More Than a Title on the Line
CFP winner will make AP rankings history

20 January 2025

​​

By Larry Little

​​​

Either Notre Dame or Ohio State will make college football history Monday night, and it goes much deeper than winning the first 12-team College Football Playoff.

The Associated Press began ranking college football teams in 1936, listing 20 teams. The rankings were reduced to 10 teams from 1961 to 1967 before returning to 20 teams in 1968 and eventually expanding to 25 teams in 1989.

Since 1968, no team has won four consecutive games against AP Top 12 opponents. In fact, a team has played four consecutive AP Top 12 opponents only 10 times, including three times this season.

Furthermore, Notre Dame and Ohio State are the first teams since Illinois and Northwestern in 1968 to play four straight games against AP Top 10 opponents. The Illini and Wildcats did not fare as well in their four-game gauntlets; more on them below.

Penn State (No. 1 Oregon, No. 12 SMU, No. 8 Boise State, No. 3 Notre Dame) also played four consecutive games against AP Top 12 opponents this season. Had the Nittany Lions defeated Notre Dame, Penn State would have joined 2013 Tennessee as the only teams to play five consecutive games against AP Top 12 opponents since 1968.

Here’s a look at the other teams to have played four consecutive games against AP Top 12 opponents, only three of which won each of the first three games.

​

1968 ILLINOIS

Oct 19      at Notre Dame (6)             L           58-8

Oct 26      Ohio State (2)                   L         31-24

Nov 2       at Purdue (6)                    L         35-17

Nov 9       at Michigan (7)                 L           36-0

The closest game was Ohio State (31-24). Illinois was outscored 160-49 in the four-game stretch, which occurred in consecutive weeks, and concluded an eight-game losing streak to start the season. The Illini defeated Northwestern 14-0 the week after losing at Michigan but concluded the season with a 37-13 loss to unranked Iowa. Illinois did not win again until defeating unranked Oregon to start the 1970 season, going 0-10 in 1969.

1968 NORTHWESTERN

Sept 28    USC (3)                            L           24-7

Oct 5        Purdue (1)                        L           43-6

Oct 12      at Notre Dame (5)             L           27-7

Oct 19      at Ohio State (2)               L         45-27

Illinois’ four-game stretch in 1968 was rough, but Northwestern’s was more daunting. The Wildcats opened the season with five consecutive ranked opponents, losing at No. 19 Miami-FL in the opener. All five games were in successive weeks. Northwestern was outscored 167-48 in that five-game stretch and lost every game by at least 17 points. The Wildcats surrendered 28 points to Miami in the season opener and did not score their 28th point of the season until the fifth game. The Cats edged unranked Wisconsin (13-10) the week after losing at Ohio State before losing at No. 9 Michigan (35-0) to make it five games against AP Top 12 opponents in a six-game stretch and six games against AP ranked opponents in a seven-game stretch to start the season. Northwestern finished 1-9 — also losing at Illinois (14-0) — and opened the 1969 season with losses at No. 11 Notre Dame, at No. 5 USC and to No. 11 UCLA. In fact, Northwestern played an AP ranked opponent in the season opener every year from 1967 to 1972, playing at least two straight games against such opponents to start each of the final five seasons in that stretch.

​

1997 NORTHWESTERN

Oct 11      at Michigan (6)                 L           23-6

Oct 18      Michigan State (12)          W        19-17

Oct 25      at Ohio State (9)               L           49-7

Nov 1       Penn State (2)                   L         30-27

As if every program learned from Illinois and Northwestern in 1968, no team played four straight games against AP Top 12 opponents for nearly 30 years and, again, Northwestern was the culprit. The Wildcats opened the season by defeating Oklahoma (24-0) — the last time the Sooners were shutout by a non-conference opponent. Oklahoma has been blanked only twice since: the following season at Texas A&M (29-0) and 2022 against Texas (49-0). Nonetheless, Northwestern fell to 2-5 after losing at eventual co-national champion Michigan; it was the Wildcats’ fourth straight loss. Michigan State entered the Northwestern game with a 5-0 record, but the loss started a four-game skid. Penn State nearly squandered a 30-13 lead in the game’s final four minutes. The Wildcats recovered a fumble with 3:35 remaining, scored a touchdown, forced a Penn State punt and scored another touchdown. However, the Nittany Lions recovered the ensuing onside kick in the game’s final minute to quell the rally. Northwestern won at Illinois and against No. 22 Iowa to conclude a 5-7 season.

