It's not every day that two of college football's true bluebloods hook up on the gridiron but that's exactly what lies ahead with Ohio State and Notre Dame set to clash in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.
Currently holding down second place on the all-time FBS wins list with 892, Notre Dame has a fairly firm grasp on their spot but still trails top-ranked Michigan by 32 wins.
With a victory over the Irish, Ohio State would move to 875-320-53 all time, good for a heady .722 winning percentage serving as the third-best mark among its peers ranked in the top 10 for overall wins.
Currently fifth on the all-time wins list, Ohio State is in position to make a bid for fourth and even third place over the next handful of seasons with Texas and Nebraska not exactly lighting it up in recent years.
| RANK | TEAM | WON | LOSS | TIED | WIN PCT. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MICHIGAN | 924 | 331 | 36 | .730 |
| 2 | NOTRE DAME | 892 | 312 | 42 | .733 |
| 3 | TEXAS | 886 | 351 | 33 | .711 |
| 4 | NEBRASKA | 879 | 368 | 40 | .699 |
| 5 | OHIO STATE | 874 | 320 | 53 | .722 |
| 6 | ALABAMA | 862 | 326 | 43 | .718 |
| 7 | OKLAHOMA | 861 | 318 | 53 | .720 |
| 8 | PENN STATE | 856 | 381 | 41 | .686 |
| 9 | TENNESSEE | 819 | 371 | 53 | .680 |
| 10 | SOUTHERN CAL | 813 | 332 | 54 | .701 |
At present, the Buckeyes trail the Cornhuskers by just five wins for fourth place all-time and have slashed into Nebraska's lead of late. In going 49-4 since Urban Meyer's arrival preceding the 2012 season, Ohio State has gained 16 wins on Big Red as the middling program posted a 33-19 mark over the same stretch.
Considering the state of Mike Riley's program (5-7 this year with a loss to UCLA scheduled for the day after Christmas), it's conceivable Ohio State could pass the Huskers next year. If they don't, it's a near certainty the Buckeyes will overtake them sometime in the 2016 season.
Down in Austin, Charlie Strong is trying to extinguish his own dumpster fire. While the Longhorn program, currently third in all-time wins, has a 12-win edge on the Buckeyes, they've gone just 28-23 since the start of the 2012 season including a 5-7 mark this year.
Again, with Ohio State posting that 49-4 mark since 2012, Texas has stumbled mightily during that same window recording a 28-23 record allowing the Buckeyes to gain 21 wins on the Longhorns. If those trends continue Ohio State could pass the Longhorns sometime over the next three to four seasons.
While passing Nebraska and Texas for third place all-time remains a real possibility over the next four years or so, overtaking Notre Dame is a different animal. With Notre Dame going 39-12 over the last four seasons Ohio State has actually gained 10 wins on the Irish but still the Irish have an edge of 18 wins.
Ohio State stands 50 wins shy of the Wolverines but have closed the gap by an insane 20 victories since the start of the 2011 season. They won't like gain the same type of ground over the next four-year window with Jim Harbaugh holding it down in Ann Arbor but as for Texas and Nebraska, consider yourselves on notice.
