College Football Thread

I think this season, I got SEC, then Pac 12, followed by the B1G. Though I do like Michigan State in the B1G this year. D'Antonio is one of my favorite coaches in college football.
 
All-Time Decade Rankings

The AP Rankings

Follow us ... please! ... @ColFootballNews

- Suggestions or something we missed? Let us know

By the AP Rankings - The Greatest Programs Ever

- AP Preseason Poll | Top Teams of All-Time

- Top Teams of the 1930s | Top Teams of the 1940s

- Top Teams of the 1950s | Top Teams of the 1960s

- Top Teams of the 1970s | Top Teams of the 1980s

- Top Teams of the 1990s | Top Teams of the 2000s

- Top Teams of the 2010s

The AP rankings might be irrelevant since they don't have anything to do with determining a national champion anymore, but they're still great to use when analyzing college football on a historical scale.

The AP college football poll has been through World War II, changed and adapted with the times, and has often looked to make a statement when needed - like in 2003 by naming USC the national champion, even though LSU took home the BCS title..

Since the AP poll is the only consistent ranking system from 1936 through today, CFN came up with a scoring system to compare and contrast how the programs finished over the decades. Every time a team finished No. 1 in the final poll, it got 25 points. The No. 2 team got 24 points, No. 3 got 23 points, and so on with the No. 25 team getting one point. Through the decades, the AP ranked the top ten teams for a few years before going back to the top 20 rankings, and eventually, it went to the top 25 system it's at now.

According to the scoring system, consistent production isn't necessarily rewarded. For example, if a team finished 17th for four straight years, it would get a total of 36 points (No. 17 gets 9 points). A team that finished the beginning of the decade No. 2 (24 points) and the end of the decade ranked tenth (16 points), but wasn't ranked any year in between, would get a total 40 points.

One fascinating thing to note: all the club teams that played during World War II. Notice the rankings of the all-star teams like the Iowa Pre-Fight juggernaut and the Bainbridge NTS powerhouse. In the end, though, the big-name programs you'd think would rock, did. There's a reason the superpowers of today got their reputations - they won.

However, things can change in a big hurry. When we did this in 2000, Notre Dame was on top of the world by a huge margin. Over a decade later and a following down period, things have changed up a bit. Also, one big year can change things up fast. Oklahoma was great last year, Michigan wasn't, so the gap between the two widened. Last year, OU was only ten points ahead of the Wolverines, 953 points to 943. Ohio State, Alabama and Notre Dame are closing fast, but one program stands as the far and away best of all-time - at least according to this formula.

So here we go - here are the greatest college football programs since 1936 according to the AP rankings.

