The top FBS programs never to win a recognized national title

Baylor has produced some some elite gridiron talent, such as Don Trull, Mike Singletary and Robert Griffin III, among others. However, when it comes to overall team success, the Bears have yet to stand atop the college football hill. Now, six times since the beginning of the 2011 season, Baylor won at least 10 games, won three conference titles and appeared in the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl twice. Only three times, though, have the Bears finished in the top 10 of the final poll from The Associated Press: 1951 (No. 9), 2014 (No. 7), 2021 (No. 5).

The various college football postseason formats didn't favor a Group of Five team like Boise State. However, with the expansion of the College Football Playoff, the Broncos could get a true shot at winning the national championship. Since the late 1990s, the Broncos crashed plenty of Power Five parties. Since the beginning of the 1999 season (in just its fourth year on the FBS level), Boise State has won more than 250 games. And who can forget that amazing upset of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl to cap a 13-0 2006 season — when they finished ranked fifth in the AP Poll. It was the first of four times the Broncos ended the season in the top 10 of the AP Poll.

There are BC die-hards who will question the program's spot on this list, mostly because of the 1940 team, which went 10-0 and proclaimed itself national champion, despite being ranked fifth in the final AP Poll. Then, of course, there was the 1984 team led by Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, which went 10-2, stunned favored Miami, Fla., on the day after Thanksgiving, won the Cotton Bowl and finished in the top five of both the AP and Coaches' Polls. However, the Eagles' only conference championship to date came in 2004 (Big East), but they have won the ACC Atlantic Division title three times. 

The Bearcats have claimed 15 titles covering six different leagues since the 1930s, and they even had their shot at a national championship in 2021. Sure, that 12-1 squad from 2009 was a good one, but the 2021 Bearcats took a 13-0 record into the College Football Playoff semifinals — as a Group of Five team — against top-ranked Alabama. Now, Desmond Ridder and Sauce Gardner held their own with the Crimson Tide but fell 27-6, concluding what was arguably the greatest season in school history. Overall, the Bearcats have won more than 50 percent of their all-time games.

Whether talking about those great Bill Yeoman teams of the 1970s and into the '80s, or Tom Herman's exciting 13-1 group from the 2015 season, Houston has enjoyed plenty of success on the gridiron. In fact, the Cougars are nearing the 500-win mark, own a winning percentage well over .500 and have claimed 11 conference championships, including the Southwest Conference (outright or shared) four times. Yet, Houston has not played in a major bowl since the 1984 Cotton Bowl, and its highest finish in the AP Poll was No. 4 after finishing 10-2 in 1976.

The 2022 Big 12 champions (knocking off TCU, to do it), the Wildcats have been one of the nation's most underrated programs since the mid-1990s. Longtime coach Bill Snyder was a big reason why. In fact, Kansas State has won at least 10 games 10 times since the beginning of the 1995 season, and went 11-1 twice during that stretch. The Wildcats have also made three appearances each in the Cotton Bowl and Fiesta Bowl, and also notched one Sugar Bowl berth. However, they are still searching for that first national title. 

Since the beginning of the 2000 season, Louisville has outright won or shared six league titles — either in Conference USA or the Big East. The Cardinals even made two appearances in the Bowl Championship Series (2006, '12), but still no national title to boast about. To some hardcore college football historians — amateur or professional — that might still be surprising considering the school has produced legends like Johnny Unitas and Lamar Jackson, and recorded more than 530 all-time victories.

Missouri has never been confused for a perennial football power, but the program has had its moments in recent years. However, it does note a pair of unclaimed national championships (1960, 2007) that come courtesy of mathematical ranking services. However, from 2007-14, the Tigers went 76-31 and reached both the Big 12 and SEC Championship games two times each. Missouri also won the Cotton Bowl in both 2007 and 2014. With their 7-1 start to the 2023 season, the Tigers secured a winning record for the first time in five years. Is that first, official national title in the near future?

