Stories
Bowl season
Bowl games and playoff games are belt games too, whenever the holder is in one. 81 times the belt has gone into the postseason on the line, and 32 times it came out with a new owner.
32postseason title changes, each one a reign that started in the dead of winter
The first one: January 1, 1925
The belt’s first trip to the postseason was West Virginia Wesleyan 9–7 SMU, with West Virginia Wesleyan holding it. The holder kept it.
Since then it has been on the line in 81 postseason games and changed hands in 32 of them (40%, against 20% for belt games overall). Bowls pair the holder with someone good, which is the whole point of a bowl and a bad day for a belt.
Every postseason title change
All 32 of them, oldest first. A bowl takeover is a peculiar kind of reign: it starts in January and cannot be defended until September, so every one of these holders spent its first eight months doing nothing at all.
- January 1, 1934: Columbia 7–0 Stanford — kept it 292 days
- January 1, 1938: Auburn 6–0 Michigan State — kept it 280 days
- January 1, 1940: USC 14–0 Tennessee — kept it 299 days
- January 1, 1942: Alabama 29–21 Texas A&M — kept it 303 days
- January 1, 1953: Alabama 61–6 Syracuse — kept it 260 days
- January 1, 1957: Baylor 13–7 Tennessee — kept it 277 days
- January 1, 1964: Alabama 12–7 Ole Miss — kept it 1 yr
- January 1, 1965: Texas 21–17 Alabama — kept it 288 days
- January 1, 1966: LSU 14–7 Arkansas — kept it 266 days
- January 1, 1968: Oklahoma 26–24 Tennessee — kept it 264 days
- January 1, 1970: USC 10–3 Michigan — kept it 282 days
- December 12, 1970: Tulane 17–3 Colorado — kept it 280 days
- January 1, 1972: Nebraska 38–6 Alabama — kept it 252 days
- January 1, 1973: USC 42–17 Ohio State — kept it 299 days
- January 1, 1976: UCLA 23–10 Ohio State — kept it 324 days
- January 1, 1981: Michigan 23–6 Washington — kept it 254 days
- December 28, 1985: Alabama 24–3 USC — kept it 301 days
- January 1, 1988: Clemson 35–10 Penn State — kept it 260 days
- January 1, 1990: Illinois 31–21 Virginia — kept it 250 days
- January 1, 1991: Colorado 10–9 Notre Dame — kept it 256 days
- January 3, 2003: Ohio State 31–24 Miami — kept it 281 days
- January 1, 2004: USC 28–14 Michigan — kept it 2 yrs, 3 days
- January 4, 2006: Texas 41–38 USC — kept it 248 days
- January 9, 2007: Florida 41–14 Ohio State — kept it 263 days
- January 1, 2008: Missouri 38–7 Arkansas — kept it 284 days
- January 8, 2009: Florida 24–14 Oklahoma — kept it 331 days
- January 4, 2012: West Virginia 70–33 Clemson — kept it 283 days
- January 9, 2017: Clemson 35–31 Alabama — kept it 277 days
- December 28, 2019: Clemson 29–23 Ohio State — kept it 16 days
- January 13, 2020: LSU 42–25 Clemson — kept it 257 days
- January 1, 2022: Baylor 21–7 Ole Miss — kept it 252 days
- January 8, 2024: Michigan 34–13 Washington — kept it 243 days
Holding it through January
49 times the holder walked out of a bowl still holding the belt. The programs that have done it most: Alabama (5), USC (5), Ole Miss (4), Auburn (3), Ohio State (3), and BYU (2).
And the ones that have lost it in a bowl most often: Ohio State (4), Alabama (3), Tennessee (3), Arkansas (2), and Clemson (2).
The playoff era
Since the College Football Playoff began with the 2014 season the belt has been on the line in 14 postseason games and moved in 5 of them: Clemson 35–31 Alabama (2016 season), Clemson 29–23 Ohio State (2019 season), LSU 42–25 Clemson (2019 season), Baylor 21–7 Ole Miss (2021 season), and Michigan 34–13 Washington (2023 season).
A 12-team bracket means the holder is likelier than ever to keep playing into January — and every playoff game is a belt game if the holder is in it. The belt has always been a lineal title; the playoff just made it a lineal title with a bracket.
The latest: December 20, 2024
The most recent postseason belt game was Florida 33–8 Tulane. The belt stayed.
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