Ranking Every State by Their College Football Teams
College football is a very pride-heavy sport. Fans root for their schools first and foremost, but in many cases, they'll throw support toward members of the same conference in hopes that makes their team look better for being in a strong league.
But what about state pride? Why isn't that more of a thing?
At Bleacher Report, we think identifying which states have the best collection of college football teams is just as important as which conferences and individual schools are superior to each other. Maybe it's leftover patriotism from Memorial Day, but we think it's worth deciding.
Using every FBS team's 2014 performance as a barometer—but also taking previous seasons' results into consideration—we've ranked every state, commonwealth, territory and principality in the United States. And since it's a collective ranking, having one really good team at the top doesn't take away from bottom-feeders bringing up the rear.
Check out where your part of the union ended up, then give us your thoughts in the comments section.
Unranked States
1 of 42
There are nine states (Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont) that do not currently have an FBS program. Most have teams at the FCS level, and of that group, the one that probably would fit best at the upper division is North Dakota State.
The Bison just earned their fourth consecutive FCS title, doing so despite losing longtime coach Craig Bohl to Wyoming. Each of those title-winning teams claimed a victory over an FBS program to start the season, with the 2014 team winning at Iowa State.
Sadly, NDSU didn't land on any FBS schedules for 2015, but that isn't likely to lessen its chance to win another national championship.
41. Connecticut
2 of 42
FBS teams: Connecticut
2014 combined record: 2-10
The Nutmeg State has only had FBS football since 2000, and while Connecticut never became a power, it wasn't ever as bad as it's been the past two years. Even with a coaching change, the Huskies dipped from 3-9 to a program-worst 2-10 record last season, and one of those wins came against an FCS school that it edged by three points.
Connecticut's last winning record came in 2010, before Randy Edsall went to Maryland and took with him all of the program's mojo.
40. New Mexico
3 of 42
FBS teams: New Mexico, New Mexico State
2014 combined record: 6-18
New Mexico's two FBS teams were far from being in contention for a bowl bid this past season, but that's pretty much been the norm in the Land of Enchantment for a while. New Mexico last went bowling in 2007, while New Mexico State hasn't been in a postseason game since the 1960 season.
The schools' combined six wins all came against FCS teams or FBS squads with losing records, including New Mexico's 38-35 win at NMSU.
39. Hawaii
4 of 42
FBS teams: Hawaii
2014 combined record: 4-9
It wasn't that long ago a trip to Hawaii meant trouble for most opponents, as the Rainbow Warriors regularly had winning records and were very tough to beat at home. But this past season was their fourth straight with a losing mark and sixth in the past seven years since June Jones took them to the Sugar Bowl following an unbeaten regular season in 2007.
Hawaii was just 3-4 at home last year, beating an FCS school and two fellow sub-.500 Mountain West teams. It had a chance to beat Washington in its opener but fell short, and if not for a massive late comeback in its home finale, it would have fallen to a two-win UNLV team.
38. Wyoming
5 of 42
FBS teams: Wyoming
2014 combined record: 4-8
First-year coach Craig Bohl made some headway with this state's lone college football team, but it has a long way to go before getting anywhere close to achieving the level of success he had with FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. In fact, Bohl already has more losses with Wyoming than he had in his last four seasons with the Bison.
The Cowboys have a decided home-field advantage playing at more than 7,000 feet above sea level, something they proudly display on the turf in War Memorial Stadium, but they still ended up dropping their last three home games in 2014 after winning the first three by a combined 10 points.
37. New York
6 of 42
FBS teams: Army, Buffalo, Syracuse
2014 combined record: 12-23
With bids available for 76 different schools, the annual bowl season has enough room for every one of the 41 states that has an FBS program. However, only 36 states had a team play a postseason game, and New York was the only one of those left out of the party that had more than two potential candidates.
At 5-6, Buffalo was the state's top program, which isn't much to brag about. The Bulls could have qualified for a bowl had a mid-November game not been canceled because of snow, but with the school having already fired coach Jeff Quinn a month earlier, there wasn't much chance they'd get a bid with several other Mid-American Conference teams already eligible.
