Top 10 Greatest College Football Dynasties in History

Nov 15, 2014; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleader performs a cheer during a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Notre Dame Stadium. Northwestern defeated Notre Dame in overtime 43-40. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 1941-1949 

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We obviously could not do a list like this and leave the Notre Dame Fighting Irish completely off of it. Of course, their greatest dynasty comes on the heels of Army’s dynasty ending. And this dynasty was just as impressive, probably more impressive.

The Fighting Irish began this dynasty with Frank Leahy taking over the program in 1941 and going 8-0-1. Then he went 7-2-2, and in 1943 he won the national championship with a 9-1 record.

There is a screwball in this dynasty, though, as Leahy was gone for 1944 and 1945, but Coaches Ed McKeever and Hugh Devore were able to keep the program at 8-2 and 7-2-1 respectively, and the dynasty really took off with Leahy’s return. It started with the Fighting Irish actually ending Army’s dynasty with a 0-0 tie at Yankee Stadium that year, ending a 25-game winning streak for Army, which had won back-to-back national championships. That was the only blemish for either team that year, leading to a split national championship between the two schools.

Then Notre Dame really took off, going 9-0 in 1947 with another national championship and 10-0 in 1949 for their third national championship in four years. And in 1948 the team still was undefeated with a 9-0-1 record and a No. 2 ranking. It is fair to say that this dynasty should only last from 1946 to 1949, but given the ability of the program to stay relevant despite the coaching turmoil in the middle of it and the fact that it never fell out of the Top 10 during this nine-year run and had six Top 5 finishes, it’s safe to say the Irish had a dominant decade in the 1940s.