1 Oklahoma 995

2 Michigan 943

3 Ohio State 941

4 Alabama 940

5 Notre Dame 932

6 Nebraska 782

7 USC 773

8 Texas 741

9 Penn State 665

10 Tennessee 659

11 LSU 584

12 Georgia 553

13 Auburn 550

14 Miami 528

15 Florida State 511

T16 Florida 486

T16 UCLA 486

18 Arkansas 415

19 Michigan State 403

20 Texas A&M 383

21 Georgia Tech 343

22 Washington 323

23 Ole Miss 322

24 Clemson 317

25 Wisconsin 309

Others Receiving Votes

26 Iowa 302

27 Pitt 293

28 Colorado 258

29 Stanford 241

30 Army 239

31 Maryland 238

32 Arizona State 236

33 Minnesota 236

34 TCU 230

35 Missouri 219

36 Purdue 215

T37 Duke 213

T37 Virginia Tech 213

39 Oregon 204

40 North Carolina 199

T41 California 198

T41 Navy 198

43 West Virginia 194

44 Syracuse 191

45 SMU 184

46 BYU 178

47 Illinois 177

48 Kansas State 168

49 Houtson 164

50 Oklahoma State 146

51 Baylor 145

52 Southern Miss 143

53 Oregon State 139

54 Boise State 136

55 Northwestern 135

56 Washington State 131

57 Boston College 128

58 Texas Tech 116

59 Rice 107

60 NC State 105

61 Lousiville 102

62 Mississippi State 100

T63 Kansas 96

T63 Kentucky 96

65 Fordham 88

66 Santa Clara 85

67 Tulane 81

68 Penn 76

T69 Air Force 75

T69 Utah 75

T71 Cornell 68

T71 Miami University 68

T71 Tulsa 68

74 Virginia 66

75 Indiana 63

76 Dartmouth 60

77 Princeton 55

78 Yale 54

79 Holy Cross 52

80 Wyoming 48

T81 Arizona 46

T81 Duquesne 46

83 Iowa Pre-Flight 44

84 Villanova 41

85 Rutgers 40

86 Cincinnati 37

87 William & Mary 33

88 March Field 32

T89 Colorado State 31

T89 Toledo 31

91 Bainbridge NTS 30

92 Great Lakes 29

93 Utah State 26

T94 East Carolina 23

T94 Pacific 23

T94 Randolph Field 23

97 Wake Forest 22

98 UCF 21

99 Carnegie Tech 20

T100 St. Mary's (CA) 19

T100 Vanderbilt 19

T102 Del Monte Pre-Flight 18

T102 Marshall 18

104 Nevada 15

T105 Georgetown 13

T105 Hawaii 13

T105 Norman Pre-Flight 13

T108 Columbia 12

T108 San Francisco 12

110 Tuslsa 11

T111 Boston University 10

T111 El Toro Marines 10

T111 San Diego State 10

T114 George Washington 9

T114 Hardin-Simmons 9

T114 New Mexico State 9

T114 Temple 9

T118 Colorado College 8

T118 Fort Pierce 8

T118 Iowa State 8

T118 Washington & Lee 8

T122 Delaware 7

T122 Lafayette 7

T122 St. Mary's Pre-Flight 7

T125 Fresno State 6

T125 Marquette 6

T125 Ohio 6

T125 Sec. Air Force 6

T125 VMI 6

130 San Jose State 5

131 Northern Illinois 4

T132 Bowling Green 3

T132 Central Michigan 3
 
Krgrecw said:
All-Time Decade Rankings

The AP Rankings

Follow us ... please! ... @ColFootballNews

- Suggestions or something we missed? Let us know

By the AP Rankings - The Greatest Programs Ever

- AP Preseason Poll | Top Teams of All-Time

- Top Teams of the 1930s | Top Teams of the 1940s

- Top Teams of the 1950s | Top Teams of the 1960s

- Top Teams of the 1970s | Top Teams of the 1980s

- Top Teams of the 1990s | Top Teams of the 2000s

- Top Teams of the 2010s

The AP rankings might be irrelevant since they don't have anything to do with determining a national champion anymore, but they're still great to use when analyzing college football on a historical scale.

The AP college football poll has been through World War II, changed and adapted with the times, and has often looked to make a statement when needed - like in 2003 by naming USC the national champion, even though LSU took home the BCS title..

Since the AP poll is the only consistent ranking system from 1936 through today, CFN came up with a scoring system to compare and contrast how the programs finished over the decades. Every time a team finished No. 1 in the final poll, it got 25 points. The No. 2 team got 24 points, No. 3 got 23 points, and so on with the No. 25 team getting one point. Through the decades, the AP ranked the top ten teams for a few years before going back to the top 20 rankings, and eventually, it went to the top 25 system it's at now.

According to the scoring system, consistent production isn't necessarily rewarded. For example, if a team finished 17th for four straight years, it would get a total of 36 points (No. 17 gets 9 points). A team that finished the beginning of the decade No. 2 (24 points) and the end of the decade ranked tenth (16 points), but wasn't ranked any year in between, would get a total 40 points.

One fascinating thing to note: all the club teams that played during World War II. Notice the rankings of the all-star teams like the Iowa Pre-Fight juggernaut and the Bainbridge NTS powerhouse. In the end, though, the big-name programs you'd think would rock, did. There's a reason the superpowers of today got their reputations - they won.

However, things can change in a big hurry. When we did this in 2000, Notre Dame was on top of the world by a huge margin. Over a decade later and a following down period, things have changed up a bit. Also, one big year can change things up fast. Oklahoma was great last year, Michigan wasn't, so the gap between the two widened. Last year, OU was only ten points ahead of the Wolverines, 953 points to 943. Ohio State, Alabama and Notre Dame are closing fast, but one program stands as the far and away best of all-time - at least according to this formula.