At least Buffalo had that scant glimmer of hope. Army was eliminated from bowl contention—despite having a bid pre-arranged with the Armed Forces Bowl—by Nov. 1, while Syracuse's 3-9 record was its worst since 2008.
36. Nevada
7 of 42
FBS teams: Nevada, UNLV
2014 combined record: 9-17
Located in the middle of the country's biggest gambling mecca, UNLV discovered last season that the house always wins.
A year after ending a long bowl drought and getting coach Bobby Hauck a contract extension, the Runnin' Rebels went broke and won just two games, while Hauck resigned.
But even the games with the biggest house edge have to pay out occasionally, and in 2014, that winner was Nevada. The Wolf Pack bounced back from a 4-8 campaign the year before to win seven games, but they dropped their bowl matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl.
35. Iowa
8 of 42
FBS teams: Iowa, Iowa State
2014 combined record: 9-16
The Hawkeye State has two of the longest-tenured coaches at the FBS level, as Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and Iowa State's Paul Rhoads were hired prior to this decade. About the only noteworthy thing about Iowa football recently is its lack of change, including in the success department.
While Iowa won seven games and reached a New Year's Day bowl game for the second year in a row, Iowa State went 2-10 and failed to win a conference contest. It also won at Iowa, which diminishes what the Hawkeyes accomplished.
34. Massachusetts
9 of 42
FBS teams: Boston College, Massachusetts
2014 combined record: 10-15
Massachusetts is coming off of its most successful season since moving to the FBS level, tripling its previous best performance. But before you wonder why the Bay State is so far down on the list, it is necessary to point out that this means the Minutemen improved from one win to three.
Boston College, on the other hand, did exactly the same as in 2014, going 7-5 in the regular season and then losing its bowl game.
33. Idaho
10 of 42
FBS teams: Boise State, Idaho
2014 combined record: 13-12
Only four FBS schools won more games in 2014 than Boise State, which, at 12-2, had as many wins as the entire state of New York but without any help. No, we're not forgetting about the one victory Idaho provided last season; instead, we're kind of pretending it didn't exist since the Vandals' program has been one of the worst-performing in the country for quite some time.
Idaho is peculiar in that way, as Boise has had 10 or more wins 13 times since 1999. Idaho, on the other hand, hit the 10-loss mark for the fourth straight year and the seventh time in the 21st century.
32. Kansas
11 of 42
FBS teams: Kansas, Kansas State
2014 combined record: 12-13
As long as Bill Snyder is roaming the sidelines for Kansas State in his windbreakers, the Sunflower State will always have a chance to perform well in this ranking. But as long as Kansas continues to wallow near the bottom of the Big 12 standings, the state won't end up too high.
K-State won nine games in 2014, a record that could have been much better had the Wildcats been able to come through against Auburn, Baylor or TCU. Kansas also had a near-miss against TCU, as well as plenty of far-misses during a 3-9 campaign that included the firing of Charlie Weis midway through.
31. Virginia
12 of 42
FBS teams: Old Dominion, Virginia, Virginia Tech
2014 combined record: 18-19
A two-team competition for the longest time, the battle for Virginia supremacy has a new competitor with Old Dominion's move up to FBS two seasons ago. The Monarchs don't get a chance to play either of their in-state rivals until 2017, but with how mediocre Virginia and Virginia Tech have been of late, it might not be too hard for them to get the upper hand.
The Cavaliers and Hokies' annual rivalry game last November had more than just pride and bragging rights on the line, as it also sent the winner (Tech) to a bowl game and sent the loser (Virginia) home with a disappointing 5-7 record. Virginia Tech would add to its haul with a bowl victory to prevent the Commonwealth from having an overall losing record.
Old Dominion went 6-6 in its first year playing a full FBS schedule, though it wasn't bowl-eligible.
30. Indiana
13 of 42
FBS teams: Ball State, Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue
2014 combined record: 20-29
For those who might not already know, Notre Dame is located in South Bend, Indiana. The school is so well known on a national basis that its location might not get much attention, but that could also be because the rest of the state isn't that good in football and hasn't been in most years.
