Reading the Conference Champions thread made me a little depressed. So in an attempt at self preservation I decided to look a little closer at the numbers to determine just how depressed I should be. I have typically considered 9 Universities to be among the Elite of the elite or "Blue Bloods" of college football.
Historically speaking, does UT belong in the list of best college football programs? UT is currently in a down period but as we know all college football programs go through extended periods of mediocrity. Even Alabama went through a couple of decades of mostly mediocre football after Bear Bryant (although they managed one National Title with Gene Stallings) before hiring Nick Saban. Ohio State went through a couple of decades of mediocrity between Woody Hayes and Jim Tressel.
Things I considered for selecting a list of "Blue Blood" college football programs.
1. Historical Relevance - Has the team been considered one of the elite across multiple eras? Do they have recognizable nationally historic rivals? History of great coaches?
2. Marketability - Size of fan base, size of stadium, recognizable logo / uniform etc...
3. On Field Results - Conference Championships, National Titles, Finishes season in top 5 AP
Things I looked at:
1. I looked at the last 80 college seasons.
2. Number of times ended the season in top 5 AP Poll. Listed as follows (Final AP Poll Rank - Number of times since 1942)
3. Number of Conference Championships
4. Last year of relevance - Last year to finish in top 5 AP Poll
5. Last National Title
6. Number of National Titles since 1942
7. Nationally recognized rivalry
8. Historically relevant coaches for that school (Bear Bryant was not historically relevant for Texas A&M)
I think most of the schools on my list are no brainers and will garner very little pushback from most people reading this. The teams I looked at are Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, USC, LSU, UT, and Oklahoma.
Notable teams that I left off
1. Texas A&M - doesn't really even belong in the conversation
2. Arkansas - better case than A&M to be on the list but they were nothing more than a really good SWC team.
3. Clemson, Georgia - A strong case could be made for these two but isn't 9 teams on the list enough?
2. Penn State - Joe Pa gets no love from me
My final thoughts on the current state of UT and where we are as a college program.
UT, as we all know is definitely going through an extended period of mediocrity. The real question is where are we today? The 2009 season is the last time most of us consider the program to be truly relevant, losing to Alabama in the National Title game. That's 13 seasons of coaching changes and just bad football. The point was really driven home by the lack of "Conference Championships Thread" since Daryl Royal retired.
Lack of recent Conference Championships
Throughout UT's history since 1942 (when I started my review), they have about as many Conference Championships as other "Blue Blood Programs" programs not named Oklahoma or Alabama. But specifically what about the lack of championships since Daryl Royal retired?
Hate them or really f'n hate them, Oklahoma has dominated Conference Championship play going back well before UT joined the Big 12. OU has more Conference Championships, by a lot, than any other team in College Football. Unfortunately for OU it hasn't always parlayed into post season success, especially in the Bob Stoops era. OU also had two significantly great coaches since Daryl Royal retired; Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops while UT only had Mack Brown.
Additionally UT lost two Conference Championships based on a divisional Tie Breaker formula in 2002 and 2008. I'll go to my grave thinking UT was the best team in football in 2008 and had just as much right to play in the Big 12 Championship Game as OU. I think the Big 12 cheated itself out of a National Championship Trophy be sending OU instead of UT to the National Championship game. While OU was technically the Big 12 Champs in 2008, UT finished higher in the polls, beat OU in the "Red River Shoot Out", won its Bowl Game against OSU Buckeyes and had fewer losses on that year.
In conclusion, Conference Championships do not tell the whole story.
The Coach
After living through the end of the Mac Brown era and the failed coaching hires of Charley Strong and Tom Herman it's easy to feel like a jilted college football fan. But we went through this in the late 70s and 80s after Daryl Royal retired. Now when I watch Sark, I can't help but wonder if I'm watching John Mackovic or the beginning of another Mack Brown era?
