25 Longest Championship Droughts in College Football

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Having your team win the national championship is one of the sweetest feelings as a fan.

Waiting for your team to win another one, however, can be agonizing.

These teams weren't just one-hit wonders. Many of these teams are the most storied in college football, meaning that the fan bases, boosters and administrations expect their coaches to bring home the crystal football.

And that's why the coaches at these programs either get paid the big bucks to win championships or they get shown the door.

These are the longest periods of time the fans of these programs have had to wait in between championships. Some of the programs still wait for the day when their national championship drought will end.

Who are they? Read on.

25. Florida State Seminoles

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Florida State is getting a little antsy about getting back to win national championships. After Bobby Bowden did it twice in the '90s, the fans want to see more of that. And they want it now.

That's the kind of pressure Jimbo Fisher has to deal with. 

Longest Championship Drought: 12 Seasons and Counting

24. Alabama Crimson Tide

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Alabama has the highest amount of claimed national championships of anyone currently in the FBS, although several of those claims are dubious.

Still, there was a 17-year gap where Alabama didn't claim any championships, dubious or otherwise.

Well, Nick Saban came in and put a stop to that. And that wasn't the first long championship drought he's broken over his career...

Longest Championship Drought: 17 Seasons

23. Oklahoma Sooners

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Oklahoma hasn't had too many long championship droughts, but they did have one between the Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer eras.

And 18 years is an eternity for a Sooners fan used to seeing their team win championships.

Longest Championship Drought: 18 Seasons

22. Nebraska Cornhuskers

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Bo Pelini has done a good job at Nebraska, but he has not yet captured that elusive conference championship, much less a national one.

But Nebraska has had a longer drought than their current one. The Cornhuskers had to endure more than 20 years without a national title.

But the coach that was in charge for much of that time was Tom Osborne, and Osborne did win a bunch of conference championships over the years. Then, in 1994, Osborne and the 'Huskers had a breakthrough and won a national championship. After that first one, Nebraska won two more national championships over the next three seasons.

So, cheer up Nebraska fans. Maybe Pelini will have a similar breakthrough.

Longest Championship Drought: 23 Seasons

21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

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Notre Dame is one of only four programs currently in the FBS who can claim double-digit national championships. The only other members of this exclusive club are Alabama, Michigan and USC.

And even people who don't know anything at all about college football know who Notre Dame is.

That's why it's so puzzling that the Irish haven't been able to win a national championship despite having the resources, brand and money that Notre Dame has. Lou Holtz was the last Notre Dame coach to win it all, and current Irish head coach Brian Kelly is the fifth coach since Holtz left. 

How many more coaches will come and go before the Irish finally lift that crystal football again?

Who can say?

Longest Championship Drought: 23 Seasons and Counting

20. USC Trojans

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It had been a while since the Trojans had won it all before Pete Carroll showed up on the scene. In fact, USC hadn't claimed a national championship since 1978.

The Trojans won a split championship in 2003, and it's a good thing they still have that claim. After all, the 2004 championship remains tainted thanks to the actions of one Reggie Bush.

If it weren't for the 2003 championship, I'd consider USC's drought even longer...

Longest Championship Drought: 25 Seasons

19. Penn State Nittany Lions

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Long before Sandusky and the scandal associated with his name, Joe Paterno took Penn State to unprecedented heights.

During the 1980s, JoePa led the Nittany Lions to two national championships. And while he's certainly been successful since then, he just wasn't able to recapture the national title again after that.

And now that JoePa is gone and Penn State is mired in scandal, it may be some time before the Nittany Lions can rise to championship heights again.

Longest Championship Drought: 25 Seasons and Counting

18. Washington Huskies

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Washington may gripe about BYU winning the national championship because the Huskies claim that BYU didn't play a difficult enough schedule.

But maybe Washington is hiding the fact that they didn't win a national championship between '60 and '91.  

Longest Championship Drought: 31 Seasons

17. Tennessee Volunteers

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The Volunteers are in the middle of a bit of a championship drought right now, as it has been 13 years since Tennessee won a national title.

But that's nothing compared to the drought before Tennessee won the national championship in 1998. Before Phillip Fulmer took the Volunteers back to national glory, their last championship was back in 1967.

And given this team's current struggles, maybe they should have thought twice about sending off Fulmer the way that they did.

Longest Championship Drought: 31 Seasons

16. Georgia Bulldogs

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While several other storied SEC programs have picked up national titles—the conference owns the last six in a row—Georgia is one of those programs that hasn't been able to capitalize.

In fact, the Bulldogs haven't won a national championship since Herschel Walker was running over poor defensive backs...

Longest Championship Drought: 31 Seasons and Counting

15. Ohio State Buckeyes

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Ever wonder why Ohio State was so reluctant to let Jim Tressel go after the Tat-gate scandal broke?

Well, apart from his high winning percentage and great record against hated rival Michigan, Tressel accomplished something that the Buckeyes hadn't done in more than 30 years:

Win the national championship.

Of course, Miami fans will continue to grumble that Ohio State's drought should be even longer, but that's a matter for another article...

Longest Championship Drought: 32 Seasons

14. Texas Longhorns

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Vince Young's amazing touchdown run didn't just cap one of the best national championship games of all time.

It ended a national championship drought that spanned three-and-a-half decades.