Known for its legendary basketball program, North Carolina has actually won more than 55 percent of its football games during the history of the program. Pretty impressive, even if overshadowed by the school's hardcourt heroes. The Tar Heels have won the ACC championship five times, but none since 1980. However, they did claim ACC Division titles in 2015 and '22. Entering the 2023 season, North Carolina has made 12 bowl appearances in the last 15 seasons. That postseason run included an Orange Bowl berth in 2020.

For those not in the know, N.C. State has won the ACC championship — either outright or shared — on seven occasions. Maybe that's not common knowledge because the Wolfpack's most recent title came in 1979. Still, N.C. State, another school better known for its success on the basketball court than the football field, has won better than 50 percent of its all-time gridiron contests. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, the Wolfpack have won nine games three times and eight twice. The question is, when will N.C. State take that success to the next level?

Academics still come first at Northwestern, and the current state of the program is murky at best — on and off the field. However, since the start of the 1995 campaign, the Wildcats have been more than competitive. During that stretch, Northwestern has won at least 10 games four times, made 15 bowl appearances — including the Rose Bowl to conclude the 1995 season — and won the Big Ten championship three times and the Big Ten West on two occasions. The program's turnaround from college football afterthought to perennial Big Ten contender in a span of 40 years is pretty impressive.

Man, the Ducks have certainly come close to winning it all. They played for a national championship at the end of the 2010, when LaMichael James and Co. took a 12-0 record into the title game and lost on a walk-off field goal to a Cam Newton-led Auburn squad. Then in 2014, the Ducks again found themselves playing for a national championship, but that Marcus Mariota-led group was thrashed 42-20 by Ohio State. Still, Oregon, winner of nearly 700 games and 14 conference titles, remains a perennial national championship contender.

The Boilermakers re-injected some life into this proud program by reaching the Big Ten Championship Game in 2022. But for those who don't follow the Big Ten that close, Purdue has won 12 conference titles, though the most recent came in 2000. Not bad for a supposed basketball school. The program has also produced some of the greatest quarterbacks the game has ever seen in Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Jim Everett and Drew Brees, not to mention fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers Hank Stram and Rod Woodson.

College football fans might not realize that Utah has won 26 conference titles — and counting. That includes back-to-back Pac-12 championships in 2021 and '22, which led to back-to-back trips to the Rose Bowl. In 2008, the Utes finished 13-0, capping that impressive season with a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama. However, it was only good enough for a No. 2 ranking in the final AP Poll, behind 13-1 Florida, which beat Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game. A pair of NCAA-designated major mathematical rankings selectors declared Utah national champs that season, but the school does not recognize either.

A few down seasons of late truly can tarnish the image of Virginia Tech football. Between the Big East and ACC, Virginia Tech has won seven conference titles. Overall, the program has recorded more than 750 victories and boasts a winning percentage better than .600. From 1995-2011, the Hokies won at least games 10 on 13 occasions. They went 11-1 in both the 1999 and 2000 seasons and played for the national championship during the former, but Michael Vick and Co. allowed 18 unanswered points to Florida State in the fourth quarter of the Sugar Bowl to lose 46-29.

Are the Mountaineers the best program in college football to win — or be universally recognized — as national champions? Perhaps. Come on, West Virginia has won more than 760 games, claimed 15 league titles between the Southern Conference and Big East and six times finished in the top 10 of the final AP Poll. While the Mountaineers posted 11-1 finishes three times since 1980, their best chance of potentially winning a national title came during the 1988 season. Behind quarterback Major Harris and defensive stars like Bo Orlando, West Virginia took an 11-0 record into the Fiesta Bowl against undefeated Notre Dame, but lost 34-21. The Mountaineers also enjoyed an undefeated season in 1993, but were ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll and left out of the de facto national-title game at the Orange Bowl, which featured Florida State and Nebraska.

Much like West Virginia, Wisconsin has the football resume worthy of a national champion. During the program's storied history, the Badgers have won more than 730 games and recorded 14 conference championships. They've also appeared in the Big Ten Championship Game six times and produced legendary Heisman Trophy winners Alan Ameche and Ron Dayne. During the BCS era, Wisconsin was invited to the Rose Bowl five times, and went 2-3 during those contests. Now, all the Badgers must do is get over the hump and find a way into the College Football Playoff.