The Hoosier State's collective .408 win percentage is the worst of any state with four or more schools, and it's not even close. In fact, every other state with at least that many FBS programs had a winning overall mark in 2014.
Take out Notre Dame's 8-5 record and it would be even worse, as Ball State (5-7) was the second-best of the group, and that represented a major drop from 10-3 a year earlier.
29. Washington
14 of 42
FBS teams: Washington, Washington State
2014 combined record: 11-15
After both Washington schools went bowling in 2013—something that hadn't happened since 2002—things went back to normal in the Pacific Northwest. Washington had another solid season, though one that probably should have been better considering the Huskies had three eventual first-round NFL draft picks, while Washington State dropped to 3-9.
It could have been worse, and has been in recent memory. In 2008, Washington went 0-12 and Washington State ended up 2-11.
28. New Jersey
15 of 42
FBS teams: Rutgers
2014 combined record: 8-5
New Jersey is now Big Ten country, with Rutgers moving into that league as it expands eastward. And while the Scarlet Knights didn't fare particularly well in their first season of Big Ten play, with a 3-5 conference record, they did improve on the 6-7 overall mark from the previous season.
Rutgers also helped pad the Big Ten's bowl record with a thorough beating of North Carolina in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, further endearing itself to its new conference.
27. Arkansas
16 of 42
FBS teams: Arkansas, Arkansas State
2014 combined record: 14-12
Both Arkansas and Arkansas State achieved significant firsts in 2014, though of a completely different variety.
For the SEC's Razorbacks, they ended a two-year run of conference futility and ended up looking like one of the best teams in the country by season's end after blowing out Texas in the Texas Bowl. For Arkansas State, making a bowl game wasn't the big deal (since it was the Red Wolves' fourth straight appearance), but having that bowl be coached by the actual head coach after a string of interim coaches was quite an achievement.
26. Colorado
17 of 42
FBS teams: Air Force, Colorado, Colorado State
2014 combined record: 22-16
The Rocky Mountain State has its little guys to thank for not being any lower in the rankings, but also its biggest school to blame for not having a higher rating.
While the Mountain West's Air Force and Colorado State each won 10 games in 2014 and made it to bowl games, Pac-12 member Colorado went winless in its league and finished at 2-10. That's the Buffaloes' ninth straight losing record, the longest streak of any team in a power conference.
25. Illinois
18 of 42
FBS teams: Illinois, Northern Illinois, Northwestern
2014 combined record: 22-17
Northern Illinois has established itself as one of the most consistent mid-major programs in the country, winning 11 or more games in each of the past five seasons. While that's great for the Huskies, it doesn't bode well for the state's overall football reputation when that team's success has come at the same time as a prolonged dip in performance from Illinois' two power-conference entrants.
After NIU won at Northwestern in September, it took out an ad in the Chicago Tribune to proclaim itself as "Chicago's Big-Time Football Team." This might have seemed like harmless fun, but it also speaks to how Big Ten schools Illinois and Northwestern have struggled lately.
Yes, Illinois got to six wins and reached a bowl last year, but it lost badly to mid-major Louisiana Tech. And Northwestern, which won 10 games less than two years ago, has had only 10 victories in the 10 seasons since.
24. Pennsylvania
19 of 42
FBS teams: Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple
2014 combined record: 19-19
With schools in three different conferences, Pennsylvania has the potential to put its stamp on a trio of leagues and use that to define itself as a football power. In 2014, though, it was more of a follower than a leader.
Penn State needed overtime to beat Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl to finish with the Keystone State's top mark at 7-6, while Pittsburgh blew a huge lead to Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl to finish at 6-7. In between was Temple, which went 6-6 but didn't get a bowl invite because it finished too far down toward the middle of the American Athletic Conference standings.
23. Minnesota
20 of 42
FBS teams: Minnesota
2014 combined record: 8-5
With back-to-back eight-win seasons, Minnesota's lone FBS program is in the midst of its best run in more than a decade. But just like with previous strong periods of play from the Golden Gophers, they're still yet to get over the hump and do more.
Minnesota heads into the 2015 season riding a multi-game losing streak for the third straight year, failing to win again after getting to its high-victory mark each fall.
