Ranking major teams by prestige- SI

[VolInDayton]

Michigan is an elite program, but I will say that Bo Schembechler is, without a doubt, the most overrated figure of all time in major American sports, college or pro.

If you listen to Michigan fans talk about him, you'd think he's Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden, Nick Saban, and Tom Osborne all rolled into one.

The man never won a single national title, went 2-8 in Rose Bowls, and 5-12 overall in bowl games. He did have a good record against Ohio State and has a slight edge over Woody Hayes (5-4-1), which meant he won lots of conference titles when the Big 10 was a basically a 2-team league, but that's it.

And like so many great players and coaches who played and coached at Michigan, even he's an Ohio native.

Yale should be on the list for everything they did before 1956 when they joined the Ivy League then. The most elite thing about Michigan football is the arrogance of their fans.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Bama, ND and USC will always be elite....

Never say always.

As Dayton points out, if this list were assembled 100 years ago, Yale would have been King, possibly the only one.

Things change.

Fifty years from now, any or all of the three you list could be ancient news, largely forgotten. ND may already be taking the first steps en route to that fate.

And it is anyone's guess who the new Kings would be. Just hoping the Tennessee Volunteers quickly get back to form and remain Kings for decades and decades to come.

Go Vols!

 

[IknoxvolsI]

Never say always.

As Dayton points out, if this list were assembled 100 years ago, Yale would have been King, possibly the only one.

Things change.

Fifty years from now, any or all of the three you list could be ancient news, largely forgotten. ND may already be taking the first steps en route to that fate.

And it is anyone's guess who the new Kings would be. Just hoping the Tennessee Volunteers quickly get back to form and remain Kings for decades and decades to come.

Go Vols!

If football is still played 50 years from now those three will still be elite. They are elite now. Elite a decade to two decades ago and were elite 50 years ago.

For everyone else it comes in cycles. Who remembers 25 years ago Washington was good. Almost 30 years ago Houston was. Looks like Penn State is on their way back. It's cylindrical (spelling).

 

[NeverWe'llSever]

Clemson and LSU surpassing TN. In what world?

Clemson barely has 700 program wins and two titles. You're telling me they're ahead of an 830 win, 6x National Champion in Tennessee? Talk about prisoners of the moment.

And LSU, aka an after thought in the SEC pre-2001. And didn't they go 8-4 last year, 9-3 the year before and 8-5 before that? What have they done? SMDH!

 

[VFL-82-JP]

If football is still played 50 years from now those three will still be elite. They are elite now. Elite a decade to two decades ago and were elite 50 years ago.

For everyone else it comes in cycles. Who remembers 25 years ago Washington was good. Almost 30 years ago Houston was. Looks like Penn State is on their way back. It's cylindrical (spelling).

If you'd been alive in 1910, you'd undoubtedly have said the same thing about Yale. Their dominance was so complete, so long-lasting (26 national championships in less than 40 years) as to seem eternal.

The temptation to believe the world will go on as it has in the past you can recall (one lifetime) is powerful...but flawed.

Things change.

 

[Boca Vol]

Clemson and LSU surpassing TN. In what world?

Clemson barely has 700 program wins and two titles. You're telling me they're ahead of an 830 win, 6x National Champion in Tennessee? Talk about prisoners of the moment.

And LSU, aka an after thought in the SEC pre-2001. And didn't they go 8-4 last year, 9-3 the year before and 8-5 before that? What have they done? SMDH!

No one outside of UT fans count the '67 title. But I think it has more to do with what have they done lately vs. the past.

 

[KBVol]

Yale should be on the list for everything they did before 1956 when they joined the Ivy League then. The most elite thing about Michigan football is the arrogance of their fans.

That, and their 900+ wins

 

[TJ1985]

I guess prestige is important to some, but I don't really care where we rank on a subjective list. Just win, baby! GBO!

 

[99gator]

When these debates take place, I don't know what to think anymore.

How much respect should I give Nebraska and Oklahoma in all honesty? They had a one game for the Orange Bowl league for who knows how long. At least Oklahoma had to play Texas too.

so, by resume, sure they belong there. But, it's not hard to figure out why Nebraska isn't all that special anymore.

Same goes for Notre Dame. All that "Rudy" stuff is gone now that more than one network televises games and puts someone other than Notre Dame on tv. And to add insult to injury, their games don't get close to the highest ratings anymore. The average, run of the mill, SEC game of the week on CBS beats the Notre Dame game damn near every time.

So, at times I have respect for history and other times I lose respect for it real quick.

