College football fans debate anything and everything. Best team, best conference, best player and even who they want as their next coach.
What can't be argued is which state is college football’s best this season — at least based on combined winning percentage. And if there’s a best, of course, there’s also a worst.
The best and worst college football states in 2024? You might be surprised.
There are 41 states that have FBS programs. Of the 41, nine states only have one FBS program, so we’re only considering the 32 states with multiple FBS programs.
This is based on combined winning percentages of all FBS programs per state through games last weekend. It's not based on strength of schedule or conference. Y’all can debate that.
The best? Start spreading the news: New York, New York. The Big Apple is tied with Iowa and Oregon as the states off to the best starts. New York, Iowa and Oregon each have winning percentages of .833.
New York features Army (6-0), Syracuse (5-1) and Buffalo (4-2). Oregon has the undefeated Ducks (6-0) and Oregon State (4-2), while Iowa has the undefeated Cyclones (6-0) and Hawkeyes (4-2).
The state with the worst combined record is New Mexico. The Lobos and Aggies are only 3-9 this season (25%), followed by Mississippi 36.8% and Massachusetts (38.4%).
States With Best CFB Winning Percentages
| State | Combined Record |
|---|---|
| 1. New York | 15-3 (.833) |
| 1. Iowa | 10-2 (.833) |
| 1. Oregon | 10-2 (.833) |
| 4. Maryland | 8-3 (.727) |
| 5. Louisiana | 21-8 (.724) |
| 6. Pennsylvania | 13-5 (.722) |
| 7. Washington | 9-4 (.692) |
| 8. Illinois | 12-6 (.667) |
| 8. South Carolina | 12-6 (.667) |
| 8. Arizona | 8-4 (.667) |
States With Worst CFB Winning Percentages
| State | Combined Record |
|---|---|
| 1. New Mexico | 3-9 (.250) |
| 2. Mississippi | 7-12 (.368) |
| 3. Massachusetts | 5-8 (.384) |
| 4. Alabama | 14-22 (.388) |
| 5. Colorado | 8-10 (.444) |
| 6. Ohio | 22-27 (.448) |
| 7. California | 19-23 (.452) |
| 7. Florida | 19-23 (.452) |
| 9. North Carolina | 21-23 (.477) |
| 10. Oklahoma | 9-9 (.500) |
| 10. West Virginia | 6-6 (.500) |
| 10. Kansas | 6-6 (.500) |
A New Mr. October? 🍂
Former Yankees great Reggie Jackson is the original Mr. October. In the college football ranks, however, that nickname currently applies to Georgia’s Kirby Smart.
Entering Saturday’s epic showdown at Texas, Smart has won 14 consecutive games in October, the nation’s longest current winning streak in October. Georgia’s last loss in October was to Alabama on Oct. 17, 2020, nearly four years to the day of Saturday’s game in Austin, Texas.
Ironically, Ohio State’s Ryan Day was 17-0 in his career in October, until last week’s loss at Oregon.
Since Georgia’s last October loss in 2020, here are the best current 14-game October records entering this weekend.
| School | Record |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 14-0 |
| Liberty | 13-1 |
| Ohio State | 13-1 |
| Oregon | 12-2 |
| UTSA | 12-2 |
| Michigan | 11-3 |
Unlucky 13 1️⃣3️⃣
I’m not sure what this means exactly, except that a lot of really, really, really good coaches haven’t done well in their last 13 games. I’m not judging.
All schedules are not treated equal, but it's amazing that these nine Power Conference coaches are all three games under .500 in their last 13 games.
| Coach | Record |
|---|---|
| Mack Brown, UNC | 5-8 |
| Sonny Dykes, TCU | 5-8 |
| Hugh Freeze, Auburn | 5-8 |
| Lance Leipold, Kansas | 5-8 |
| Billy Napier, Florida | 5-8 |
| Lincoln Riley, USC | 5-8 |
| Deion Sanders, Colorado | 5-8 |
| Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati | 5-8 |
| Mark Stoops, Kentucky | 5-8 |
Dream Bowl Projection of the Week 😋
Vanderbilt — yes, Vanderbilt — is in my bowl projections this week after consecutive upsets of Alabama and Kentucky. Vanderbilt vs. anyone would be a dream for the Commodores.
This week, I have the Commodores facing West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl. Vanderbilt (4-2) is a massive favorite against Ball State, and after this weekend, could be only one win shy of the school’s first bowl berth since 2018.
Sandwich Spot 🥪
There are games that fit my non-scientific model of teams that might be in a challenging schedule or motivational situation. Each Sunday, I’ll put my Sandwich Spot plays in early in the Action Network App — download here for free.
All lines from open on Sunday
Duke -3 vs. Florida State
Before the season, I never would have predicted Duke would be a favorite in this spot, but the Blue Devils get Florida State between Clemson and Miami.
Cincinnati -2.5 vs. Arizona State
Cincinnati faces an Arizona State club that just avenged last year’s 55-3 loss to Utah (and stormed the field) and plays another revenge game next week vs. Oklahoma State.
Michigan State +6 vs. Iowa
Michigan State, off a bye, gets Iowa coming off a stretch of Minnesota (revenge), Ohio State (defending Big Ten champs) and Washington (CFP finalist). Letdown city.
Season record: 6-6
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