College football’s best teams against top-25 competition
The Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide had the best records (5-1) against top-25 opponents during the 2021 college football season according to 247Sports. Georgia was Alabama’s lone loss to a ranked opponent in 2021, and Alabama was the only team to beat the Bulldogs.
Georgia’s recent success against ranked opponents under Kirby Smart has been a big change since the early 2010s. Other programs, including Ohio State and Alabama, have performed fairly consistently against ranked opponents.
What college football teams have the best records against ranked opponents since 2010?
Alabama Crimson Tide (62-16)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Saban and Alabama have dominated the past 15 years of college football. The Crimson Tide play a large number of ranked opponents and frequently blow them out.
Alabama lost one game to a ranked opponent last season, but it was in the national championship to Georgia. The Crimson Tide have 19 more wins over top 25 competition than the next closest team.
Ohio State Buckeyes (43-13)
AP Photo/Jay LaPrete
Ohio State has been one of the most consistent programs in college football over the past decade plus. The Buckeyes have appeared in only one College Football Playoff national championship game, but they are constantly knocking on the door. Could 2022 be the year Ohio State wins it all?
Oklahoma Sooners (40-20)
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma has been the best program in the Big 12 since 2010. The Sooners have won 66.7% of their games against top-25 opponents since 2010. The next step for the Oklahoma program is to win a CFP semifinal.
LSU Tigers (44-25)
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Only Alabama has more wins over top-25 teams since 2010 than LSU. The Tigers have compiled a considerable number of losses (25) against ranked opponents during that time frame as well. In 2021, LSU won two games against ranked opponents and lost five.
Clemson Tigers (32-19)
Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Clemson is surprisingly low on the list. The Tigers have faced only 51 ranked opponents despite being a regular in the CFP. A weaker than normal ACC has not helped the Tigers. Clemson went 1-2 against ranked opponents in 2021.
Stanford Cardinal (31-23)
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Stanford’s program has been down the past couple of seasons, but has been one of the best programs on the West Coast since 2010. Head coach David Shaw and Stanford have won 57.4% of their games against ranked opponents since 2010.
Oregon Ducks (28-21)
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
The Ducks have faced the fewest number of ranked opponents of any team within the top nine best winning percentages. Despite this, Oregon is not afraid to schedule tough opponents. The Ducks open the 2022 season against Georgia and had arguably the best nonconference win of any team at Ohio State last season.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (31-25)
Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
Head coach Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State have had an excellent decade. The Cowboys were inches from making the CFP last season and finished with five wins over ranked opponents in 2021.
Georgia Bulldogs (34-29)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia are on the rise. The Bulldogs have won 54% of games against top-25 foes since 2010. Impressively, Georgia has won 77.8% of games against ranked opponents since the beginning of the 2019 season.
The Bulldogs will open the 2022 season against Oregon, which will probably be ranked.
1
1
1
1