So here we go - here are the greatest college football programs since 1936 according to the AP rankings.

1 Oklahoma 995

2 Michigan 943

3 Ohio State 941

4 Alabama 940

5 Notre Dame 932

6 Nebraska 782

7 USC 773

8 Texas 741

9 Penn State 665

10 Tennessee 659

11 LSU 584

12 Georgia 553

13 Auburn 550

14 Miami 528

15 Florida State 511

T16 Florida 486

T16 UCLA 486

18 Arkansas 415

19 Michigan State 403

20 Texas A&M 383

21 Georgia Tech 343

22 Washington 323

23 Ole Miss 322

24 Clemson 317

25 Wisconsin 309

Others Receiving Votes

26 Iowa 302

27 Pitt 293

28 Colorado 258

29 Stanford 241

30 Army 239

31 Maryland 238

32 Arizona State 236

33 Minnesota 236

34 TCU 230

35 Missouri 219

36 Purdue 215

T37 Duke 213

T37 Virginia Tech 213

39 Oregon 204

40 North Carolina 199

T41 California 198

T41 Navy 198

43 West Virginia 194

44 Syracuse 191

45 SMU 184

46 BYU 178

47 Illinois 177

48 Kansas State 168

49 Houtson 164

50 Oklahoma State 146

51 Baylor 145

52 Southern Miss 143

53 Oregon State 139

54 Boise State 136

55 Northwestern 135

56 Washington State 131

57 Boston College 128

58 Texas Tech 116

59 Rice 107

60 NC State 105

61 Lousiville 102

62 Mississippi State 100

T63 Kansas 96

T63 Kentucky 96

65 Fordham 88

66 Santa Clara 85

67 Tulane 81

68 Penn 76

T69 Air Force 75

T69 Utah 75

T71 Cornell 68

T71 Miami University 68

T71 Tulsa 68

74 Virginia 66

75 Indiana 63

76 Dartmouth 60

77 Princeton 55

78 Yale 54

79 Holy Cross 52

80 Wyoming 48

T81 Arizona 46

T81 Duquesne 46

83 Iowa Pre-Flight 44

84 Villanova 41

85 Rutgers 40

86 Cincinnati 37

87 William & Mary 33

88 March Field 32

T89 Colorado State 31

T89 Toledo 31

91 Bainbridge NTS 30

92 Great Lakes 29

93 Utah State 26

T94 East Carolina 23

T94 Pacific 23

T94 Randolph Field 23

97 Wake Forest 22

98 UCF 21

99 Carnegie Tech 20

T100 St. Mary's (CA) 19

T100 Vanderbilt 19

T102 Del Monte Pre-Flight 18

T102 Marshall 18

104 Nevada 15

T105 Georgetown 13

T105 Hawaii 13

T105 Norman Pre-Flight 13

T108 Columbia 12

T108 San Francisco 12

110 Tuslsa 11

T111 Boston University 10

T111 El Toro Marines 10

T111 San Diego State 10

T114 George Washington 9

T114 Hardin-Simmons 9

T114 New Mexico State 9

T114 Temple 9

T118 Colorado College 8

T118 Fort Pierce 8

T118 Iowa State 8

T118 Washington & Lee 8

T122 Delaware 7

T122 Lafayette 7

T122 St. Mary's Pre-Flight 7

T125 Fresno State 6

T125 Marquette 6

T125 Ohio 6

T125 Sec. Air Force 6

T125 VMI 6

130 San Jose State 5

131 Northern Illinois 4

T132 Bowling Green 3

T132 Central Michigan 3
Click to expand...

Uhhh.... Georgia Southern would be above half of those teams in that system unless I missed something?
 
Krgrecw said:
Are they D1 or whatever they call it now?

Shocked that the South Carolina gamecocks aren't listed.
Click to expand...

Always was D1, just had A and AA and they were AA. 6 NCs, and tons of conference titles since the 1980s. It shouldn't matter, as there are a ton of small schools on that list it seems like.
 
Braxton Miller out for the season. Now the national media can continue to hate in the B1G because the "top team" just lost their best player. This does hurt the conference though as a whole and trying to get into the playoff.

Granted it's going to be 3 SEC schools and Florida State. Only reason Florida State gets in is because they will run the table and not really be challenged at all.
 
