Ohio State has won 990 games since 1890, and will almost certainly become the second program in college football history to reach 1,000 during the 2026 season. The Buckeyes need ten wins. They have won at least ten in every full season since 2012.
| Record through 2025 | 990, 337, 53 |
| Winning percentage | .737 |
| All time rank by wins | Second, behind Michigan |
| First season | 1890 |
| Home record at Ohio Stadium | 466, 135, 15 through 2024 |
| National championships | Nine claimed |
| Big Ten championships | 39 |
The Highest Percentage of Any 900 Win Program
Michigan has more wins, but Ohio State has the better percentage. At .737, the Buckeyes edge Michigan’s .732 and Alabama’s .733, and no program with 900 or more victories wins at a higher rate. Notre Dame and Oklahoma are close behind.
The distinction matters because the wins list rewards longevity. Michigan started playing in 1879, eleven years before Ohio State, and has simply had more games. Percentage measures how well a program used the games it had.
The Race to 1,000
Michigan reached 1,000 wins in 2023, the first program to do it. Ohio State at 990 and Alabama at 988 are next, and both could get there this season. Ohio State needs ten wins and Alabama twelve, so the Buckeyes are likelier to be second.
Our winningest programs page has the full top 20.
How the Record Was Built
| Coach | Seasons | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Woody Hayes | 1951 to 1978 | 205 |
| John Cooper | 1988 to 2000 | 111 |
| Jim Tressel | 2001 to 2010 | 106 |
| Urban Meyer | 2012 to 2018 | 83 |
| Ryan Day | 2019 to present | 82 |
| Earle Bruce | 1979 to 1987 | 81 |
| John Wilce | 1913 to 1928 | 78 |
Seven coaches account for 746 of the 990 wins. Hayes alone accounts for more than a fifth of them. Our head coaches page has all 25 with records.
The Modern Run
Since Urban Meyer arrived in 2012, Ohio State has gone 165 and 21, a winning percentage above .880. The program has won at least eleven games in every full season across that span except 2020, when the pandemic shortened the schedule to eight games and the Buckeyes went 7 and 1 and reached the national championship game.
That fourteen year stretch is the most sustained period of dominance in the program’s history, better even than the Hayes era, which had losing seasons in 1959 and 1966.
The Losing Seasons
Ohio State has had very few. Since Woody Hayes arrived in 1951, the program has finished below .500 just four times: 1959, 1966, 1988 under John Cooper, and 2011 under interim coach Luke Fickell. The 1988 team went 4, 6 and 1 and remains the only losing season in the past 60 years that lasted a full schedule under a permanent head coach.
The Ties
Fifty three of Ohio State’s games ended level, all before overtime was introduced to college football in 1996. The most consequential was the 1973 game against Michigan, a 10 to 10 draw that left the Big Ten athletic directors to vote on which team would go to the Rose Bowl. They chose Ohio State, and Michigan, unbeaten, stayed home. Our rivalry page covers that vote.
The Bottom Line
Ohio State is 990 wins, 337 losses and 53 ties all time, a .737 winning percentage that is the best of any program with 900 victories. The Buckeyes need ten wins to reach 1,000 and should get there in 2026. Woody Hayes accounts for 205 of the total, and the fourteen seasons since 2012 have been the most dominant stretch in the program’s history.