Who has the best college football program?

[slappy4428]

I didn't take the time to read it all, but I'm assuming Ball State is a unanimous choice at No. 1, right?

Thetradition of bowl greatness, the annual attendance battles to stay Division I-A worthy, the greatest, er, punter in MAC history, tailgating reaching epic proportions -- with the numbers of Ball State tailgating crazies occasionally reaching two digits!

And it's safe to say Ball State Stadium makes places like Notre Dame Stadium, Michigan Stadium or Beaver Stadium suck the eternal deck of shame in their inferiority.

Feel the Cardinals.

yes, the program has history...
Earl yestingsmeyer, Jiohn Ginter leading the way with stats.... and Whitlock... damn, Bubbs --- its a lock...

 

[Ogie Ogilthorpe]

If this is a historical poll, how is Miami ranked below Florida? The two had a good rivalry back in the day, but Miami has dominated it in the past 20 years. Florida hasn't beaten Miami since 1985 (UM 6-0 since that loss), and Miami has five national championships (one split) to Florida's one. Miami also is 28-25 all-time against Florida and 29-21 against FSU (two national titles). By that order listed previously, I take it FSU is ranked in the top 10. Based on wins and losses, Miami is Florida's best football program and should be ranked higher than both UF and FSU, especially since their three combined championships still doesn't match Miami's total -- from 1983-2001.

 

[HoopsMcCann]

If this is a historical poll, how is Miami ranked below Florida? The two had a good rivalry back in the day, but Miami has dominated it in the past 20 years. Florida hasn't beaten Miami since 1985 (UM 6-0 since that loss), and Miami has five national championships (one split) to Florida's one. Miami also is 28-25 all-time against Florida and 29-21 against FSU (two national titles). By that order listed previously, I take it FSU is ranked in the top 10. Based on wins and losses, Miami is Florida's best football program and should be ranked higher than both UF and FSU, especially since their three combined championships still doesn't match Miami's total -- from 1983-2001.

perhaps attendence plays a role...

 

[Armchair_QB]

I didn't take the time to read it all, but I'm assuming Ball State is a unanimous choice at No. 1, right?

Thetradition of bowl greatness, the annual attendance battles to stay Division I-A worthy, the greatest, er, punter in MAC history, tailgating reaching epic proportions -- with the numbers of Ball State tailgating crazies occasionally reaching two digits!

And it's safe to say Ball State Stadium makes places like Notre Dame Stadium, Michigan Stadium or Beaver Stadium suck the eternal deck of shame in their inferiority.

Feel the Cardinals.

Testicle Tech

 

[Ogie Ogilthorpe]

Re: Attendance. Maybe, but it sure isn't hard to get an FSU ticket in Tallahassee. The OB is packed for big games, and pretty empty for the crappy ones (like Temple with a noon kickoff) and about 45-50,000 for the average ones. Miami is a small, private university -- with most of its alums living in NY, NJ, Conn. -- playing in a pro sports market. They do OK for themselves, but sure don't draw what Florida (state's largest/most historic university in a very collegiate market) does. I know USC draws pretty well in LA, but probably not as well as they should for what they have accomplished of late. A few years ago, they weren't drawing all that well either, and I know a lot has to do with them playing in a stadium much too big. Same for UCLA at the Rose. Still, if we're talking top programs, Miami needs to be top 10 and definitely ahead of FSU and UF. All three are relative newcomers to the party. Florida didn't win its first SEC until 1984 -- and had it taken away for cheating before bouncing back with Spurrier in the 90s. Florida State didn't make its first national ripple until it lost to Oklahoma in the 81 Orange Bowl, but were basically just a regional power until the 90s.

 

[micropolitan guy]

SC's recent attendance averages:
2005: 90,812
2004: 85,229
2003: 77,804
2002: 66,853
2001: 57,411

SC fans are front-runners to a degree, but that's not bad considering the other entertainment options in LA, the Coliseum's crappy neighborhood, and that SC was very medoicre for a long stretch before PC turned it around starting in 2001.

UCLA has also drawn well, even though it hasn't contended for the Pac-10 title:
2005: 64,218
2004: 60,515
2003: 56,636
2002: 65,392
2001: 66,613

That's about 130,000 or 140,00 between the two of them, and that's not bad. You can't go to the beach in State College or Ann Arbor in the fall.

 

[Christopher_Walsh]

I thought it might interest some people that we (finally) finished our Top 25 countdown and here are the final results.

1. Southern California
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. Notre Dame
5. Michigan
6. Alabama
7. Oklahoma
8. Texas
9. Tennessee
10. Florida State
11. Georgia
12. Florida
13. Nebraska
14. Auburn
15. LSU
16. Miami
17. Army
18. Texas A&M
19. UCLA
20. Navy
21. Pittsburgh
22. Stanford
23. Ole Miss
24. Clemson
25. Wisconsin

Now, just as a reminder, we used 10 categories, half based on last year, the rest all-time. Here's the top 10 on just the all-time categories:

1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Southern California
4. Notre Dame
5. Michigan
6. Ohio State
7. Tennessee
8. Nebraska
9. Penn State
10. Texas

And finally, here are the conference totals. …

Top 25 teams Total points
SEC 7 848.4
Big 10 4 616.1
Big 12 4 470.5
ACC 3 409.0
Pac-10 3 320
Independent 3 255.5
Big East 1 112.4
Mountain West 0 57.2
Conference USA 0 37.0
Mid-American 0 14.0
Others 108.5

 

[RAMBO]

1. Notre Dame
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. Alabama
5. Miami
6. Penn State
7. Michigan
8. Florida State
9. Ohio State
10. Nebraska

I agree with your top ten but the only change that I want to make is USC at 1 and Notre Dame at 2.

 

[Jimmy Olson]

1. Notre Dame
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. Alabama
5. Miami
6. Penn State
7. Michigan
8. Florida State
9. Ohio State
10. Nebraska

I agree with your top ten but the only change that I want to make is USC at 1 and Notre Dame at 2.

Difficult to do if you also include:
Business Aspects
Following

Overall, I'd put them on par at #1 with
a clear separation between them and the
rest of the pack.