22. Oklahoma
21 of 42
FBS teams: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Tulsa
2014 combined record: 17-21
It was not a good year in the Sooner State in 2014, possibly the worst in a long time. Even with two of the state's three teams playing in bowl games, to have no school finish with more than eight wins is very disappointing.
Especially when, just a year earlier, Oklahoma went 11-2 and rolled over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, while Oklahoma State had 10 wins and nearly claimed the Big 12 title.
Tulsa's continued free fall—the Golden Hurricane won 11 games in 2012 and five in the two seasons since—further tarnished Oklahoma's overall image. All three programs could be in store for a rise this year, or all could continue to slip.
21. Nebraska
22 of 42
FBS teams: Nebraska
2014 combined record: 9-4
Every team measures success differently, but it's hard to find many that consider perennial nine-win seasons unsatisfactory. Yet that's what we have with Nebraska, which, despite a seventh consecutive year with at least nine victories under Bo Pelini, parted ways with the coach in December.
Because of this perception, we're following suit by ranking Nebraska below other states with worse overall records because their schools' performances were considered more successful.
20. West Virginia
23 of 42
FBS teams: Marshall, West Virginia
2014 combined record: 20-7
In most states, the power-conference programs get far more attention than the ones from lesser leagues. But with the run Marshall made in 2014 toward a shot at a major bowl appearance, the Thundering Herd seriously challenged West Virginia's stranglehold on the state's focus for at least one season.
The Herd might be hard-pressed to remain as relevant as the Mountaineers unless they can win 13 games every year, but for now they can lay claim to having had the better season in 2013-14 while West Virginia was getting itself settled into the Big 12. The Mountaineers turned a corner last year, winning seven games, and now the state is up for grabs with both programs losing major pieces of their most recent power-packed offensive lineups.
19. Maryland
24 of 42
FBS teams: Maryland, Navy
2014 combined record: 15-11
Maryland made a relatively successful transition from the ACC to the Big Ten in 2014, and the Terrapins were rewarded with...a cross-country bowl game against Stanford in a nearly empty stadium not far from their opponent's campus.
If Navy is able to have similar success in its first year in the American Athletic Conference after ending a long history of being independent, it could end up playing a home game as its stadium plays host to the Military Bowl. That will be a huge improvement over having to go bowling in California after three of the past four seasons, including last year, when the Midshipmen beat San Diego State...in San Diego.
18. Kentucky
25 of 42
FBS teams: Kentucky, Louisville, Western Kentucky
2014 combined record: 22-16
The state of Kentucky ended up with two teams playing in bowl games last year, something that seemed to be in line at the beginning of November but not in the way it ended up. With a month left in the 2014 season, Kentucky looked well on its way to ending a bowl skid only to finish on a six-game losing streak, while Western Kentucky was 3-5 and in desperate need of a hot streak that came with five straight victories.
Louisville stayed the course to end up with the Bluegrass State's best record, winning nine games in its first season in the ACC and also keeping rival Kentucky from being bowl-eligible. The return of Bobby Petrino to Louisville came with the success that was hoped for, though the real test will be if Petrino can win again with his own players after operating in 2014 with the leftovers of Charlie Strong's talented roster.
17. Michigan
26 of 42
FBS teams: Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Michigan, Michigan State, Western Michigan
2014 combined record: 33-30
Michigan State won its second straight New Year's Day Bowl game to assert itself as the state's top program, but somehow that doesn't resonate as strongly in the Midwest and across the nation as it would if Michigan were in that position.
Maybe the arrival of favorite son Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor will make that possible in the future, but for now the Great Lakes State belongs to the Spartans.
There's room for more than one good team in Michigan, though, as Central and Western Michigan showed by breaking through to reach bowl games last season. The Western Michigan performance was particularly strong, going from 1-11 in 2013 to 8-5 in 2014, while Central Michigan provided the top individual highlight of bowl season with its lateral-filled final play in the Bahamas Bowl.
