Stories
Where the belt changes hands
327 times the belt has changed hands. Where, by how much, and how often a tie got in the way.
38%of all title changes were won on the road
Mostly on the road
Of the 327 title changes in belt history, 125 happened with the challenger on the road, 165 at home and 37 on a neutral field. That is 38% road takeovers — the belt is usually won in someone else’s stadium, which makes sense: the holder is more often the better team, and the better team is more often at home.
One score, and sometimes one point
158 of the 327 changes (48%) came in one-score games. 22 of them were decided by a single point: Ohio State over Penn State 27–26 in 2018; TCU over West Virginia 31–30 in 2014; Iowa over Arizona 21–20 in 1996; Washington over California 24–23 in 1993; UCLA over USC 38–37 in 1992; Colorado over Notre Dame 10–9 in 1991.
And sometimes by a mile
The biggest margins a belt ever changed hands by: Alabama 61–6 over Syracuse, 1953; Pennsylvania 46–0 over Lafayette, 1897; Penn State 51–6 over Pittsburgh, 2018; Oklahoma 65–21 over Texas Tech, 2008; Washington 46–7 over California, 1990.
Ties that saved a reign
54 times the holder was held to a tie and kept the belt under the holder-retains rule, most recently UCLA and Tennessee, 26–26 in 1985. Overtime ended ties in 1996, so that number is final.
When it changes hands
32 changes came in the postseason — bowls and playoff games — the rest in the regular season. By month, November has seen the most, 117, which is mostly a story about how many games get played then.
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