There was a time when when people thought of great football, their minds immediately went to the south.
Georgia. Texas. Florida. Alabama. Louisiana. South Carolina. In short, SEC country.
We've now reached a day where that narrative has, and should, change and the midwest is now the new home to college football's national champions.
Allow me to elaborate.
I must admit before we dig into the piece, my idea of the midwest included Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and my native state of Michigan. Sure, there are plenty of states you could make a case for, but that's what I understood the midwest to be.
Boy, was I wrong.
Come to find out, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics considers the midwest to include many of those state, but not Pennsylvania. Instead, the government's idea of the midwest includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri in addition to the states I previously outlined.
For the sake of this piece, that's great news for me and the point I'm about to argue about the midwest being the new home of college football national champions.
Just under 270 miles separated the campuses of Ohio State and Notre Dame, marking the closest distance between two FBS national title opponents ever. So no matter what the FBS trophy was coming home to the midwest for the second straight year after Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines took it home in 2023.
With all college football games from the 2024-25 season now in the books, a look at national champions shows that four of the five winners this year from FBS to NAIA call the midwest home.
Here's a look at each and what the future looks like at each level.
FBS: Ohio State
Location: Columbus, OH
What the future looks like: If Ryan Day remains at Ohio State, and is able to stay partnered with Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles, Ohio State will be among the favorites to repeat next year. They'll have a stacked war chest of money for NIL, on of the most attractive brands in college football, the pitch to be repeat champions, loads of young talent, and plenty of resources to offer the top talent in the transfer portal.
However, not only is the ability to hold onto Knowles and Kelly up in the air in a big way, who is to say Day doesn't test the waters / bolt for an NFL opportunity after what he endured from the Buckeye fan base this season.
Even if Ohio State were to undergo massive changes, the Big Ten made up a third of the College Football Playoff field this past fall, and teams like Oregon, Indiana, Penn State will be battling for returning spots in the field the next few seasons at least, with a few others (Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, etc), a few pieces away from a special season that could catapult them into the conversation as well.
Bottom Line: The Big Ten is positioned as the best conference in college football right now, with the SEC not far behind, and the Big 12 and ACC with a whole lot of ground to make up in just about every way possible.
FCS: North Dakota State
Location: Fargo, ND
What the future looks like: Before I was educated that the Dakotas were part of the midwest, I'd have said that the FCS level is where the midwest's hold was by far the weakest.
However, since teams like NDSU, South Dakota State, South Dakota are considered midwest by the US Census, we're sitting damn pretty.
The Bison have long been an FBS power, and their dominance over the past decade has created a vacuum of competition with neighboring programs like SDSU, South Dakota rising to challenge them, as well as programs just outside the midwest's reach in Montana, Montana State and Idaho.
NDSU finished the season #1, with SDSU #3 and South Dakota #4.
Bottom line: While a team like Montana State, Incarnate Word, or UC Davis is positioned to compete for a national title soon, NDSU, SDSU (who just lost Jimmy Rogers to Wazzu), and South Dakota (Bob Neilson retired after best season in school history) have proved they've got legit staying power and aren't going anywhere, with SDSU and SD hiring guys very familiar with the program and expectations.
Division II: Ferris State (MI)
Location: Big Rapids, MI
What the future looks like: Ferris State has won three of the last four national titles.
The one year they came up short? The NCAA issued an unprecedented penalty suspending head coach Tony Annese for their first playoff game - a game they lost to GLIAC rival Grand Valley State.
Valdosta State (GA) has been a victim in the national title game for the Bulldogs twice (2024 and 2021), while Colorado School of Mines came up short against Annese and his squad in 2022.
In his mid-60s, Annese still has plenty of energy, drive, and a whole lot of quality football ahead of him.
Good news for Ferris. Bad news for teams facing the Dogs with national title hopes
Bottom line: First off, the way they recruit and play, Ferris State isn't going anywhere. But in addition to a power like Ferris, nearby Grand Valley State has also proven to be a top 10 program annually under Scott Wooster's leadership, while Minnesota State, Bemidji State (MN), Indianapolis (IN), Ashland (OH) and Augustana (SD) finished among the top 25 this year, and programs like Davenport (MI), Saginaw Valley State (MI) and Tiffin (OH) are all familiar with the D-II top 25 as well.
Division III: North Central (IL)
Location: Naperville, IL
If any level has been absolutely dominated by midwest programs over the past few decades it has been the Division III level.
Mount Union and Wisconsin Whitewater were annually in the national title game for years, and the latest midwest power comes from the Chicago suburbs at North Central.
Much like Ferris State, North Central gets it done on both sides of the ball and has dominated their way through playoff runs recently.
Two different head coaches (Jeff Thorne and Brad Spencer) have led the Cardinals to national titles dating back to 2019, and playing in one of the toughest leagues in small college football in the CCIW will keep NCC sharp and competing for titles for the foreseeable future.
The Bottom Line: While programs like Mary Hardin-Baylor out of Texas are always a threat to make a run and capture national titles like they did in 2018 and 2021, and Cortland in 2023, North Central, Mount Union, and the best team to make it out of the WIAC always seem to be favorites come playoff time.
Cortland just lost head coach Curt Fitzpatrick after a magical few seasons, and UMHB will continue to be a contender, but if you're betting on a region, it's hard to go wrong with the midwest in Division III.
When you start to think otherwise, it's worth a reminder that NCC won their semifinal game 66-0 over Susquehanna, who finished the year 12-2 and #4 nationally.
NAIA: Grand View (IA)
Location: Des Moines, IA
It's impossible to think of great NAIA teams and not think of the state of Iowa.
Grand View, the 2024 national champs, is the latest Iowa program to win a national title, joining Northwestern (2022), and Morningside (2021, 2019, 2018) as some of the most recent NAIA champions from Iowa.
For the past seven straight seasons, at least one Iowa program has been in the national title game, and in 2021 two Iowa programs faced off for the natty (Morningside vs Grand View).
The Bottom Line: Dordt and Northwestern were other Iowa programs ranked among the top 25 at the end of the season, and Indiana Wesleyan also won double digit games and finished 6th nationally. While Keiser has made a few runs to the title game (winning it all in 2023), if the past several seasons are any indication, the NAIA title will run through at least one Iowa program.