Story byDan TreacySat, January 17, 2026 at 8:20 AM UTC·5 min read16-0 seasons in college football history: Revisiting 1894 Yale team that ran table long before Indiana originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. JUMP TOHas a team ever gone 16-0 in college football?1894 Yale football team1894 Yale football schedule1894 Yale football rosterWhy 16-0 became impossible in college footballIndiana football schedule 2025Indiana is on the doorstep of history. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAgainst all odds, the Hoosiers have gone from a Big Ten bottom-feeder to national championship favorites in two short years under coach Curt Cignetti. After reaching the College Football Playoff as a feel-good story last season, Indiana suddenly looks like the most dominant team in the country despite no championship history. If the Hoosiers win one more game, they would do something that hasn't been done in college football in more than a century. Here's what you need to know about the history of 16-0 teams in college football. MORE CFP CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NEWS:Expert prediction of Indiana-Miami finalCurt Cignetti's past meets his future in semisRoster breakdown: Who has more blue-chippers?Is Indiana better than Joe Burrow-led LSU?Miami's run has a March Madness feelHas a team ever gone 16-0 in college football?Only one team has gone 16-0 at the highest level of college football: the 1894 Yale Bulldogs. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNorth Dakota State matched Yale at the FCS level in 2019, when the Bison put together an undefeated 16-0 season with Trey Lance at quarterback. If Indiana wins the national championship game over Miami, it will be the first team to finish 16-0 at the highest level of college football in 131 years. Here's a closer look at the dominance of the 1894 Yale Bulldogs. MORE:Has Indiana ever won a national championship in football?1894 Yale football teamYale's record only tells part of the story of the 1894 Bulldogs team, as they outscored opponents 485-13 and recorded 13 shutouts in 16 games. The Bulldogs were coming off a similarly dominant 10-1 season that began with eight consecutive shutouts, but it ended with a 6-0 loss to Princeton.