16. North Carolina
27 of 42
FBS teams: Appalachian State, Charlotte, Duke, East Carolina, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest
2014 combined record: 46-41
With the addition of Charlotte to the FBS ranks, North Carolina now has seven schools in four different leagues. The 49ers could soon become a contender in Conference USA, which would fall in line with how East Carolina has quickly asserted itself in the American Athletic Conference, and Appalachian State came on strong late in the Sun Belt as an FBS newcomer in 2014.
The big boys, the Tobacco Row quartet of ACC schools Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest, are still the ones that make or break how the Tar Heel State gets rated. Last year three of those four made bowls, but only NC State ended up with a bowl victory out of the whole lot.
15. Tennessee
28 of 42
FBS teams: Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
2014 combined record: 26-24
In most years, if Memphis had the best record in the state, it wouldn't likely be a good year for the state of Tennessee. But 2014 was one of the strongest seasons for the Volunteer State, with Memphis one of three teams that finished with winning records.
The Tigers reached 10 wins and won the American Athletic Conference, their first league title since the early 1970s. That's the same number of victories the program had in the previous four seasons.
Tennessee won its most games (seven) since 2009 thanks to a late-year surge that was capped by a dominant bowl win with a very young team, while Middle Tennessee overcame huge personnel losses to go 6-6 but was left out of the bowl party because of a lack of available bids.
The lone black mark for the state was a sizable one, as Vanderbilt bottomed out in the first post-James Franklin season with only three wins.
14. Louisiana
29 of 42
FBS teams: Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, LSU, Tulane
2014 combined record: 33-31
LSU is and likely always will be the gold standard of Louisiana football, and not just for its color scheme. But the Tigers haven't been competitive for national championships the past few seasons, which could threaten the Bayou State's overall stature if a turnaround doesn't happen soon.
Thankfully, the rest of Louisiana's FBS programs have been doing their part to prop up the flag-bearers in Baton Rouge. Louisiana-Lafayette reached nine wins for the fourth consecutive season, each of which ended with a New Orleans Bowl victory, while Louisiana Tech won Conference USA's West Division and crushed Illinois in a bowl game.
The year before, Tulane and Louisiana-Monroe had winning records, though both slipped in 2014.
13. Florida
30 of 42
FBS programs: Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, Miami (Fla.), South Florida, UCF
2014 combined record: 46-42
The collective records of Florida's seven FBS programs is only slightly lower than in 2013, when they combined to win 48 games. But that season also included a national championship by Florida State and a second BCS-level bowl victory by upstart UCF.
The 2014 performance's highlights? A series of Houdini-like escapes for FSU to make it through the season unbeaten, only to get run over by Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and a sloppy win by Florida over East Carolina in a low-end bowl game with a patchwork staff in the midst of a coaching change.
Florida might annually be one of the biggest hotbeds for recruiting, but because its second-tier programs continue to perform poorly (Florida Atlantic, Florida International and South Florida combined to go 11-25), the Sunshine State will struggle to compete for the top spot in our rankings.
12. Arizona
31 of 42
FBS teams: Arizona, Arizona State
2014 combined record: 20-7
Arizona and Arizona State have combined to win 10 or more games 14 times since 1970, but last year was the first time they did so in the same season. It's fair to say 2014 was the most successful chapter in the Grand Canyon State's football history, with Arizona winning the Pac-12 South Division and ASU reaching 10 wins for a second straight year.
Both programs have been on the rise over the past few years thanks to new blood brought in to run the programs in 2012. Arizona's Rich Rodriguez needed a fresh start after getting shoved out of Michigan, while ASU's Todd Graham finally found a place he could put down roots following stops at three other programs from 2006-11.
The only thing that kept this state from being higher ranked was Arizona's failure to claim its biggest bowl victory since the late 1990s, as it fell to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
11. Mississippi
32 of 42
FBS teams: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Southern Mississippi
2014 combined record: 22-16
If we had conducted this ranking in October last season, there's no question Mississippi would have sat atop the state rankings. Both Ole Miss and Mississippi State were unbeaten, ranked in the top five and had huge, program-defining wins under their belts.
All eyes were focused on the Magnolia State every Saturday, to the point that SB Nation's Bill Connelly noted that "Mississippi is the center of the college football universe."
