Stories
Giant killers
Every long reign ends the same way: someone wins on a Saturday nobody expected. These are the ten longest reigns ever ended, and the programs that ended them.
2,574days — the longest reign ever ended, Princeton’s, by Yale
No. 1 Yale ends Princeton’s 7 yrs, 17 days
Princeton had held the belt for 7 yrs, 17 days and defended it 10 times when Yale ended it 2–0 at home on November 30, 1876.
Yale kept the prize for 1 yr, 363 days before losing it to Princeton.
No. 2 Harvard ends Princeton’s 3 yrs, 355 days
Princeton had held the belt for 3 yrs, 355 days and defended it 25 times when Harvard ended it 2–1 at home on November 18, 1882.
Harvard kept the prize for 7 days before losing it to Yale. A one-week wonder that toppled a giant.
No. 3 Princeton ends Yale’s 3 yrs, 3 days
Yale had held the belt for 3 yrs, 3 days and defended it 36 times when Princeton ended it 6–0 at home on November 30, 1893.
Princeton kept the prize for 345 days before losing it to Pennsylvania.
No. 4 Princeton ends Yale’s 2 yrs, 361 days
Yale had held the belt for 2 yrs, 361 days and defended it 25 times when Princeton ended it 6–5 on the road on November 21, 1885.
Princeton kept the prize for 1 yr, 356 days before losing it to Harvard.
No. 5 Cornell ends Harvard’s 2 yrs, 355 days
Harvard had held the belt for 2 yrs, 355 days and defended it 25 times when Cornell ended it 10–0 on the road on October 23, 1915.
Cornell kept the prize for 1 yr, 5 days before losing it to Harvard.
No. 6 Ohio State ends Miami’s 2 yrs, 88 days
Miami had held the belt for 2 yrs, 88 days and defended it 31 times when Ohio State ended it 31–24 at a neutral site on January 3, 2003.
Ohio State kept the prize for 281 days before losing it to Wisconsin.
No. 7 Navy ends Army’s 2 yrs, 40 days
Army had held the belt for 2 yrs, 40 days and defended it 21 times when Navy ended it 14–2 at home on December 2, 1950.
Navy kept the prize for 308 days before losing it to Princeton.
No. 8 Yale ends Harvard’s 2 yrs, 19 days
Harvard had held the belt for 2 yrs, 19 days and defended it 23 times when Yale ended it 28–0 at home on November 24, 1900.
Yale kept the prize for 364 days before losing it to Harvard.
No. 9 Princeton ends Yale’s 2 yrs, 4 days
Yale had held the belt for 2 yrs, 4 days and defended it 29 times when Princeton ended it 10–0 at home on November 28, 1889.
Princeton kept the prize for 364 days before losing it to Yale.
No. 10 Washington ends USC’s 2 yrs, 4 days
USC had held the belt for 2 yrs, 4 days and defended it 24 times when Washington ended it 20–10 on the road on November 15, 1980.
Washington kept the prize for 47 days before losing it to Michigan.
The career giant killers
Add up the length of every reign a program has ended and you get a different kind of leaderboard — not who held the belt longest, but who took the most away.
Princeton has ended 9 reigns worth 5,040 days. Harvard has ended 10 reigns worth 4,713 days. Yale has ended 7 reigns worth 4,448 days. Navy has ended 5 reigns worth 1,762 days. Notre Dame has ended 9 reigns worth 1,669 days.
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