Most consecutive NCAA football wins over one opponent explained

The following is a list of the all-time leading NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) college football single-opponent winning streaks. Streaks are ranked by the number of consecutive wins posted by one team against a regular opponent. All streaks active and historical streaks of at least 20 games are included.

This list excludes rivalries involving current Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools, and thus excludes the all-time NCAA record for most consecutive wins by one rival over another: Yale (now an FCS team) beat Wesleyan University (Connecticut) (now a Division III team) 46 times in a row between 1875 and 1913. The two teams have not played each other since that 1913 game (which Yale won at home, 21-0).

The FCS record for most consecutive wins by one team over another in an uninterrupted series is 32 victories in a row by Grambling over Prairie View between 1977 and 2009; this streak includes the 1990 season, when Prairie View's team went into recess due to a lack of players and financial problems. That streak began when Grambling was in the old Division I and Prairie View was in Division II.

Additionally, there are two series that involve multiple winning streaks of 20+ games. Oklahoma defeated Kansas State in 32 consecutive games from 1937 to 1968, then the Sooners won 22 in a row over the Wildcats from 1971 to 1992.[1] [2] Ohio State also owns multiple 20+ game winning streaks over Indiana, winning 23 in a row from 1960 to 1986 and currently hold a 28-game winning streak over the Hoosiers from 1991 to the present day.[3] [4]

Most consecutive wins over an opponent
School Opponent Consecutive wins Year started Last win Uninterrupted series? Notes/References
Navy4319642006YesNavy won in 2007[5] [6]
Kansas36 19692004YesKU won in 2005[7]
Rutgers3318691937No (68-year period)
Kansas State3219371968Yes
Temple3119522014No (63-year period)Penn State had a 39-game unbeaten streak against Temple dating back to 1941; the teams played to a tie in 1950. Temple broke the streak in 2015.
Kentucky3119872017YesLongest in-conference streak in Southeastern Conference history. Kentucky snapped the streak in 2018.
Kansas State29 19691997Yes
Virginia2919551989No (35-year period)
Indiana2819912023No[8] The 2010 game was vacated due to self-imposed sanctions by Ohio State [9]
Rice2819661993Yes
Penn2818761891No (25-year period)
Hobart26 19061931Yes
Oregon State2619681999No (32-year period)
Kentucky2619852010YesKentucky won in 2011.[10] Rivalry formerly known as the Battle for the Barrel
West Virginia2519591983Yes
Indiana2419882019No[11] Indiana snapped the streak in 2020.
TCU2419681991Yes
Oklahoma State2419741999No[12]
TCU2419732001No (29-year period)Texas A&M won 23 consecutive games against TCU from 1973 to 1995 while they were both members of the old Southwest Conference. Texas A&M beat TCU again in the 2001 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl, and the teams have not played since then.[13]
Missouri2419792002Yes
Maryland2419621988No (27-year period)The streak began following Maryland's first win in the series in 1961, and finally ended with the only tie in 1989. Penn State would end up with a 29-game unbeaten streak over Maryland before the Terps defeated the Nittany Lions in 2014.[14]
Vanderbilt2319852022No[15]
Idaho2319512014No
Iowa State23 19371959Yeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20101128100331/http://soonerstats.com/football/series/details.cfm?oppid=52
Indiana2319601986No
Vanderbilt22 19832005Yes
TCU2219591980Yes
Mississippi State2219581979Yes
Northwestern2219741994Yes Northwestern's 1995 team also ended a 19-game (30 year) losing streak to Michigan and a 14-game (33 year) losing streak to Notre Dame.
Louisiana2219022009No (108-year period) LSU and Louisiana have only played each other 22 times total, giving LSU a 22-0 lead in the series - the most meetings between two NCAA teams without both teams having at least one win. Florida State has three fewer wins over Duke without a Duke victory.[16]
Vanderbilt22 19892012No (24-year period)The series was uninterrupted since 1992 (21 wins). Vanderbilt won in 2013 [17]
Duke2219922023No (31-year period) Duke has yet to defeat Florida State in 22 total meetings.
Kansas State2219711992Yes[18]
Northwestern2119722003No (33-year period)Northwestern won in 2004.[19]
Wisconsin2119601980Yes[20]
Brown2118931913No (30-year period)
Iowa2019611980Yes
Baylor20 19012011No (111-year period)Baylor ended the streak with a 45–38 victory in 2011.https://web.archive.org/web/20101128093901/http://soonerstats.com/football/series/details.cfm?oppid=10

† Active Streaks in bold

References and sources

  1. Web site: Football History .
  2. Web site: Football History .
  3. Web site: Football History .
  4. Web site: Ohio State Football History vs Indiana University .
  5. Web site: Notre Dame's NCAA-record 43-game win streak over Navy ends . https://web.archive.org/web/20170111005630/http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=273070087 . dead . January 11, 2017 . . 3 November 2007 . 2007-11-03.
  6. News: Navy 46, Notre Dame 44 - Play by Play . ESPN.com . November 3, 2007. 2007-11-03.
  7. News: Streaks and Rivalries. Official 2007 NCAA Division I Football Records Book . 112 . NCAA . 2007 . 2007-11-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930220759/http://www.ncaa.org/library/records/football/football_records_book/2007/2007_d1_football_records_book.pdf . 2007-09-30.
  8. Web site: Ohio State vs Indiana All-Time Record. winsipedia.com . 2015-11-02.
  9. Web site: Ohio State vacates all 2010 victories. ESPN.com . 8 July 2011 . 2015-11-02.
  10. News: Kentucky ends 26-game skid vs. Tennessee, which will miss bowl . https://web.archive.org/web/20161115132512/http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=313300096 . dead . November 15, 2016 . Associated Press . ESPN.com . November 26, 2011 . November 26, 2011.
  11. Web site: Michigan vs Indiana All-Time Record. winsipedia.com . 2019-11-23.
  12. Web site: Nebraska vs Oklahoma State All-Time Record. winsipedia.com . 2019-07-29.
  13. Web site: All-Time Football Scores: TCU. aggieathletics.com. 2008-05-07.
  14. Web site: Penn State vs Maryland Historical Record. stassen.com . 2007-12-31.
  15. Web site: Alabama at Vanderbilt by the numbers . 23 September 2017 .
  16. Web site: Winsipedia - LSU Tigers vs. Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football series history . 2022-08-28 . Winsipedia . en.
  17. Web site: Florida's nightmare season continues with first loss to Vanderbilt since 1988.
  18. Web site: NCAA Football : Series Records : Oklahoma vs. Kansas State . Mcubed.net .
  19. Web site: Ohio State at Northwestern box score. Sports-Reference.com.
  20. Web site: Ohio State vs Wisconsin. https://archive.today/20130410170318/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/bigten/ohio_state/vs_conf_opponents_records.php?teamid=3605&confid=22&restrictions=none. dead. 2013-04-10. College Football Data Warehouse. 2013-03-26.