I was not a fan of the Steve Sarkisian hire when it happened but (unlike many) I've actually come around. I love the fact that we were able to recruit both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. I love the fact that we have Gary Patterson helping (if not completely running) with our defense. I like our recruiting class coming into next season and truly believe we are going to be able to compete on a high level in the SEC, long term. I think Sark is going to coach to players strengths and I think he will know how to win in the next conference.
UT still a Great Football Program
In conclusion, UT is still a great program. Their current down period is not as long as some other great programs. Their arrow, in my opinion, is pointing up with the current recruiting class and Arch Manning. I believe we have the coaching staff as well. Moving to the SEC (as much as I've hated them) is the right move with will only boost our recruiting. And yes, I do think there will be a National Title for this team while Sark is the head coach.
And last, returning to annually or Simi-annually spanking the Aggies Ass should make us all feel better. See the actual numbers comparison below.
UT Longhorns
Final AP Top 5: 25% of the time
Conference Champions: 25 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2009
Last National Title: 2005
4 National Titles: 1963, 1969, 1970 and 2005
Traditional Rivals: Oklahoma Sooners & Texas A&M (game suspended)... Arkansas once upon a time
Top Coaches: Daryl Royal and Mack Brown
1 - 3
2 - 2
3 - 5
4 - 5
5 - 5
By comparison (non-Alabama teams):
OSU Buckeyes
Final AP Top 5: 36% of the time
Conference Champions: 29 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2020
Last National Title: 2014
8 National Titles: 1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002 and 2014
Traditional Rival: Michigan
Top Coaches: Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel, Urban Meyers
1 - 5
2 - 8
3 - 3
4 - 7
5 - 6
Michigan Wolverines
Final AP Top 5: 18% of the time
Conference Champions: 26 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2021
Last National Title: 1997
2 National Titles: 1948 and 1997
Traditional Rival: OSU
Top Coaches: Bo Schembechler
1 - 2
2 - 2
3 - 4
4 - 3
5 - 3
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Final AP Top 5: 16% of the time
Conference Champions: 22 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 1999
Last National Title: 1997
5 National Titles: 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995 and 1997
Traditional Rival: Oklahoma (games suspended)
Top Coaches: Tom Osborne
1 - 4
2 - 2
3 - 3
4 - 2
5 - 2
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Final AP Top 5: 29% of time
Conference Champions: Independent
Last Year of Relevance: 2020
Last National Title: 1988
9 National Titles: 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1977 and 1988
Traditional Rival: USC
Top Coaches: Knute Rockne (yeah prior to 1942), Lou Holtz
1 - 8
2 - 5
3 - 2
4 - 3
5 - 5
USC Trojans
Final AP Top 5: 23% of the time
Conference Champions: 31 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2016
Last National Title: 2004
7 National Titles: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003 and 2004
Traditional Rival: Notre Dame, UCLA
Top Coaches: John McKay, Pete Carroll
1 - 5
2 - 5
3 - 4
4 - 3
5 - 1
LSU Tigers
Final AP Top 5: 11% of the time
Conference Champions: 8 times
Last Year of Relevance: 2019
Last National Title: 2019
4 National Titles: 1958, 2003, 2007 and 2019
Traditional Rival: Alabama
Top Coaches: Nick Saban, Les Miles
1 - 3
2 - 2
3 - 2
4 - 1
5 - 1
Oklahoma Sooners
Final AP Top 5: 39% of the Time
Conference Champions: 45 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2018
Last National Title: 2000
7 National Titles: 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985 and 2000
Traditional Rival: UT, Nebraska (games suspended)
Top Coaches: Bud Wilkenson, Barry Switzer, Bob Stoops
1 - 7
2 - 3
3 - 11
4 - 3
5 - 7
Alabama Crimson Tide
Final AP Top 5: 34% of the Time
Conference Champions: 26 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2021
Last National Title: 2020
13 National Titles: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020
Traditional Rival: LSU, Auburn
Top Coaches: Bear Bryant, Nick Saban
1 - 12
2 - 5
3 - 3
4 - 3
5 - 4
Historically speaking, does UT belong in the list of best college football programs? UT is currently in a down period but as we know all college football programs go through extended periods of mediocrity. Even Alabama went through a couple of decades of mostly mediocre football after Bear Bryant (although they managed one National Title with Gene Stallings) before hiring Nick Saban. Ohio State went through a couple of decades of mediocrity between Woody Hayes and Jim Tressel.
