Shekai Mills-Knight relocated from Montreal to Tennessee this summer to pursue a future in football. The move already has paid off with scholarship offers from a few Power Five programs.
College football’s 15 winningest programs of all-time within the Power Five ranks is defined by a group of blue bloods that have driven the national championship conversation across the sport for decades. Coming out of the 2023 season, the list — based on updated winning percentage — slightly differs from total wins.
The only objective way to comb through the annals of history and determine college football’s best-ever programs is to place a heavy emphasis on winning percentage among the nation’s elite. Winning percentage is calculated by dividing a team’s number of total wins, including bowl and playoff games, by their total number of games after tie games count as half-wins and half-losses by the NCAA.
Entering the 2023 season, several of these programs should be ranked inside the AP Top 25 when that poll comes out in a few months
Steve Spurrier, Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer are Florida football. Spurrier and Meyer combined to win 187 games — and three national titles — for Florida during their respective runs as head coaches. Following Spurrier’s unrivaled success in the 1990s, including his national championship in 1996, Tebow was a member of two title-winning teams under Meyer. The Gators are hope Billy Napier brings the program back to its rightful spot inside the top 10. His first season left a lot to be desired at 6-7 and this season wasn’t any better after failing to reach bowl eligibility.
With two more wins than the Gators this season, the Hurricanes moved ahead of Florida on this winningest percentage list. From 1983 through 1991, Miami captured four of its five all-time national championships as the program of the 1980s. Jimmy Johnson changed the program forever and essentially birthed “The U” upon his arrival in 1984. Dennis Erickson won two titles with the Hurricanes, including one in his first season (1989) with Johnson’s players. Miami won another ring under Larry Coker and should have beaten Ohio State for another crown if not for a delayed pass interference penalty in the final moments. Several coaches have followed since with limited success, leading into Mario Cristobal’s third season in 2024.
The only college football program whose last three head coaches each captured national titles, there is a reason why LSU is one of the nation’s top jobs. This is a program accustomed to winning and over Brian Kelly’s first two seasons, the Tigers won division title and 19 wins to show for it. LSU last went 15-0 in 2019, winning its most recent title under the direction of Heisman winner Joe Burrow and a record-setting number of NFL Draft picks.