T2. Penn State Nittany Lions (60 wins)
The recruiting has been strong, the wins have been there, and the team has flirted with the College Football Playoff … sort of.
Penn State might have had the worst start to a season in the program’s history – going 0-5 last year – but closed out with four straight wins to get in the 60-win club and stay among the top programs to not make the College Football Playoff.
– 2021 Penn State Schedule Analysis
Remember, James Franklin took over when there was talk of a Death Penalty as part of the NCAA sanctions, and he built the powerhouse back up. The Nittany Lions won 11 games with a Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl appearance in 2016, followed it up with 11 wins and a Fiesta Bowl victory in 2017, and managed 11 wins and a Cotton Bowl victory in 2019.
It’s been one of the few programs that’s been able to hang with – and actually beat – Ohio State in the CFP era, and it’s been consistently great right up until the rough start to last season.
Call 2020 an aberration – Penn State should’ve won the Indiana game – and even then, again, the team came up with four gut-check wins to close strong.