Ranking the 25 Most Dominant College Football Programs of the Last 5 Years

Which college football programs dominated the last 5 years of gridiron action? Watch Sports Center from August to January and you'll hear the names of the usual suspects -- Florida, Texas, USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State...

But how do you tell which juggernaut was the most dominant and in what order do the others rank? Gather up all the stats for the last five seasons and throw them into an algorithm, of course.

I'm sure some of you will disagree with the results here and decry my whole list as steeped in fool's logic and personal bias. Feel free to leave comments in the suggestion box below. You should also keep in mind that I crunched nearly as many numbers as ground control did to slingshot Apollo 13 around the dark side of the moon. So if you spot any miscalculations, let me know and I'll make the corrections.

Here are the criteria I used to garner my rankings:

I awarded each program one-tenth of a point for every victory in the 5-year span. I gave one point for every 10-win season during the same stretch and another point for every time the program appeared in a National Championship game. I gave two points for every time a program won the National Title. I also awarded the program one point for every win the program had in the month of January. I subtracted a point for every non-winning season, this includes seasons with .500 records (such as a 6-6 season) as well as any losing records.

I will demonstrate the algorithm using the University of Alabama's last five seasons. From 2005 to 2009, the Crimson Tide won 49 games for a score of 4.9. They had three 10-win seasons for an additional 3 points. They appeared in one National Championship game for another point and they won that National Title match, earning them two additional points. The game was played in January, adding another point for a score of 12.9. But Alabama had a 6-7 season in 2006 which results in the loss of one point. The total score is 11.9.

Using this method here are the 25 most dominant college football programs of the last five seasons.

1. Florida Gators

No surprise that the only program with multiple National Titles in the last five years would top the list. The Gators also had the third most overall wins between 2005 and 2009 and won four post-New-Year bowl games. Nothing like a Sugar Bowl trophy and two BCS Championship rings to pad your short-term resume.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 57
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 2
January wins 4

Total points: 18.7

2. Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns went five for five in double-digit win seasons, tying Boise State with the most overall wins. But, unlike the Broncos, Texas won while competing in a powerhouse BCS conference and battling top competition in the post season. Still, one fewer National Title than the Gators -- and two fewer January wins -- keep the Longhorns out of the winner's circle.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 5
Total wins 58
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 1
January wins 2

Total points: 16.8

3. Ohio State Buckeyes

What's the saying? Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Whatever. At least the Buckeyes were a part of the main event in the last five years -- TWICE. Only Florida can make the same claim.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 5
Total wins 54
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 0
January wins 2

Total points: 14.4

4. USC Trojans

USC has been unrelentingly good in January the past 5 years. While not appearing in the big enchilada since 2005, the Trojans' 55 wins and post-season prowess are enough to beat two BCS champions for fourth place.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 4
Total wins 55
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 0
January wins 3

Total points: 13.5

5. LSU Tigers

Back-to-back mediocre seasons in 2008 and 2009 have done little curb the Bayou Bangles' dominance of recent years. LSU's second BCS title of the decade helps land the Tigers in the top five programs of the last five years.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 51
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
January wins 2

Total points: 13.1

6. Virginia Tech Hokies

Blacksburg's Beamer-ballers are still trying to make it to the Big Show for the first time since 1999. In the meantime, Virginia Tech's faithful will have to settle for year-in and year-out of ten-win seasons and ACC title games. The Hokies compiled more wins over the last five years than BCS Championship participants LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 5
Total wins 52
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 3

Total points: 12.2

7. Alabama Crimson Tide

The Crimson Tide are back! Big time. One of college football's greatest programs came out of a decade-and-a-half-long slump with both fists swinging. The result was a 26-2 run over the last two seasons culminating in the school's 11th National Title. Alabama finds itself in the top 7 programs after, amazingly, finishing with a losing record just four seasons ago.

Losing seasons 1
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 49
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
January wins 2

Total points: 11.9

8. Boise State Broncos

Oh, the boys of Boise. How you rule the Mountain Time Zone out there on your sapphire blue Astroturf. You just can't get any respect. You share the most number of wins over the last 5 seasons with Texas, but the BCS won't let you sniff their championship game's front door. At least they let you and TCU into the Fiesta Bowl in 2009 instead of relegating you to the Poinsettia Bowl like the previous bowl season. 12-win teams should not have their post season before Christmas.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 4
Total wins 58
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 2

Total points: 11.8

9. Penn State Nittany Lions

The first half of the decade contained the worst five-year stretch in Joe Paterno's illustrious career at Penn State. The second half of the decade, not so bad.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 51
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 3

Total points: 11.1

10. West Virginia Mountaineers

The Mountaineers couldn't be in any better shape since the departure of Rich Rodriguez. The same, oddly enough, can't be said for Michigan in the wake of his arrival. West Virginia was one of only 11 programs to average ten wins per season over the last five years. As such, the Mountaineers round out the top ten programs for the half decade.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 51
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 3

Total points: 11.1

11. Georgia Bulldogs

The Bulldogs hit a bump last season, but a trio of ten-win seasons along with wins in the Sugar and Citrus Bowls put Georgia just outside the top ten.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 48
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 2

Total points: 9.8

12. TCU Horned Frogs

Like their brothers from Boise, TCU just doesn't get much respect playing in a non-automatic-qualifier conference. So, despite four ten-win seasons in the last five -- and compiling more wins than Oklahoma, Georgia, West Virginia, LSU, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Alabama -- TCU only made it to January once. Which was a loss to Boise State.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 4
Total wins 53
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 0

Total points: 9.3

13. Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners show a surprisingly low finish for one of the top programs of the decade. The 2008 BCS runners-up just weren't as consistently upper-echelon as they were in the first half of the 2000s. Oklahoma made it to January bowl games three times since 2005 including the 2008 BCS Championship. They just couldn't convert any of those appearances into wins.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 50
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 0
January wins 0

Total points: 9.0

The Sooners round out college football's dominant baker's dozen for 2005-2009. Here are the remaining 12 programs in the top 25 along with their scores:

14. BYU Cougars

Losing seasons 1
10 win seasons 4
Total wins 49
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 0

Total points: 7.9

15. Wisconsin Badgers

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 48
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 0

Total points: 7.8

16. Utah Utes

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 2
Total wins 47
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 1

Total points: 7.7

17. Oregon Ducks

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 46
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 0

Total points: 7.6

18. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 1
Total wins 46
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 2

Total points: 7.6

19. Missouri Tigers

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 2
Total wins 45
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 1

Total points: 7.5

20. Cincinnati Bearcats

Losing seasons 1
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 45
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 0

Total points: 6.5

21. Auburn Tigers

Losing seasons 1
10 win seasons 1
Total wins 42
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 2

Total points: 6.2

22. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Losing seasons 1
10 win seasons 1
Total wins 41
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 1

Total points: 6.1

23. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 1
Total wins 43
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 0

Total points: 5.3

24. California Golden Bears

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 1
Total wins 42
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 0

Total points: 5.2

25. Iowa Hawkeyes

Losing seasons 2
10 win seasons 1
Total wins 39
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
January wins 2

Total points: 4.9