Oklahoma, and LSU complete the top five.

How the rankings were calculated

My power-rating system evaluates scoring performance and opponent strength across the entire schedule network. Large winning margins receive diminishing weight, which limits the benefit of running up the score. The ratings are recalculated repeatedly until the network stabilizes.

Only current FBS schools appear in the table, but games against teams from other divisions remain part of the calculation. The records, points scored, and points allowed cover all games in the combined 2001–2025 data.

National championships during the 25 seasons

FBS championships

Thirteen current FBS schools won at least one FBS national championship during this period. Alabama leads with six, while Ohio State and LSU each won three.

These totals follow the NCAA.com championship history. That history recognizes both LSU and Southern California for the split 2003 championship, so the table contains 26 championships across the 25 seasons.

FCS championships won by current FBS schools

Six current FBS programs also won national championships while competing in the FCS during this period. North Dakota State accounts for 10 of the 18 titles, including five consecutive championships from 2011 through 2015. App State won three straight from 2005 through 2007, and James Madison won twice.

These totals follow the NCAA FCS championship history and use the season labels shown by the NCAA.

Do the championships match the rankings?

For FBS championships, the answer is yes. Twelve of the 13 champions rank in the top 23, and 10 rank in the top 15. Every school with multiple championships is in or immediately around the top 10. Alabama won the most titles and ranks second overall, while No. 1 Ohio State won three. Georgia, LSU, Southern California, Clemson, and Florida also combine multiple championships with top-11 ratings.

The notable outliers are Auburn at No. 15, Florida State at No. 18, Miami at No. 23, and especially Indiana at No. 60. Each won one championship during the period without matching the sustained performance of the programs clustered near the top of the rankings. Indiana is by far the biggest exception: its 2025 championship sits alongside a 125-170 record across the full period. The rating measures all 25 seasons, so that extraordinary title run is outweighed by many years of weaker results.

The reverse comparison also makes sense. Oklahoma ranks fourth, Oregon sixth, Notre Dame 12th, and Penn State 13th without an FBS championship during the period. A championship is a single-season achievement, while these rankings reward sustained performance across 25 seasons. Strong programs can therefore rank highly without completing a title run.

FCS championships need a separate interpretation. North Dakota State’s 10 titles make it look like another outlier beside its No. 69 overall ranking, but those championships were won against the FCS playoff field. The overall ratings connect FBS and FCS teams through their games against common opponents, so an FCS dynasty is not automatically rated like an elite FBS program. The same distinction applies to App State, James Madison, Delaware, Sam Houston, and Western Kentucky.

Complete FBS rankings