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]
| School | Opponent | Consecutive wins | Year started | Last win | Uninterrupted series? | Notes/References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navy | 43 | 1964 | 2006 | Yes | Navy won in 2007[5] [6] | ||
| Kansas | 36 | 1969 | 2004 | Yes | KU won in 2005[7] | ||
| Rutgers | 33 | 1869 | 1937 | No (68-year period) | |||
| Kansas State | 32 | 1937 | 1968 | Yes | |||
| Temple | 31 | 1952 | 2014 | No (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. | ||
| Kentucky | 31 | 1987 | 2017 | Yes | Longest in-conference streak in Southeastern Conference history. Kentucky snapped the streak in 2018. | ||
| Kansas State | 29 | 1969 | 1997 | Yes | |||
| Virginia | 29 | 1955 | 1989 | No (35-year period) | |||
| Indiana | 28† | 1991 | 2023 | No | [8] The 2010 game was vacated due to self-imposed sanctions by Ohio State [9] | ||
| Rice | 28 | 1966 | 1993 | Yes | |||
| Penn | 28 | 1876 | 1891 | No (25-year period) | |||
| Hobart | 26 | 1906 | 1931 | Yes | |||
| Oregon State | 26 | 1968 | 1999 | No (32-year period) | |||
| Kentucky | 26 | 1985 | 2010 | Yes | Kentucky won in 2011.[10] Rivalry formerly known as the Battle for the Barrel | ||
| West Virginia | 25 | 1959 | 1983 | Yes | |||
| Indiana | 24 | 1988 | 2019 | No | [11] Indiana snapped the streak in 2020. | ||
| TCU | 24 | 1968 | 1991 | Yes | |||
| Oklahoma State | 24 | 1974 | 1999 | No | [12] | ||
| TCU | 24† | 1973 | 2001 | No (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] | ||
| Missouri | 24 | 1979 | 2002 | Yes | |||
| Maryland | 24 | 1962 | 1988 | No (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] | ||
| Vanderbilt | 23† | 1985 | 2022 | No | [15] | ||
| Idaho | 23† | 1951 | 2014 | No | |||
| Iowa State | 23 | 1937 | 1959 | Yes | https://web.archive.org/web/20101128100331/http://soonerstats.com/football/series/details.cfm?oppid=52 | ||
| Indiana | 23 | 1960 | 1986 | No | |||
| Vanderbilt | 22 | 1983 | 2005 | Yes | |||
| TCU | 22 | 1959 | 1980 | Yes | |||
| Mississippi State | 22 | 1958 | 1979 | Yes | |||
| Northwestern | 22 | 1974 | 1994 | Yes | 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. | ||
| Louisiana | 22† | 1902 | 2009 | No (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] | ||
| Vanderbilt | 22 | 1989 | 2012 | No (24-year period) | The series was uninterrupted since 1992 (21 wins). Vanderbilt won in 2013 [17] | ||
| Duke | 22† | 1992 | 2023 | No (31-year period) | Duke has yet to defeat Florida State in 22 total meetings. | ||
| Kansas State | 22 | 1971 | 1992 | Yes | [18] | ||
| Northwestern | 21 | 1972 | 2003 | No (33-year period) | Northwestern won in 2004.[19] | ||
| Wisconsin | 21 | 1960 | 1980 | Yes | [20] | ||
| Brown | 21 | 1893 | 1913 | No (30-year period) | |||
| Iowa | 20 | 1961 | 1980 | Yes | |||
| Baylor | 20 | 1901 | 2011 | No (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