Things I considered for selecting a list of "Blue Blood" college football programs.
1. Historical Relevance - Has the team been considered one of the elite across multiple eras? Do they have recognizable nationally historic rivals? History of great coaches?
2. Marketability - Size of fan base, size of stadium, recognizable logo / uniform etc...
3. On Field Results - Conference Championships, National Titles, Finishes season in top 5 AP
Things I looked at:
1. I looked at the last 80 college seasons.
2. Number of times ended the season in top 5 AP Poll. Listed as follows (Final AP Poll Rank - Number of times since 1942)
3. Number of Conference Championships
4. Last year of relevance - Last year to finish in top 5 AP Poll
5. Last National Title
6. Number of National Titles since 1942
7. Nationally recognized rivalry
8. Historically relevant coaches for that school (Bear Bryant was not historically relevant for Texas A&M)
I think most of the schools on my list are no brainers and will garner very little pushback from most people reading this. The teams I looked at are Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, USC, LSU, UT, and Oklahoma.
Notable teams that I left off
1. Texas A&M - doesn't really even belong in the conversation
2. Arkansas - better case than A&M to be on the list but they were nothing more than a really good SWC team.
3. Clemson, Georgia - A strong case could be made for these two but isn't 9 teams on the list enough?
2. Penn State - Joe Pa gets no love from me
My final thoughts on the current state of UT and where we are as a college program.
UT, as we all know is definitely going through an extended period of mediocrity. The real question is where are we today? The 2009 season is the last time most of us consider the program to be truly relevant, losing to Alabama in the National Title game. That's 13 seasons of coaching changes and just bad football. The point was really driven home by the lack of "Conference Championships Thread" since Daryl Royal retired.
Lack of recent Conference Championships
Throughout UT's history since 1942 (when I started my review), they have about as many Conference Championships as other "Blue Blood Programs" programs not named Oklahoma or Alabama. But specifically what about the lack of championships since Daryl Royal retired?
Hate them or really f'n hate them, Oklahoma has dominated Conference Championship play going back well before UT joined the Big 12. OU has more Conference Championships, by a lot, than any other team in College Football. Unfortunately for OU it hasn't always parlayed into post season success, especially in the Bob Stoops era. OU also had two significantly great coaches since Daryl Royal retired; Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops while UT only had Mack Brown.
Additionally UT lost two Conference Championships based on a divisional Tie Breaker formula in 2002 and 2008. I'll go to my grave thinking UT was the best team in football in 2008 and had just as much right to play in the Big 12 Championship Game as OU. I think the Big 12 cheated itself out of a National Championship Trophy be sending OU instead of UT to the National Championship game. While OU was technically the Big 12 Champs in 2008, UT finished higher in the polls, beat OU in the "Red River Shoot Out", won its Bowl Game against OSU Buckeyes and had fewer losses on that year.
In conclusion, Conference Championships do not tell the whole story.
The Coach
After living through the end of the Mac Brown era and the failed coaching hires of Charley Strong and Tom Herman it's easy to feel like a jilted college football fan. But we went through this in the late 70s and 80s after Daryl Royal retired. Now when I watch Sark, I can't help but wonder if I'm watching John Mackovic or the beginning of another Mack Brown era?
I was not a fan of the Steve Sarkisian hire when it happened but (unlike many) I've actually come around. I love the fact that we were able to recruit both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. I love the fact that we have Gary Patterson helping (if not completely running) with our defense. I like our recruiting class coming into next season and truly believe we are going to be able to compete on a high level in the SEC, long term. I think Sark is going to coach to players strengths and I think he will know how to win in the next conference.
