Which State Had the Best FBS Record in 2020?

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 Which State Had the Best FBS Record in 2020?

I thought it would be interesting to see which state's FBS teams had the best record for the 2020 football season.  Realize that not every team played, and of those that did, most did not play a full schedule.  Still, there were several surprises, and I think you will find the results as interesting as I did.

First, I am going to list the teams all together in one long list, and then I'll break them down by the number of teams in each state, so we are comparing a little more apples to apples. 

1) Iowa 15-5 .7500
2) Oklahoma 23-8 .7419
3) Indiana 25-9 .7352
4) Idaho 5-2 .7142
5) South Carolina 23-11 .6764
6) Utah 15-8 .6521
7) West Virginia 13-7 .6500
8) Virginia 20-12 .6250
9) Ohio 28-17 .6222
10) Alabama 34-21 .6181
11) California 27-18 .6000
12) Georgia 25-18 .5813
13) Wisconsin 4-3 .5714
14) Hawai'i 5-4 .5556
15) New York 16-14 .5333
16) North Carolina 36-35 .5070
17) Colorado 8-8 .5000
18) Missouri 5-5 .5000
19) Washington 4-4 .5000
20) Texas 56-58 .4912
21) Louisiana 26-27 .4905
22) Florida 31-34 .4769
23) Nevada 7-8 .4667
24) Oregon 6-8 .4284
25) Minnesota 3-4 .4284
26) Michigan 13-18 .4193
27) Kentucky 19-20 .4117
28) Pennsylvania 11-16 .4074
29) Illinois 9-14 .3913
30) Mississippi 12-19 .3870
31) Nebraska 3-5 .3750
32) Tennessee 14-25 .3589
33) Arkansas 7-14 .3333
T34) Maryland 5-10 .3333
T34) Massachusetts 5-10 .3333
36) New Jersey 3-6 .3333
37) Wyoming 2-4 .3333
38) New Mexico 2-5 .2857
39) Arizona 2-7 .2222
40) Kansas 4-15 .2105
41) Connecticut 0-0 .0000

9 states do not have any FBS teams: Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont.

What immediately stands out is that states that begin with the letter I occupy 3 of the top 4 spots! Iowa includes only 2 teams, Iowa and Iowa State, and both had successful seasons, so they reside at the top.  Oklahoma has 3 teams, and OU, OSU, and Tulsa all had winning seasons.  Indiana has 4 teams: Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, and Ball State, and only Purdue's 2-4 record brought their winning percentage down.  Idaho, with only Boise State, is 4th, but the biggest surprise, to me anyway, sits in 5th- South Carolina.  Upon closer inspection, however, it makes sense, with Clemson finishing at 10-2 and Coastal Carolina at 11-1.  Only USC at 2-8 drags the winning percentage down.  

There are no real surprises at the bottom.  New Mexico, Arizona, and Kansas are the bottom 3, but there is no doubt that Connecticut would have been right with them if they had played an FBS schedule.  Louisiana is the mid-point on this list.

Here is how the states break down by the number of teams.  I think you'll find it interesting to see which team in each state had the best record, and you'll be surprised. A lot!

12 teams

Texas- 56-58 .4912
Texas A&M 9-1
Texas and SMU 7-3
TCU 6-4
UTSA 7-5
Texas Tech and North Texas 4-6
Rice 2-3
Houston and UTEP 3-5
Baylor 2-7
Texas State 2-10


8 teams

Ohio- 28-17 .6222
Cincinnati 9-1
Ohio State 7-1
Kent State 3-1
Toledo 4-2
Ohio and Miami, OH 2-1
Akron 1-5
Bowling Green 0-5


7 teams

1) California 27-18 .6000
San Jose State 7-1
USC 5-1
Stanford 4-2
San Diego State 4-4
Fresno State 3-3
UCLA 3-4
Cal 1-3

2) North Carolina 36-35 .5070
Appalachian State 9-3
North Carolina and NC State 8-4
Wake Forest 4-5
East Carolina 3-6
Charlotte 2-4
Duke 2-9

3) Florida 31-34 .4769
Miami, FL 8-3
Florida 8-4
UCF 6-4
FAU 5-4
FSU 3-6
South Florida 1-8
FIU 0-5