That makes one amazing play that much more epic.

Longest Championship Drought: 35 Seasons

13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

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The Yellow Jackets have four national titles, but Georgia Tech can't seem to string those titles together.

The shortest amount of time between championships was 11 years, but the gap between the last two championships must have been maddening for the fans.

After all, almost four decades is a long time to wait for those kind of bragging rights.

Longest Championship Drought: 38 Seasons

12. Pittsburgh Panthers

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After claiming eight national championships between 1915 and 1937, Pitt wouldn't win another national championship until 1976.

Even Pitt's current championship drought can't compete with that.

But don't worry Panther fans. If Pitt has a drought as long as their last one, that means that it should end in 2015.

Longest Championship Drought: 39 Seasons

11. LSU Tigers

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Before Nick Saban brought two national championships to Alabama, he took LSU to glory as well.

And although Tigers fans may grumble when they think that Saban is now coaching for the Crimson Tide, they're still grateful to him for that.

Part of that is because before he showed up, LSU hadn't won a national title in almost 50 years.

Longest Championship Drought: 45 Seasons

10. Michigan State Spartans

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Back in the 1950's and '60s, Michigan State won six national championships. That's more than teams like Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Ohio State over that same period of time.

Too bad they haven't won a single national title since...

Longest Championship Drought: 45 Seasons and Counting

9. SMU Mustangs

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SMU hasn't been in the national championship hunt since they got the NCAA's "Death Penalty" in 1987, and it's still going to be some time before they can be a realistic championship contender.

But as long as this ongoing drought has been, SMU fans have had to endure longer. Before the Mustangs won the championship in the early '80s, the last one they won was back in the '30s.

Which means that SMU has until 2028 to figure things out before they beat their record championship drought.

Longest Championship Drought: 46 Seasons

8. Michigan Wolverines

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Despite having the less-than-flattering distinction of being the first head coach of a ranked FBS program to lose to a FCS team, Lloyd Carr will still have a special place in Michigan's heart. 

It's because Carr brought the Wolverines their first national title since the 1940s.

Longest National Championship Drought: 49 Seasons

7. Ole Miss Rebels

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Houston Nutt just became the eighth Ole Miss head coach in a row to lose his job without winning the national championship. 

The Rebels just haven't been able to recapture the magic that John Vaught brought to Oxford. But who knows? Maybe Hugh Freeze has what it takes to take the Rebels back to SEC and national championships.

I wouldn't bet on it, though.

Longest Championship Drought: 49 Seasons and Counting

6. Minnesota Golden Gophers

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Back in the day, the Golden Gophers were one of the best teams in the Big Ten and were a national championship-caliber program.

Too bad that "back in the day" means more than 50 years ago...

Longest Championship Drought: 51 Seasons and Counting

5. Auburn Tigers

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After picking up their first national title in 1957, the Tigers have only just recently been able to record their second.

Of course, it didn't make Auburn feel any better when Alabama bookended Auburn's 2010 title with two of their own. Hopefully the Tigers won't have to wait until 2063 to win their third national title.

Longest National Championship Drought: 53 Seasons

4. Illinois Fighting Illini

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There was a time when people expected the Fighting Illini to win national championships. After all, some of the best people to play the game came out of Illinois, including Red Grange and Dick Butkus.

But it's been a while since Illinois had that kind of talent. It's also been a long time since the Fighting Illini have had any hope to win the national championship.

Longest Championship Drought: 60 Seasons and Counting

3. Army Black Knights

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People forget how big of a program Army used to be. Before WWII, Army was one of college football's elite teams.

During and just after WWII, the Black Knights were unstoppable.

Army claimed a least a share of the national championship between 1944-46. During this time, Army also produced two Heisman Trophy winners: Doc "Mr. Inside" Blanchard and Glenn "Mr. Outside" Davis.

But after the war and the draft ended, so did Army's stay at the top.

Army's 1946 national title proved to be the Black Knights' last. If a person was born at the same time as when Army last won the national championship, he'd already be old enough to collect social security. 

Longest Championship Drought: 65 Seasons and Counting

2. TCU Horned Frogs

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TCU was not always part of a conference where it was virtually impossible to win the national championship. In fact, the Horned Frogs won two national titles back in 1935 and 1938.

And they haven't won a title since.

Now, they at least had a chance to do so back when they were in the old Southwest Conference. When that conference fell apart in 1996, TCU was left out of the Big 12 and had to compete in the WAC ('96-'00), C-USA ('01-'04) and the MWC ('05-'11).

And the way that the system is set up, it is pretty much impossible to win a national title when you play in those leagues. The Horned Frogs should have gotten a shot in 2010 after running the table and winning the Rose Bowl, but that didn't happen.

But now the Horned Frogs are back where they belong, as they join the Big 12 this season. Perhaps this ages-long drought will soon come to an end...

Longest Championship Drought: 73 Years and Counting

1. California Golden Bears

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Despite being the State of California's highest paid employee, Jeff Tedford hasn't brought Cal a national championship.

And has anyone else noticed that California is in the middle of a debt crisis?

But maybe we shouldn't be too hard on Tedford. After all, the last time the Golden Bears won a national title was in the middle of the Great Depression...

Longest Championship Drought: 74 Seasons and Counting