UT still a Great Football Program
In conclusion, UT is still a great program. Their current down period is not as long as some other great programs. Their arrow, in my opinion, is pointing up with the current recruiting class and Arch Manning. I believe we have the coaching staff as well. Moving to the SEC (as much as I've hated them) is the right move with will only boost our recruiting. And yes, I do think there will be a National Title for this team while Sark is the head coach.
And last, returning to annually or Simi-annually spanking the Aggies Ass should make us all feel better. See the actual numbers comparison below.
UT Longhorns
Final AP Top 5: 25% of the time
Conference Champions: 25 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2009
Last National Title: 2005
4 National Titles: 1963, 1969, 1970 and 2005
Traditional Rivals: Oklahoma Sooners & Texas A&M (game suspended)... Arkansas once upon a time
Top Coaches: Daryl Royal and Mack Brown
1 - 3
2 - 2
3 - 5
4 - 5
5 - 5
By comparison (non-Alabama teams):
OSU Buckeyes
Final AP Top 5: 36% of the time
Conference Champions: 29 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2020
Last National Title: 2014
8 National Titles: 1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002 and 2014
Traditional Rival: Michigan
Top Coaches: Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel, Urban Meyers
1 - 5
2 - 8
3 - 3
4 - 7
5 - 6
Michigan Wolverines
Final AP Top 5: 18% of the time
Conference Champions: 26 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2021
Last National Title: 1997
2 National Titles: 1948 and 1997
Traditional Rival: OSU
Top Coaches: Bo Schembechler
1 - 2
2 - 2
3 - 4
4 - 3
5 - 3
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Final AP Top 5: 16% of the time
Conference Champions: 22 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 1999
Last National Title: 1997
5 National Titles: 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995 and 1997
Traditional Rival: Oklahoma (games suspended)
Top Coaches: Tom Osborne
1 - 4
2 - 2
3 - 3
4 - 2
5 - 2
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Final AP Top 5: 29% of time
Conference Champions: Independent
Last Year of Relevance: 2020
Last National Title: 1988
9 National Titles: 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1977 and 1988
Traditional Rival: USC
Top Coaches: Knute Rockne (yeah prior to 1942), Lou Holtz
1 - 8
2 - 5
3 - 2
4 - 3
5 - 5
USC Trojans
Final AP Top 5: 23% of the time
Conference Champions: 31 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2016
Last National Title: 2004
7 National Titles: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003 and 2004
Traditional Rival: Notre Dame, UCLA
Top Coaches: John McKay, Pete Carroll
1 - 5
2 - 5
3 - 4
4 - 3
5 - 1
LSU Tigers
Final AP Top 5: 11% of the time
Conference Champions: 8 times
Last Year of Relevance: 2019
Last National Title: 2019
4 National Titles: 1958, 2003, 2007 and 2019
Traditional Rival: Alabama
Top Coaches: Nick Saban, Les Miles
1 - 3
2 - 2
3 - 2
4 - 1
5 - 1
Oklahoma Sooners
Final AP Top 5: 39% of the Time
Conference Champions: 45 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2018
Last National Title: 2000
7 National Titles: 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985 and 2000
Traditional Rival: UT, Nebraska (games suspended)
Top Coaches: Bud Wilkenson, Barry Switzer, Bob Stoops
1 - 7
2 - 3
3 - 11
4 - 3
5 - 7
Alabama Crimson Tide
Final AP Top 5: 34% of the Time
Conference Champions: 26 Times
Last Year of Relevance: 2021
Last National Title: 2020
13 National Titles: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020
Traditional Rival: LSU, Auburn
Top Coaches: Bear Bryant, Nick Saban
1 - 12
2 - 5
3 - 3
4 - 3
5 - 4