The Rebels and Bulldogs fell back to earth eventually, with Ole Miss losing four of six after a 7-0 start and MSU dropping three of four following a 9-0 opening that included several weeks atop the polls. But the overall success of 2014 was enough to warrant boosting this state high up the rankings,and also minimizing the effect that Southern Mississippi's 3-9 record has on the overall resume.
10. Oregon
33 of 42
FBS teams: Oregon, Oregon State
2014 combined record: 18-9
Oregon and Oregon State have both made bowl games in six of the past 10 seasons, but last year wasn't one of those occasions. However, the Ducks managed to keep their state in the top 10 of our rankings thanks to a run to the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship.
It was Oregon's second title game appearance since 2010, a feat only SEC powers Alabama and Auburn can also lay claim to. The Ducks might still be without a championship—while Alabama has two and Auburn beat Oregon in the BCS title game after the 2010 season—but their consistent run of major success keeps this state high in the rankings.
When Oregon State is able to add to that success, as it has in the past with four seasons of nine or more wins since 2006, the Beaver State gets far more respect.
9. Wisconsin
34 of 42
FBS teams: Wisconsin
2014 combined record: 11-3
Wisconsin hasn't had a losing record since 2001 and has reached 10 wins in six seasons since then. The Badgers reached the Big Ten title game this past winter, their third trip in the four years the game has existed, though the 2014 result (a 59-0 loss to Ohio State) was quite forgettable compared to wins in the 2011 and 2012 games.
Despite the sustained success, Wisconsin has had to deal with a surprising amount of coaching turnover of late. Paul Chryst will be the third head coach since 2011, though he does bring some familiarity with him to Madison, as he was a former Wisconsin quarterback and was the Badgers' offensive coordinator prior to spending three seasons coaching Pittsburgh.
8. Missouri
35 of 42
FBS teams: Missouri
2014 combined record: 11-3
The Show-Me State only has one FBS school to defend its honor, but for the second year in a row Missouri achieved more than enough on its own. The Tigers won a second straight SEC East division title and have a 23-5 record during that span, and as a result, coach Gary Pinkel was awarded with another contract extension that will make him part of the elite $4 million-per-year club.
"Coach Pinkel has established himself as one of the premier football coaches in America and he has certainly created a championship culture and tradition at Mizzou," Missouri athletic director Mack Rhoades said, per Tod Palmer of the Kansas City Star.
7. Utah
36 of 42
FBS teams: BYU, Utah, Utah State
2014 combined record: 27-13
There were 12 states that sent their entire contingent of FBS programs into bowl games, but 11 of those have only one or two schools within their borders. Only Utah managed to have all three of its teams go bowling, and if not for an overtime loss by BYU in the Miami Beach Bowl, the Beehive State would have been perfect in the postseason.
Utah won nine games for the first time since joining the Pac-12, capping its breakout year with a blowout win over former Mountain West foe Colorado State in the Las Vegas Bowl. On the same day, Utah State completed a third straight season with at least nine victories by downing UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl.
BYU was considered the worst team in the state with an 8-5 record, but that included wins over power programs from the ACC (Virginia), Big 12 (Texas) and Pac-12 (California).
6. Georgia
37 of 42
FBS teams: Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech
2014 combined record: 31-20
The state of Georgia could someday be the best in the country in college football, but for that to happen, it will either need to get Georgia State to become at least somewhat successful at the FBS level or convince them to move back down to FCS.
Take the Panthers' 1-11 mark out of the equation and the Peach State went 30-9 last season with all three other schools winning at least nine games. Georgia Tech won its division in the ACC and then rolled past Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl, while Georgia shook off a disappointing regular season to drub Louisville in the Belk Bowl and reach 10 wins for the third time in the past four years.
Even FBS newcomer Georgia Southern contributed to the state's success, going 9-3 in its first season. The Eagles didn't get to participate in a bowl, however, because the NCAA doesn't allow transitioning programs to be rewarded for making an instant impact.