5 teams

1) Alabama 34-21 .6181
Alabama 13-0
UAB 6-3
Auburn 6-5
Troy 5-6
South Alabama 4-7

2) Louisiana 26-27 .4905
Louisiana 10-1
Tulane 6-6
LSU and La Tech 5-5
ULM 0-10

3) Michigan 13-18 .4193
Western Michigan 4-2
Central Michigan 3-3
Michigan and Eastern Michigan 2-4
Michigan State 2-5


4 teams

1) Indiana 25-9 .7352
Ball State 7-1
Notre Dame 10-2
Indiana 6-2
Purdue 2-4

2) Georgia 25-18 .5813
Georgia 8-2
Georgia Southern 8-5
Georgia State 6-4
Georgia Tech 3-7

3) Tennessee 14-25 .3589
Memphis 8-3
Middle Tennessee 3-6
Tennessee 3-7
Vanderbilt 0-9


3 teams

1) Oklahoma 23-8 .7419
Oklahoma 9-2
Oklahoma State 8-3
Tulsa 6-3

2) South Carolina 23-11 .6764
Coastal Carolina 11-1
Clemson 10-2
South Carolina 2-8

3) Utah 15-8 .6521
BYU 11-1
Utah 3-2
Utah State 1-5

4) Virginia 20-12 .6250
Liberty 10-1
Virginia 5-5
Virginia Tech 5-6
Old Dominion- DNP

5) New York 16-14 .5333
Buffalo 6-1
Army 9-3
Syracuse 1-10

6) Colorado 8-8 .5000
Colorado 4-2
Air Force 3-3
Colorado State 1-3

7) Kentucky 14-20 .4117
Kentucky 5-6
WKU 5-7
Louisville 4-7

8) Pennsylvania 11-16 .4074
Pittsburgh 6-5
Penn State 4-5
Temple 1-6

9) Illinois 9-14 .3913
Northwestern 7-2
Illinois 2-6
Northern Illinois 0-6

10) Mississippi 12-19 .3870
Ole Miss 5-5
Mississippi State 4-7
Southern Miss 3-7


2 teams

1) Iowa 15-5 .7500
Iowa State 9-3
Iowa 6-2

2) West Virginia 13-7 .6500
Marshall 7-3
West Virginia 6-4

3) Washington 4-4 .5000
Washington 3-1
Washington State 1-3

4) Nevada 7-8 .4667
Nevada 7-2
UNLV 0-6

5) Oregon 6-8 .4285
Oregon 4-3
Oregon State 2-5

6) Arkansas 7-14 .3333
Arkansas State 4-7
Arkansas 3-7

T7) Maryland 5-10 .3333
Navy 3-7
Maryland 2-3

T7) Massachusetts 5-10 .3333
Boston College 5-6
UMass 0-4

9) Arizona 2-7 .2222
Arizona State 2-2
Arizona 0-5

10) Kansas 4-15 .2105
Kansas State 4-6
Kansas 0-9


1 team

1) Idaho 5-2 .7142
Boise State 5-2

2) Wisconsin 4-3 .5714
Wisconsin 4-3

3) Hawai'i 5-4 .5556
Hawai'i 5-4

4) Missouri 5-5 .5000
Missouri 5-5

5) Minnesota 3-4 .4285
Minnesota 3-4

6) Nebraska 3-5 .3750
Nebraska 3-5

7) New Jersey 3-6 .3333
Rutgers 3-6

8) Wyoming 2-4 .3333
Wyoming 2-4

9) New Mexico 2-5 .2857
New Mexico 2-5
New Mexico State- DNP

Connecticut 0-0 .0000
10) UConn- DNP

I hope you found this breakdown as fascinating as I did!  Look for my individual team previews beginning on July 19, and my conference previews beginning on August 9.  Starting on August 23, the incredibly stupid-named Zero Week, I will begin my regular in-season schedule: TWIF Notes on Mondays, Power Rankings on Tuesdays, Odds and Ends on Wednesdays, and Paul's Picks on Thursdays.  I hope you will follow this blog all year!  Feel free to leave your comments.

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!

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