In college football, we’ve seen all the great teams at the top of the rankings throughout the last 25 years. However, we’ve also seen some teams that no one would ever think could be ranked.

It takes unbelievable seasons for a Group of 5 school to be in the top 25 rankings in college and there have been a bunch recently. Here are the top 10 most random ranked teams of the last 25 years.

No.10 2010 UConn

UConn was very unlikely to be ranked this season, especially after starting the season 3-4. But the Huskies won their next 5 games to go to 8-4 and were ranked for the first time in 2010.

They fell short against one of their toughest opponents of the season in the Fiesta Bowl against the Oklahoma Sooners, and the Huskies haven’t been ranked since.

No.9 2012 NIU

NIU started their 2012 campaign 0-1 after a one-point loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes and did not lose a regular-season game for the rest of the year.

After winning the MAC championship game against Kent State, the Huskies battled the Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl, where they would lose 31-10.

No.8 2011 Southern Miss

After starting the season 1-1, Southern Miss would only lose one game against UAB and finish the season with a record of 12-2, including a bowl win against Nevada.

The Golden Eagles haven’t been ranked since and have only won a total of four games in the next three seasons after finishing the 2011 season ranked and with only two losses

No.7 2009 Central Michigan

Central Michigan finished the 2009 season ranked and with only two losses against Arizona and Boston College. They defeated Troy in a thriller in the GMAC Bowl that went to double overtime, which saw the Chippewas win with a game-winning field goal.

They haven’t been ranked since and haven’t gotten to double-digit wins in a season since their historic season in 2009.

No.6 2019 App State

App State finished the 2019 season with a record of 13-1, only losing at home against Georgia Southern. They went undefeated on the road and won their bowl game against UAB in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

2019 is the only year that the Mountaineers have made an appearance in the College Football Playoff rankings since joining the Sun Belt in 2014.

No.5 2010 Nevada

Nevada only lost one game in the 2010 season to Hawaii, finishing 13-1 with wins over BYU, California, and Boston College in the Fight Hunger Bowl.

The Wolfpack haven’t been in any top 25 rankings since 2010 and have had more seasons with double-digit losses than double-digit wins since then.

No.4 2014 Marshall

Marshall’s only loss of the 2014 season came in one of the high-scoring FBS games in college football history against Western Kentucky, which won in overtime by a score of 67-66.

The Thundering Herd have not made a CFP ranking in a full season since 2014, but have had multiple seasons with double-digit wins since.

No.3 2023 Liberty

The Liberty Flames went undefeated in the regular season, scoring 30 or more points in 10 of their 11 games. They defeated New Mexico State in the Conference-USA championship, winning 49-35.

Liberty got a matchup against the Oregon Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl, where they would lose their first game of the season 45-6 in Arizona in their best season since joining FBS in 2018.

No.2 2016 Western Michigan

Western Michigan had an incredible season, going 11-0 in the regular season and beating two Big Ten teams in Illinois and Northwestern, which was enough to give them a third matchup against a Big Ten opponent.

They faced off against Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl, where they would fall short to the Badgers by only 8 points.

No.1 2007 Hawaii

Hawaii had one of the best seasons from a school outside of the major conferences in college football history, going undefeated and going all the way to the Sugar Bowl to go up against the Georgia Bulldogs.

They were ranked as high as 10th in the AP poll and were one of the top teams in the nation. Besides 2010, they haven’t been ranked since, but their 2007 team will never be forgotten.

Massimo Buonagurio is a second-year majoring in telecommunications, To contact him, email mkb6750@psu.edu.