Sports
College Football Tier List Maker
Rank college football programs, from Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State to Michigan, Texas and Notre Dame.
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Drag items into a tier — or tap an item, then tap a tier.
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Meet every team (41)
These 41 teams load into the maker above. Each write-up covers what the team is and what to weigh when you rank it. Facts were last checked on .
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Alabama
Variously called Alabama, UA or Bama, the Crimson Tide compete in the SEC and are among the most storied and decorated programs in NCAA history.
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Georgia
The Bulldogs compete in the SEC and play their home games at historic Sanford Stadium on the university's campus in Athens, Georgia.
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Ohio State
The Buckeyes play in the Big Ten, and have played at the 102,780-capacity Ohio Stadium on campus in Columbus since 1922.
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Michigan
The Wolverines have the most all-time wins in college football history and are known for their distinctive winged helmet, fight song and record-breaking attendance figures at Michigan Stadium.
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Texas
The Longhorns represent the University of Texas at Austin, play in the SEC and host home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
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Oklahoma
The program began in 1895, is one of the most successful in the nation, and plays in the SEC. Oklahoma has won 960 games with a .723 winning percentage, both sixth all-time.
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Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish play at 77,622-capacity Notre Dame Stadium near South Bend and are one of two schools that compete as an independent at the FBS level.
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LSU
The Fighting Tigers compete in the SEC. LSU ranks 16th best in winning percentage in NCAA Division I FBS history and claims four national championships.
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Clemson
Formed in 1896, the Tigers play in the ACC, with an all-time record of 804–473–44 and a bowl record of 27–23, and have been a College Football Playoff finalist.
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Florida
The Gators compete in the SEC and play at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville campus.
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Penn State
The Nittany Lions were established in 1887 and joined the Big Ten in 1993, after playing as an independent from 1892 to 1992.
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USC
The Trojans were formed in 1888 and play in the Big Ten. They play home games at the 77,500-capacity Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park.
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Oregon
The program first fielded a team in 1894, was commonly called the Webfoots until the mid-1960s, and now competes in the Big Ten as the Ducks.
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Auburn
The Tigers began competing in intercollegiate football in 1892 and joined the SEC in 1932 as one of its inaugural members.
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Tennessee
The Volunteers, known as the Vols and "Big Orange," play in the SEC. They have played football for 132 seasons starting in 1891, with a combined record of 870–415–53.
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Florida State
The Seminoles compete in the ACC, and are called Florida State or FSU. The team is coached by Mike Norvell, according to its Wikipedia page.
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Miami
The Hurricanes began in 1926 and joined the ACC in 2004, one of the four power conferences in college football.
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Wisconsin
The Badgers have competed in the Big Ten since its formation in 1896 and play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium.
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Nebraska
The Cornhuskers play in the Big Ten, have played at Memorial Stadium since 1923 and have sold out every game there since 1962.
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Texas A&M
The Aggies compete in the SEC, claim three national titles and 18 conference titles, and play all home games at Kyle Field.
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Washington
The Huskies were a charter member of the Pac-12 from 1915 to 2024 and now play in the Big Ten. 70,138-capacity Husky Stadium has been their home since 1920.
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Utah
The program began in 1892 and has played at the current site of Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City since 1927. The Utes now compete in the Big 12.
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Ole Miss
The Rebels of the University of Mississippi were founded in 1893, compete in the SEC and play home games at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium in University, Mississippi.
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Oklahoma State
The Cowboys play in the Big 12 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. The program began in 1901 and has an all-time record of 641–592–48.
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Iowa
The Hawkeyes joined the Big Ten, then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine, in 1899 and played their first conference football season in 1900.
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Michigan State
The Spartans play in the Big Ten and claim six national championships, including two from the major wire services, in 1952 and 1965.
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UCLA
The Bruins play in the Big Ten and host their home games off campus at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
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Arkansas
The Razorbacks play in the SEC and host home games at stadiums on or near the two largest campuses of the University of Arkansas System.
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Kentucky
The Wildcats play in the SEC at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky, and are led by first-year head coach Will Stein, per Wikipedia.
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Missouri
Often referred to as Mizzou, the Tigers of the University of Missouri are members of the Southeastern Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision.
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South Carolina
The Gamecocks compete in the SEC, play at Williams–Brice Stadium and are coached by Shane Beamer, according to Wikipedia.
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Colorado
The Buffaloes were a charter member of the Big 12, left for the Pac-12 after the 2010 season and returned to the Big 12 in 2024 after 13 seasons in the Pac-12.
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Baylor
The Bears are a Big 12 team that spent 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium before opening the on-campus McLane Stadium for the 2014 season.
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TCU
The Horned Frogs began playing football in 1896, play at Amon G. Carter Stadium on campus in Fort Worth, and have been in the Big 12 since 2012.
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Kansas State
The Wildcats, called K-State or KSU, compete in the Big 12. Historically the team has an all-time losing record, at 585–680–42 as of the end of the 2025 season.
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North Carolina
The Tar Heels play in the ACC and have played in 37 bowl games in their history. The team is also known simply as "North Carolina" or "Carolina."
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Virginia Tech
The Hokies of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University play at Lane Stadium and compete in the ACC. They previously competed in the Big East.
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Stanford
The Cardinal play in the ACC after previously being in the Pac-12. The team adopted the name "Cardinal," singular, before the 1982 season. Stanford was known as the Cardinal for its first two decades of athletics, and later by other nicknames.
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Boise State
Established in 1933, the Broncos play on campus at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho, and compete as a member of the Pac-12.
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Army
Historically known as the Army Cadets, the Black Knights represent the U.S. Military Academy, play at Michie Stadium with a 36,000 capacity and compete in the American Conference.
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Navy
The Midshipmen represent the U.S. Naval Academy. They became a single-sport member of the American Athletic Conference, now the American Conference, in 2015 after playing as an independent.
College Football tier list questions
Why does the list mention so many conference changes?
College football conferences have realigned heavily in recent years, with teams such as Texas, Oklahoma, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington and Colorado moving. The write-ups follow Wikipedia's current conference listing.
Why are national championship counts left out?
Schools count national championships differently, claiming some from wire services, and totals change every season. The write-ups use history that does not change, such as founding years and stadiums.
How should I rank college football teams?
Common criteria include history, rivalries, stadium atmosphere, traditions, uniforms and your own loyalty. Many fans rank by conference or by the programs they follow most closely.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these references on .