This article was originally written by Kevin at Fanblogs.com: Two conversations this weekend sparked a little controversy amongst some fellow fans this weekend as we tried to determine what are the top college football programs in the country.
Forget the polls and the white noise that accompanies your “one hit wonders” making a nice little run. I’m talking about the PREMIERE teams – with the core ingredients of recent success, legend, and football lore. I don’t care about academics, or where your grandma’s uncle’s nephew went… we’re talking about THE big time football schools of our era.
Let’s come up with the top 20 programs nationwide. I want to know — if your son was going to play for any school (REGARDLESS OF YOUR OWN LOYALTIES) — what offer letters you would be proud to see in his mailbox?
In no particular order, here’s my premiere 20 programs in the country:
| Ohio State | Michigan | Penn State | Wisconsin | Notre Dame |
| USC | Texas | Oklahoma | Nebraska | Texas A&M |
| Auburn | Alabama | Florida | Tennessee | Georgia |
| LSU | Florida State | Miami | Virginia Tech | West Virgina |
How close am I? I think you would have a hard time arguing any of my Premiere 20. You could argue that this list should be longer and “x” school should be on it, but — c’mon — these are the premiere schools of our era, right?With the PREMIERE teams established, who’s on the bubble? What teams have the pedigree but are just lacking a few good years from breaking into (or maybe back into…) the upper crust? Here’s my stab at the next 5 – brining our list to twenty-five teams so far.
Clemson
Georgia Tech
TCU
Colorado
UCLA
Here’s where the argument gets juicy, because there are several teams that could easily be “on the cusp”. I’m thinking Iowa, Navy, Michigan State, Kansas State, Pitt, Arkansas, Oregon, Arizona State, and a few others are really close to being on this “cusp” list. And –with all due respect– you can keep your Boise State’s, South Carolina’s and Louisville’s to yourself.
I’ll probably catch some flack for TCU, but you cannot ignore TCU’s past history, legendary players, and their success over the past eight years. Navy, Pitt and Arkansas match them closely enough for history points, but lack the recent success. Michigan State, Iowa, Oregon, and ASU are very comparable in terms of recent success, but lack some of the legend & lore that TCU brings with it’s National Championships & notable alums.
So that’s my list of the top programs in the country. Have I missed on the PREMIERE teams? Who else is on the cusp? Tell me where I’m wrong. – Thanks Kevin! Fanblogs
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