​

2008 TEXAS

Oct 11      vs. Oklahoma (1)             W        45-35

Oct 18      Missouri (11)                   W        56-31

Oct 25      Oklahoma State (7)          W        28-24

Nov 1       at Texas Tech (6)               L         39-33

Texas became the fifth team since 1968 to win three consecutive games against AP Top 12 opponents, joining 1983 Auburn, 1987 Miami-FL, 2000 Oklahoma and 2003 Florida. UT was the first of those five teams to play another AP Top 12 opponent in its subsequent game, and it was one of the most memorable finishes in college football history. Michael Crabtree’s 28-yard touchdown reception from Graham Harrell with one second remaining ended Texas’ nine-game winning streak dating to the previous season’s Holiday Bowl. It was the Horns’ lone loss of the season and essentially kept UT from reaching the Big 12 Conference Championship Game and the BCS Championship Game. Texas closed the regular season with drubbings of Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M (all unranked) before edging No. 10 Ohio State 24-21 in the Fiesta Bowl. The Horns ranked fourth in the final AP Top 25 behind Florida (13-1), Utah (13-0) and USC (12-1).

​

2013 TENNESSEE

Oct 5        Georgia (6)                      L         34-31   OT

Oct 19      South Carolina (11)          W        23-21

Oct 26      at Alabama (1)                 L         45-10

Nov 2       at Missouri (10)                L           31-3

Nov 9       Auburn (7)                       L         55-23

For all the talk about Florida having the most difficult schedule in SEC history this season, the 2013 Tennessee squad would like to have a word. The Volunteers opened with easy home wins against Austin Peay and Western Kentucky before losing at No. 2 Oregon (59-14) and at No. 19 Florida (31-17). A closer-than-expected home win against South Alabama (31-24) followed before college football’s most daunting five-game stretch since 1968. The 2013 Volunteers are the only team to play five consecutive games against AP Top 12 opponents in the last 57 years. Georgia needed a game-tying touchdown with five seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, and the Bulldogs scored the only points in the extra period — a 42-yard field goal. Tennessee rebounded after a bye week to edge South Carolina on Michael Palardy’s 19-yard field goal as time expired. Those were the only nailbiters in the five-game stretch, the last four games of which were in consecutive weeks. The Volunteers played seven games against AP ranked opponents in an eight-game, nine-week span, including five Top 10 opponents. James Franklin’s final Vanderbilt squad defeated the Vols 14-10, ensuring Butch Jones would not earn a bowl bid in his first season as the Volunteers head coach. Tennessee finished a 5-7 season with a 27-14 win at Kentucky.

​

2015 OKLAHOMA

Nov 14     at Baylor (4)                    W        44-34

Nov 21     TCU (11)                         W        30-29

Nov 28     at Oklahoma State (9)      W        58-23

Dec 31     Clemson (1)                      L         37-17

The Sooners — the first team on this list to play three straight AP Top 12 opponents to close the regular season —ended Baylor’s 20-game home winning streak in a back-and-forth game. Oklahoma nearly squandered a 30-13 lead with 8:59 remaining against TCU. The Frogs sandwiched a field goal between two touchdowns, scoring the second with 51 seconds to play. However, OU thwarted the Frogs’ 2-point try to preserve the win. The Sooners used a 30-point second quarter to distance themselves from Oklahoma State to close the regular season. It was Oklahoma’s first Big 12 Conference title since 2010 and the program’s first of six straight league titles. Like Texas in 2008, the Sooners could not win the fourth consecutive game against an AP Top 12 opponent. Top-ranked Clemson (37-17) outscored Oklahoma 21-0 in the second half at the Orange Bowl in the Sooners’ first CFP appearance.

