The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545685
8 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Michigan's 9-4 record pushed its program win total to 1,021 all time, still leaving it atop the standings as the winningest program in college football. However, the Wolverines slid to No. 4 in win percentage just one season after falling to third. Notre Dame edged into the No. 3 spot with Alabama moving up to No. 2. Alabama had previously been passed by U-M in the second slot after the 2023 season with U-M's 15-0 record and College Football Playoff national championship. Ohio State leads all-time in win percentage (.73659), fol- lowed by Alabama (.73307), Notre Dame (.73285), Michigan (.73221) and Boise State (.72419), rounding out the top five. — Anthony Broome Michigan Holds Firm In All-Time Big Ten Standings Oregon continued its strong start to its Big Ten member- ship, currently atop the all-time standings in terms of winning percentage, with an asterisk of two years of data compared to decades for most other programs. Despite Indiana's 16-0 season and sweep of the Big Ten and national titles, it still sits in second-to-last place among the 18 teams in the all-time standings. Expected to remain a national power under Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers could be poised for a move up in the years to come. Michigan stayed in the No. 3 slot with its performance in 2025, trailing the Ducks and rival Ohio State Buckeyes. — Anthony Broome The official record book on NCAA.org includes records as senior col- lege only, minimum 25 years in Division I. Bowl and playoff games are included, and each tie game is computed as half won and half lost. The tiebreaker rule began with the 1996 season. Division I FBS All-Time Wins Leaders Rk. School Years W L T Change 1. Michigan 146 1,021 362 36 — 2. Ohio State* 136 990 337 53 — 3. Alabama* 131 985 345 43 — 4. Notre Dame* 136 972 341 42 — 5. Texas 133 971 398 33 — 6. Oklahoma 131 960 351 53 — 7. Penn State 139 950 418 41 — 8. Nebraska 136 931 436 40 — 9. Georgia 132 904 434 54 — 10. USC* 132 891 378 54 — Division I FBS All-Time Winning Percentage Leaders Rk. School Games Win% Record Change 1. Ohio State* 1,380 .73659 990-337-53 — 2. Alabama* 1,373 .73307 985-345-43 — 3. Notre Dame* 1,355 .73285 972-341-42 Up 1 4. Michigan 1,419 .73221 1,021-362-36 Down 1 5. Boise State 707 .72419 511-194-2 — 6. Oklahoma 1,364 .72324 960-351-53 — 7. Texas 1,402 .70435 971-398-33 — 8. USC* 1,323 .69388 891-378-54 — 9. Penn State 1,409 .68879 950-418-41 — 10. Nebraska 1,407 .67591 931-436-40 — *Ohio State had 12 victories from 2010 vacated; Alabama had eight victories and one tie forfeited from 1993, plus 21 victories vacated from 2005-07; Notre Dame had 21 victories vacated from 2012 and 2013; and USC had 14 victories vacated from 2004 and 2005. All-Time Big Ten Standings Rk. School Years G W L T Pct. 1. Oregon 2 29 26 3 0 .8965 2. Ohio State 112 782 576 182 24 .7519 3. Michigan 119 805 562 225 18 .7093 4. Penn State 33 282 178 106 0 .6312 5. USC 2 27 17 10 0 .6296 6. Washington 2 26 15 11 0 .5769 7. Michigan State 73 573 307 257 9 .5436 8. Wisconsin 130 859 412 406 41 .5035 9. Iowa 126 801 377 400 25 .4857 10. Minnesota 130 841 389 424 28 .4792 11. Purdue 130 821 364 443 32 .4529 12. Nebraska 15 137 61 72 0 .4453 13. Illinois 130 869 389 466 32 .4566 14. Northwestern 130 858 312 524 22 .3765 15. UCLA 2 24 8 16 0 .3333 16. Maryland 12 108 35 76 0 .3241 17. Indiana 126 795 241 532 31 .3190 18. Rutgers 12 113 28 85 0 .2477 Michigan Maintains Lead In All-Time Wins Michigan will host defending CFP national champion Indiana on Oct. 24 this season. The Hoosiers have the second-most losses (715) in Division I college football history, including a 21-0 defeat to the Wolverines in 1946. PHOTO COURTESY BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY