big daddy russ
09-18-2005, 02:54 AM
I was talking to a freshman at the A&M/SMU game today. Seemed like a nice kid and seemed like he knew a lot about football. But he said one thing that really shocked me.
Me: "Yeah, Notre Dame's getting back to where they're supposed to be in the world of college football. Charlie Weis will have them back as the number one program in the nation again pretty soon."
Him: "Yeah, and maybe Army and Navy will make a comeback too."
Did he really think it had been that long since the Irish were that big elephant of the CFB world that stomped everyone into the ground every year?
What I want to know is what program everyone else thinks is the top program of all time. I have a list of my personal top ten below, but when you think of the best who do you think of?
Is it Oklahoma? USC? 'Bama? Yale? Chicago? Feel free to vote for whomever, but let us know why you voted that way. Is it just who seems like they have the most tradition or is it the team everyone's always talked about?
My personal top 10 programs:
1. Notre Dame (More Associated Press National Championships than anyone else, more wins than any other school since 1900, more All-Americans than anyone but Yale, 7 Heismans, the Four Horsemen, The Golden Dome, Touchdown Jesus, and the only SCHOOL to ever receive its own TV contract. 'Nuff said.)
2.Oklahoma (Their 7 AP National Titles spread from 1950 and 2000 and trails only the Fighting Irish. Between that, their 66 All-Americans, four Heisman trophies, three appearances in the BCS National Championship, one BCS Title and the single best football team ever... even if they did lose the final two games of the 2003 season... I'd say they deserve the two spot.)
3. Alabama (They're one shy of OU's 7 AP championships, but there's just something about being in the hunt just about every year for the better part of 75 years that puts them in that same category, IMO.)
4. USC (In 1925, Notre Dame HC Knute Rockne was looking for a high-profile opponent for his Fighting Irish. The Trojans of USC had great weather and, more importantly, were the big-name team of the West Coast. The coaches who scheduled the games made it a yearly clash, but it was the fact that these teams were the best of each half of the country that made it a grudge match. 70-someodd years, 5 AP National Championships and one World War later, you could safely say that Southern Cal is the Notre Dame of the West.)
5. Ohio State (They've been the big dogs in the Big Ten for the better part of a century. One of only three schools with at least one AP National Title during three consecutive decades ['42, '54, '68], the Buckeyes' success goes as far back as the conference. You think OSU, you think of the Horseshoe, of Woody Hayes, of Les Horvath, of Howard Cassady, of Eddie George, and of Archie Griffin and his two Heismans. The names go on and on. I could rattle off 71 All-Americans, but the most telling thing about the team's success is better told through the numbers: 28 conference titles, 10 undefeated seasons, 7 total national championships, and 4 AP National Titles.)
6. The University of Texas (With only two national titles, there are eight teams with more rings than the Longhorns. But this isn't simply about being the best team for the most years. This is about a sense of awe with a program. Minnesota has more titles than the Longhorns, but your average person doesn't gasp when they think about the tradition of Gopher football. This goes back to being one of the top two teams of one of the top three conferences in the nation (the SWC) for years. As much as I hate to say it, they're the flagship university of the most football-mad area of the world. Players like Chris Simms want to play in Austin just so they be a part of Texas football... and be a part of UT football. Then again, two AP national titles, 43 All-Americans and a lingering sense of them always in the title hunt doesn't hurt either.)
7. Yale (Another quick history lesson: back in the late-1800's, the Princeton football team came up with the "modern" game of football and began the phenomenon we know today. Princeton was a great team for a short while, but nobody could touch Yale. Through the first 33 years of college football, The Bulldogs were champions 24 times in the eyes of at least one of the major voting associations. They tacked one more national title [the Football Research crown] in 1927. Then, in 1956, the Ivy League officially breaks off from the rest of college football and plows their own road. Since then, Yale has won a league-best 13 Ivy League crowns [three more than Harvard] and has solidified its spot as the beacon of Ivy League football. All the while, they've racked up more All-Americans than anyone [100], two statues of a man named Heisman, and more championships than any other school. Oh, and they did it all WITHOUT ever giving scholarships to anyone for playing football OR ever competing in a postseason game.)
8. Michigan (Alright, I'm not gonna lie. I'm getting tired of writing, so I'll just list the credentials: 73 All-Americans, two AP National Titles, and one Heisman-winning defensive back.)
9. Nebraska (A Sea of Red, four AP National Titles, Tom Osborne, Johnny Rogers, Dave Rimington, Mike Rozier, Tommie Frazier, Eric Crouch, and the only modern team(s) that didn't have a QB and still won a national title ['94, '95].)
10. Tennessee (36 All-Americans, two AP National Titles, Colonel Neyland and Peyton Manning.)
Others (in no particular order):
Army, Harvard, Princeton, University of Chicago (if they were still around we'd probably be talking about them instead of Notre Dame), Miami, Florida State, Penn State, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota, Pitt
Me: "Yeah, Notre Dame's getting back to where they're supposed to be in the world of college football. Charlie Weis will have them back as the number one program in the nation again pretty soon."
Him: "Yeah, and maybe Army and Navy will make a comeback too."
Did he really think it had been that long since the Irish were that big elephant of the CFB world that stomped everyone into the ground every year?
What I want to know is what program everyone else thinks is the top program of all time. I have a list of my personal top ten below, but when you think of the best who do you think of?
Is it Oklahoma? USC? 'Bama? Yale? Chicago? Feel free to vote for whomever, but let us know why you voted that way. Is it just who seems like they have the most tradition or is it the team everyone's always talked about?
My personal top 10 programs:
1. Notre Dame (More Associated Press National Championships than anyone else, more wins than any other school since 1900, more All-Americans than anyone but Yale, 7 Heismans, the Four Horsemen, The Golden Dome, Touchdown Jesus, and the only SCHOOL to ever receive its own TV contract. 'Nuff said.)
2.Oklahoma (Their 7 AP National Titles spread from 1950 and 2000 and trails only the Fighting Irish. Between that, their 66 All-Americans, four Heisman trophies, three appearances in the BCS National Championship, one BCS Title and the single best football team ever... even if they did lose the final two games of the 2003 season... I'd say they deserve the two spot.)
3. Alabama (They're one shy of OU's 7 AP championships, but there's just something about being in the hunt just about every year for the better part of 75 years that puts them in that same category, IMO.)
4. USC (In 1925, Notre Dame HC Knute Rockne was looking for a high-profile opponent for his Fighting Irish. The Trojans of USC had great weather and, more importantly, were the big-name team of the West Coast. The coaches who scheduled the games made it a yearly clash, but it was the fact that these teams were the best of each half of the country that made it a grudge match. 70-someodd years, 5 AP National Championships and one World War later, you could safely say that Southern Cal is the Notre Dame of the West.)
5. Ohio State (They've been the big dogs in the Big Ten for the better part of a century. One of only three schools with at least one AP National Title during three consecutive decades ['42, '54, '68], the Buckeyes' success goes as far back as the conference. You think OSU, you think of the Horseshoe, of Woody Hayes, of Les Horvath, of Howard Cassady, of Eddie George, and of Archie Griffin and his two Heismans. The names go on and on. I could rattle off 71 All-Americans, but the most telling thing about the team's success is better told through the numbers: 28 conference titles, 10 undefeated seasons, 7 total national championships, and 4 AP National Titles.)
6. The University of Texas (With only two national titles, there are eight teams with more rings than the Longhorns. But this isn't simply about being the best team for the most years. This is about a sense of awe with a program. Minnesota has more titles than the Longhorns, but your average person doesn't gasp when they think about the tradition of Gopher football. This goes back to being one of the top two teams of one of the top three conferences in the nation (the SWC) for years. As much as I hate to say it, they're the flagship university of the most football-mad area of the world. Players like Chris Simms want to play in Austin just so they be a part of Texas football... and be a part of UT football. Then again, two AP national titles, 43 All-Americans and a lingering sense of them always in the title hunt doesn't hurt either.)
7. Yale (Another quick history lesson: back in the late-1800's, the Princeton football team came up with the "modern" game of football and began the phenomenon we know today. Princeton was a great team for a short while, but nobody could touch Yale. Through the first 33 years of college football, The Bulldogs were champions 24 times in the eyes of at least one of the major voting associations. They tacked one more national title [the Football Research crown] in 1927. Then, in 1956, the Ivy League officially breaks off from the rest of college football and plows their own road. Since then, Yale has won a league-best 13 Ivy League crowns [three more than Harvard] and has solidified its spot as the beacon of Ivy League football. All the while, they've racked up more All-Americans than anyone [100], two statues of a man named Heisman, and more championships than any other school. Oh, and they did it all WITHOUT ever giving scholarships to anyone for playing football OR ever competing in a postseason game.)
8. Michigan (Alright, I'm not gonna lie. I'm getting tired of writing, so I'll just list the credentials: 73 All-Americans, two AP National Titles, and one Heisman-winning defensive back.)
9. Nebraska (A Sea of Red, four AP National Titles, Tom Osborne, Johnny Rogers, Dave Rimington, Mike Rozier, Tommie Frazier, Eric Crouch, and the only modern team(s) that didn't have a QB and still won a national title ['94, '95].)
10. Tennessee (36 All-Americans, two AP National Titles, Colonel Neyland and Peyton Manning.)
Others (in no particular order):
Army, Harvard, Princeton, University of Chicago (if they were still around we'd probably be talking about them instead of Notre Dame), Miami, Florida State, Penn State, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota, Pitt