5. California
38 of 42
FBS programs: California, Fresno State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Stanford, UCLA, USC
2014 combined record: 48-42
The Golden State got five of its seven schools into bowl games for the second year in a row, but unlike last season, when that featured four 10-win squads, there was only UCLA among the ranks of the double-digit victory crowd.
Fresno State and Stanford had the biggest drop-offs, going from 11-2 and 11-3 to 6-8 and 8-5, respectively. USC and San Diego State each won one fewer game, while San Jose State dipped to 3-9 just two years after being 11-2.
State namesake Cal was the lone team to improve from its 2013 performance, and it was a big leap. Sonny Dykes' second season with the Golden Bears saw a rise from 1-11 to 5-7, but still not enough to warrant the state getting ranked any higher.
4. Texas
39 of 42
FBS programs: Baylor, Houston, North Texas, Rice, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, UTEP, UTSA
2014 combined record: 81-70
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the number of football teams. The Lone Star State represents nearly 10 percent of FBS, and more than half of them made it into bowl games in 2014. They went a combined 4-3 in those bowls, with the power programs going 2-2 and those from lower conferences taking two of three matchups.
Texas' football roster is both top- and bottom-heavy, as Baylor and TCU both challenged for the playoffs, while SMU was the last team in the country to win a game and three other schools failed to top four victories. In between there was a decent crop of mid-level teams, all of which served as ingredients in the overall ranking.
Despite schools in five different leagues, no Texas school appeared in a conference title game in 2014. The addition of a league championship to the American Athletic Conference, which Houston and SMU play in, can up those odds for this season.
3. Alabama
40 of 42
FBS teams: Alabama, Auburn, South Alabama, Troy, UAB
2014 combined record: 35-29
If we were only counting power-conference programs, Alabama would have a shot at being No. 1 in the country every year. But this is an all-inclusive ranking, which means the performance (or lack thereof) of lower-tier teams holds as much weight as those from the SEC, and that's why Alabama isn't sitting higher on the list.
There's also a complete lack of postseason success from this past season that had a little something to do with the state's ranking.
Alabama and Auburn combined to win 20 games, but both lost their bowls or playoff games. Alabama had the No. 2 seed in the playoffs yet fell to eventual national champion Ohio State, while Auburn stumbled in overtime to Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. South Alabama added to the postseason struggles, as the Jaguars' first-ever bowl appearance resulted in a loss to Bowling Green in the Camellia Bowl.
Four of the state's five teams had at least six wins, but that included the now-defunct UAB program that was dissolved after its best season in a decade.
2. South Carolina
41 of 42
FBS teams: Clemson, South Carolina
2014 combined record: 17-9
It was another strong year in the Palmetto State, though not as successful as 2014 when both Clemson and South Carolina won 11 games and had big bowl victories. The bowl wins weren't as big this year, with the Russell Athletic and the Birmingham replacing the Orange and Capital One, but youth and injuries played a much bigger role than in 2013.
Just imagine what Clemson would have looked like had Deshaun Watson not missed so many games, or if the Head Ball Coach at South Carolina had been able to find some experienced players to help out the defense.
Both South Carolina programs have long streaks of bowl appearances, with Clemson having appeared in one for 10 straight years, while the Gamecocks landed in a bowl after each of the past seven seasons.
1. Ohio
42 of 42
FBS programs: Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Ohio State, Toledo
2014 combined record: 55-47
Sure, if you don't include Ohio State's performance, the results of the rest of the state aren't that impressive. But how can you exclude the national championship team, one that steamrolled its way to the title and left little doubt who was the best squad in the land?
For that, and for a combined 5-2 record in postseason games, the Buckeye State tops our list as the location of FBS' best group of football teams.
Six of the teams are in the Mid-American Conference, including five in the same division, so the overall record of the eight schools is heavily influenced by in-state battles. Ohio State beat Cincinnati and Kent State, while Cincinnati took out Miami and Toledo, and the MAC teams from Ohio played each other 12 times. But that still leaves 39 wins against out-of-state schools, including bowl victories by Bowling Green and Toledo and OSU's run through Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon for the national title.
The only odd blemish on Ohio's resume is the fact that both Cincinnati and Ohio State lost games to the same team, Virginia Tech.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Falcons Vikings Football")
