While I'll give all due credit to Street & Smith's for their excellent college football coverage over the years, I'm concerned that there may be some bad water floating around their office. The magazine has just released its top 50 football programs of all time, and let's just say that its curious. To begin with, take a look at the top 10:
1. University of Notre Dame
2. University of Southern California
3. University of Oklahoma
4. University of Alabama
5. University of Nebraska
6. University of Michigan
7. Yale University
8. Ohio State University
9. University of Texas
10. Princeton University
How much weight do you have to give to graduation rates in order to get Yale and Princeton on this list? When was the last time either of those programs produced anything resembling a respectable college football team? Ok, if that serves to give their list a little credibility, a hint of something other than winning games and producing a product that is college football, then I'll accept that. And I guess you could argue that the Ivy League was college football for the first half-century of the game's existence. But still...
So I took a look at the complete list (available in pdf form only) and found my favorite team, Auburn, at #21, just points ahead of Harvard and six spots behind national powerhouse Minnesota. Minnesota?
Their scoring system is a little suspect, to say the least. One category was the "ferocity of the mascot." So how does a team known as the Quakers make the list? And Golden Gophers?
I guess lucky for S&S that Vanderbilt didn't show up. Who knows, though, another win or two for the Commodores, which lost this weekend to the previously winless Middle Tennessee State, and they might just crack the top 20.
while i'm happy to see ND on top, most of the categories selected are pretty bogus (i can think of a few major bowls by ND that should not have gone done, all things being equl). and how come yale has an N/A by graduation rate?
agreed auburn should get extra bonus points for serving as a launchpad for vinnie jackson if nothing else.
Posted by: beano cook | October 03, 2005 at 10:22 PM
Texas gets +2 for its mascot. Do they even know what a "Longhorn" is? How tough is castrated male cow?
Posted by: Chris | October 04, 2005 at 12:10 AM
Beano, what a pleasant surprise. The man that for a decade straight predicted that Pittsburgh would win the national championship. About Notre Dame: there are two teams I love to see get beat on Saturday, Alabama and the Domers. As for Auburn, you shouldn't forget that along w/ Bo, they've also produced Joe Cribbs, Lionel "Little Train" James, William Andrews, Stephen Davis, Cadillac Williams, Rudi Johnson...and the list goes on. I think based on that fact they should be in the top 10. But I'm biased.
Longhorns...heh.
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