 

[CAVPUT]

we about to be Godzilla! Jumping from stadium to stadium leaving destruction and sorrow behind us and right in front of the face of bama wagon fans ! Who's hot who's not ? Doesn't matter bc we gonna rise to the top ! Bama we coming for that number one spot ! All your players get let go by the cops but when we smash you in tuscaloosa, your reign will stop! Go vols! Screw the rest

fyp

 

[Lawrence Wright]

Florida State gets too much love. The "path of least resistance" ACC keeps them higher than they really are. They'd be a perennial 4-game loser in the SEC.

Respectfully disagree, and I've got no love for FSU.

Clemson's rise and the addition of Louisville brings instant credibility to the ACC. The Atlantic Division has a UF/UT/UGA 1990s SEC East feel to it.

ACC has the edge in coaching right now also.

 

[wildorange]

Bama, ND and USC will always be elite. They have more prestige than every one else because they have had more success longer.

I could possibly add Fla ST. and Miam but they're not as traditionally long as the others. We are just outside of those programs.

If you even think about adding either one of FSU or Miami as historically elite you woul dbe way off. Miami aside from the 80's hasn't and early nineties hasn't been that dominant. And FSU didn't even really arrive on the college football scene as a power until the later 80's and were a all womens school before that. USC and ND have had their great runs but ND hasn't really done nothing that much over the last 20 years and USC has been hot and cold but hardly a juggernaut either but I can see them being in the all time top teams and their history goes way back and is filled with great teams. Tennessee is much bigger than FSU or Miami from a histrocial perspective. GBO!!!!!

 

[MyBloodRunnethOrange]

Florida State gets too much love. The "path of least resistance" ACC keeps them higher than they really are. They'd be a perennial 4-game loser in the SEC.

They would consistently win the SEC East and finish 2nd in the West. The only team in the SEC better than FSU over the past 5 years or so is Alabama.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I think of both Miami and FSU as very good Johnny-come-lately programs. FSU didn't even have a football team until the latter 1940s, a good 50+ years later than all the true blue-bloods.

Nonetheless, both schools made up for lost ground in the 80s and since. Bobby Bowden is one of the most successful college coaches in history, and single-handedly brought FSU to national prominence. Then hand-picked his own successor who continues to do very well for the program. Meanwhile, Miami has been through a handful of coaches since Schnellenberger, none of them really The Guy like Bowden or Saban or Neyland or Bryant or Meyer, and yet, they've notched a handful of NCs with guys like Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson, and Larry Coker. And they have some crazy-long wining streaks, too, including the longest home win streak in college football history.

So yeah, they may not be the bluest of blue bloods, but they are legit programs with some pretty solid accomplishments.

 

[99gator]

IMO....

There are 3 time periods in college football.

1. There's the era before integration in the South.

2. There's the brief window of time post-integration and pre-cable television.

3. There's the post-cable television era, which we are currently in.

I understand if people don't want to look at #2 because we are basically talking about a 10 year window from 1970 to 1980.

But, cable television and ESPN changed everything. Cable TV IMO is the major factor in what killed Notre Dame. A kid in Orlando, FL, in 1973 was probably more likely to see a Notre Dame game on TV than a Florida or Florida State game.

When TBS began broadcasting games in the 1980's almost every SEC school had about half their games televised. Now, we pretty much have the whole schedule televised.

Regardless, trying to compare eras when you look at those events and also conferences folding and new ones forming.....there are only a handful of true "blue bloods" that have excelled regardless of era. People laugh when I tell them Arkansas used to be a football power.

I'll close with a little fun fact. Here are Notre Dame's bowl wins since the 1994 season....Hawaii, Sun, Pinstripe, and Music City. Those are their bowl wins.

 

[Chief Vol 13]

It's high time Tennessee is known again as one of the premiere programs in college football. Hopefully we're completely out of the worst ten year stretch in program history and Tennessee can once again be feared/respected all across the country.

 

[IknoxvolsI]

When these debates take place, I don't know what to think anymore.

How much respect should I give Nebraska and Oklahoma in all honesty? They had a one game for the Orange Bowl league for who knows how long. At least Oklahoma had to play Texas too.

so, by resume, sure they belong there. But, it's not hard to figure out why Nebraska isn't all that special anymore.

Same goes for Notre Dame. All that "Rudy" stuff is gone now that more than one network televises games and puts someone other than Notre Dame on tv. And to add insult to injury, their games don't get close to the highest ratings anymore. The average, run of the mill, SEC game of the week on CBS beats the Notre Dame game damn near every time.

So, at times I have respect for history and other times I lose respect for it real quick.

If Lou Holtz was able to go into South Bend and turn them back into a dominant program then any high profile coach would be able to!

Hate the way everybody talks about Saban but I have to add that if he were there they would be just as successful as BAMA right now. The only digress is that I don't know if ND has the financial backing that BAMA does.

 

[TrueOrange]

Vanderbilt is a Peasant. I'm sure it's the first time someone has said that to their face.

He's said it at least twice before over the last 10 years.