​

2019 OHIO STATE

Nov 23     Penn State (9)                  W        28-17

Nov 30     at Michigan (10)              W        56-27

Dec 7       vs. Wisconsin (10)            W        34-21

Dec 28     vs. Clemson (3)                 L         29-23

Ohio State followed a similar script to the 2015 Oklahoma squad — three straight wins followed by a loss to Clemson in the CFP. The Buckeyes outscored their first 10 opponents 515-98, winning each game by at least 24 points, never surrendering more than 21 points and scoring at least 70 points twice. Ohio State never trailed against Penn State, scoring a touchdown in each quarter and holding the Nittany Lions scoreless outside the third quarter. Michigan scored a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, but it was all OSU thereafter as the Buckeyes doubled their performance from the Penn State game with two touchdowns in each quarter. Wisconsin looked poised for the upset in the Big Ten Championship, holding Ohio State scoreless in the first quarter and leading 21-7 at halftime. However, the Buckeyes dominated the second half for their third of four straight Big Ten titles. Ohio State’s game against Clemson at the Fiesta Bowl was also similar to Oklahoma’s 2015 Orange Bowl. The Buckeyes led 16-0 midway through the second quarter before the Tigers rallied for a 21-16 lead roughly 15 minutes of game time later. Ohio State took a 23-21 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Trevor Lawrence connected with Travis Etienne for a 34-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 remaining and added a 2-point attempt. The Buckeyes drove to the Clemson 23 before an interception sealed the Tigers’ victory.

​

OTHER NOTEWORTHY STRETCHES

• In 1980, Arizona played No. 2 USC (L), No. 4 Notre Dame (L) and No. 2 UCLA (W) in a four-game, four-week span.

• In 1988, East Carolina played No. 7 West Virginia, at No. 5 Florida State, No. 19 Syracuse and No. 4 Miami-FL (all losses) in consecutive weeks.

• In 1999, Purdue played five ranked opponents in six weeks: at No. 4 Michigan (L), at No. 21 Ohio State (L), No. 5 Michigan State (W), No. 2 Penn State (L), at Minnesota (W) and No. 10 Wisconsin (L).

• In 2000, Baylor lost to two No. 1 teams (at Nebraska, Oklahoma) in a three-week span, losing at No. 22 Texas in between. The Bears were outscored 163-21 in that stretch.

• In 2001, Baylor lost to No. 4 Nebraska, at No. 2 Oklahoma, Texas Tech and No. 5 Texas in successive weeks. The Bears were outscored 193-53 in that stretch, which came on the heels of a 16-10 loss at No. 24 Texas A&M.

• In 2004, Louisiana Tech played at No. 4 Miami-FL (L), at No. 11 Tennessee (L), No. 17 Fresno State (W) and at No. 6 Auburn (L) in successive weeks. The Bulldogs were outscored 142-24 in the three losses.

• In 2007, Texas A&M played No. 12 Kansas (L), No. 5 Oklahoma (L), No. 7 Missouri (L) and No. 13 Texas (W) in a five-week span with a bye prior to the Texas game. The Longhorns were ranked 12th during the bye week but slipped one spot ahead of the Texas A&M game.

• In 2012, Washington played five Top 12 opponents in a seven-game, eight-week span: at No. 3 LSU (L), Portland State (W), No. 8 Stanford (W), at No. 2 Oregon (L), No. 11 USC (L), at Arizona (L) and No. 7 Oregon State (W).

• In 2021, Indiana also played five Top 12 opponents in a seven-game, eight-week span: No. 8 Cincinnati (L), at Western Kentucky (W), at No. 4 Penn State (L), No. 10 Michigan State (L), No. 5 Ohio State (L), at Maryland (L) and at No. 9 Michigan (L). The Hoosiers were outscored 165-53 in the five games against ranked opponents.

• In 2024, Florida played five ranked opponents, including four Top 10 opponents, in a six-game, seven-week span: at No. 8 Tennessee (L), Kentucky (W), vs. No. 2 Georgia (L), at No. 5 Texas (L), No. 21 LSU (W) and No. 9 Mississippi (W).

• In 2024, Michigan played No. 1 Oregon (L), at No. 8 Indiana (L), at No. 2 Ohio State (W) and vs. No. 11 Alabama (W). in a five-game span.

In 2024, Purdue played five ranked opponents in a seven-game, eight-week span (all losses): at No. 23 Illinois, No. 2 Oregon, Northwestern, at No. 2 Penn State, at Michigan State, at No. 10 Indiana. The Boilermakers were outscored 195-10 in the four games against Top 10 opponents, scoring only against Penn State (49-10).