Who leads college football's most-played rivalries?

Of the 20 most-played rivalries between teams now in the FBS, Tennessee leads Kentucky by the widest margin, having won 75.0% of their games (84 wins, 25 losses and 9 ties since 1906 in CollegeFootballData.com's records, through the 2025 season). Wisconsin leads Minnesota, the most-played rivalry, by a single game: 63–62, with 8 ties. A tie counts as half a win. The source's early records miss some games, so its series can differ a little from the schools' own.

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Key facts

Measure: Games won by the team ahead in the series (%). Written from the data below.

  • Tennessee over Kentucky has the highest figure, 75%, followed by Oklahoma over Kansas (72.8%) and Tennessee over Vanderbilt (71.6%).
  • Wisconsin over Minnesota has the lowest figure, 50.4%, followed by Illinois over Northwestern (51.7%) and Colorado State over Wyoming (52.2%).

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Chartly. “Who leads college football's most-played rivalries?” Chart. Data: CollegeFootballData.com, college football games, https://collegefootballdata.com/ (data as of January 20, 2026). https://chart.ly/charts/college-football-rivalry-leaders (accessed October 15, 2026).

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Rivalry leader Games won by the team ahead in the series (%)
Tennessee over Kentucky 75
Oklahoma over Kansas 72.8
Tennessee over Vanderbilt 71.6
Michigan over Michigan State 65.7
Georgia over Georgia Tech 62.7
Purdue over Indiana 62.4
Clemson over South Carolina 61.5
NC State over Wake Forest 61.4
Ole Miss over Mississippi State 58.4
North Carolina over Virginia 55.8
Georgia over Auburn 54.9
Kansas over Kansas State 54.9
Texas over Oklahoma 54.7
TCU over Baylor 54.3
Michigan over Ohio State 53.7
Minnesota over Iowa 53.4
Navy over Army 53.2
Colorado State over Wyoming 52.2
Illinois over Northwestern 51.7
Wisconsin over Minnesota 50.4

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