NinersSBChamps said:
Braxton Miller out for the season. Now the national media can continue to hate in the B1G because the "top team" just lost their best player. This does hurt the conference though as a whole and trying to get into the playoff.

Granted it's going to be 3 SEC schools and Florida State. Only reason Florida State gets in is because they will run the table and not really be challenged at all.
Click to expand...

Hard to see three sec teams bunched at the top unless everyone else ****s the bed
 
swamp_home1.jpg
 
Does the SEC ever leave the comforts of the southeast? I mean how about a road game for once out of conference.
 
They play plenty out of conference. How do you know other teams want to just play them at home all the time?

This Hill kid for A&M looks really good so far.
 
bravesnumberone said:
They play plenty out of conference. How do you know other teams want to just play them at home all the time?

This Hill kid for A&M looks really good so far.
Click to expand...

The conference very rarely plays a true road game. They play neutral site games in Atlanta or Dallas which clearly the SEC has the advantage. Tennessee went to Eugene last season or two years ago I believe. Thata all I can remember in recent years. That's pathetic.
 
NinersSBChamps said:
The conference very rarely plays a true road game. They play neutral site games in Atlanta or Dallas which clearly the SEC has the advantage. Tennessee went to Eugene last season or two years ago I believe. Thata all I can remember in recent years. That's pathetic.
Click to expand...

Just looking at the SEC and some of the top programs outside of it over the last five years. If you're excluding neutral site games, there still isn't a whole lot out there. With the SEC, it's largely relegated to SEC-ACC rivalries, although those have often had two very good teams.

Oregon has gone to Boise State, a very poor Tennessee team and a very poor Virginia team.
Oklahoma has gone to Miami, Florida State, Notre Dame in 2012. Solid.
Ohio State has gone to Miami.
Texas has gone to UCLA and Ole Miss.
Michigan - Notre Dame twice. But again, that's a regular game.
Florida State - a top-10 BYU team and Oklahoma.
Michigan State - Notre Dame three times. Again, a regular game.
Stanford - Notre Dame twice. Regular game.

So, Oklahoma has played some big ones on the road, but I don't see where anyone else has just racked up on them. I've been highly critical of the top-notch SEC teams for scheduling cream puff games outside of conference. It's OK to maybe have one or two a year, but some that don't have a natural rival from out of conference do more than that.

Again, I ask the question. What school from outside the SEC that has been successful has just come out and said they are dying to host an SEC school (a good one. Not No. 2 Oregon beating up on a 4-win Tennessee team) in their place? They're usually part of 1-and-1. Takes two teams to schedule a game.
 
bravesnumberone said:
Just looking at the SEC and some of the top programs outside of it over the last five years. If you're excluding neutral site games, there still isn't a whole lot out there. With the SEC, it's largely relegated to SEC-ACC rivalries, although those have often had two very good teams.

Oregon has gone to Boise State, a very poor Tennessee team and a very poor Virginia team.
Oklahoma has gone to Miami, Florida State, Notre Dame in 2012. Solid.
Ohio State has gone to Miami.
Texas has gone to UCLA and Ole Miss.
Michigan - Notre Dame twice. But again, that's a regular game.
Florida State - a top-10 BYU team and Oklahoma.
Michigan State - Notre Dame three times. Again, a regular game.
Stanford - Notre Dame twice. Regular game.

So, Oklahoma has played some big ones on the road, but I don't see where anyone else has just racked up on them. I've been highly critical of the top-notch SEC teams for scheduling cream puff games outside of conference. It's OK to maybe have one or two a year, but some that don't have a natural rival from out of conference do more than that.

Again, I ask the question. What school from outside the SEC that has been successful has just come out and said they are dying to host an SEC school (a good one. Not No. 2 Oregon beating up on a 4-win Tennessee team) in their place? They're usually part of 1-and-1. Takes two teams to schedule a game.
Click to expand...
I guess I was being unfair to single out the SEC for their lack of scheduling. I hope this playoff thing will start to encourage teams to schedule bigger games outside their conference slate.
 
Tennessee playing OK this yr at OK. And scheduling several big schools in the future (though at nuetral sites). Gonna play WVU at Bristol Motor Speedway in like 2016-2017 I think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top