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

What schools dominated the last 25 years of college football? Already having compiled lists of top college football programs for the last 5, 10, 15 and 20 years, we start to see some patterns take shape. Despite a recent spate of slumps by Miami, Florida State and Nebraska, these three schools show how they've ruled the college football roost over the last quarter century.

We also start to see some surprising results emerge. Such as the wherewithal of Boise State to remain in these rankings despite having only played 14 seasons in Division I football. The Broncos' penchant for 10-win seasons (including two undefeated seasons) keep them afloat with programs who've been around for much longer.

Now, on to the list of the top 25 college football programs of the last 25 years.

Disclaimer:

Some of you may disagree with the results here and decry the whole list as steeped in fool's logic and personal bias. Feel free to leave comments in the suggestion box below. 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.

1. Miami Hurricanes

Few sports dynasties ever develop the sort of notoriety that defined the Miami Hurricanes of the late 1980s and early 1990s. While much of the publicity out of Coral Gables probably made the UM chancellor blush, little national attention would've been paid to "da U" had the Hurricanes been merely average. On the contrary, between 1986 and 1992, only 6 teams managed to upend Miami. All but one of those teams had at least 10 wins under their belts and each of the losses were dealt on either the opponent's home turf or on a neutral field. And usually with a National Title on the line. The Hurricanes piled up three Titles of their own in that period and played for another two. A brief slump in the late 1990s -- and a current one at the end of the 2000s -- dampen what might have otherwise been a runaway for the Hurricanes as most dominant program of the last 25 years.

Losing seasons 2
10 win seasons 13
Total wins 239
National Title games played 7
National Title games won 4
Undefeated seasons 3
January wins 9

Total points: 57.4

2. Florida State Seminoles

Florida State is the only program to not suffer a losing season in the last quarter century (although a few Seminole teams have come close lately). FSU also ties Nebraska for the most overall wins over this period and is unmatched in number of 10-win seasons and January bowl wins. But Florida State was not quite as adept at running the table or bringing home National Titles as was that notorious school at the bottom of the peninsula. National Championships, title implications and unblemished seasons are what ultimately edge the Hurricanes over Florida State.

Losing seasons 0
10 win seasons 15
Total wins 242
National Title games played 5
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 14

Total points: 56.2

3. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska tied Florida State for number of total wins over the last 25 seasons. But the brief downturn during the Bill Callahan years plus far fewer January bowl wins find the Huskers trailing the more consistent program out of Tallahassee. Still Nebraska follows only Florida State in number of 10-win seasons and only Miami in number of National Titles won and title games played. If the Huskers had pulled one or two upsets over the two programs ahead of it, we could very well have seen Nebraska sit atop this list.

Losing seasons 3
10 win seasons 14
Total wins 242
National Title games played 5
National Title games won 3
Undefeated seasons 3
January wins 6

Total points: 52.2

4. Florida Gators

The most dominant college football program of the last 15 seasons wasn't much of a juggernaut in the late 1980s. In fact, the Gators (steeped in scandal and NCAA sanctions) were downright mediocre seeing four consecutive seasons of near-losing records. It wasn't until the Gator's own Steve Spurrier showed up in 1990 before the program hit its stride. Florida football has cleaned up considerably in the last 20 years and has never looked back.

Losing seasons 1
10 win seasons 12
Total wins 237
National Title games played 4
National Title games won 3
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 9

Total points: 49.2

5. Ohio State Buckeyes

Consistency is the name of the game for Ohio State. Along with Florida, this is the only program to rank in the top five of each list for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of dominance. But Ohio State had its only down-period of the last 40 years in the late 1980s. Otherwise the Buckeyes might have challenged Florida for #4.

Losing seasons 2
10 win seasons 12
Total wins 222
National Title games played 3
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 6

Total points: 41.2

6. Michigan Wolverines

Like their conference rivals in Columbus, Michigan has been consistently upper echelon. They just never manage to finish at the very top as often as some of the programs ahead of them. Michigan's status in the Top 10 is helped by an impressive number of January bowl wins. Only Florida State won more post-New Years bowls than the Wolverines over the last 25 seasons.

Losing seasons 2
10 win seasons 10
Total wins 222
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 12

Total points: 40.2

7. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma slumped tremendously in the 1990s. In fact, the Gibbs/Schnelleberger/Blake era of Sooner football ranks as one of the five worst downturns for a National Title program over the last 50 seasons. But, in the 1980s, there was still the bootlegger's son tooling around Norman. Barry Switzer is one of the all time great college coaches. And the late 1980s (with an additional National Title in 1985) combined with a fantastic decade under Bob Stoops does a lot to mitigate that awful decade in between. Enough, anyway, to land Oklahoma as one of the top seven programs of the last quarter century.

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 11
Total wins 220
National Title games played 6
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 4

Total points: 40

8. Tennessee Volunteers

Much like Ohio State and Michigan, Tennessee has been consistently good if not great for the better part of the last quarter century and was particular good in January bowl games. Were it not for rocky times atop old Rocky Top recently, Tennessee's 38.8 points (less than 3 behind #5 Ohio State) could have had the Vols vying for a top 5 spot.

Losing seasons 3
10 win seasons 10
Total wins 223
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 11

Total points: 38.8

9. Alabama Crimson Tide

The last 25 years have been a roller-coaster of extremes for the Crimson Tide. While Alabama's 20-year run started and ended on high-notes with a precipitous dip in the middle, UA's 25-year ranking starts on the low end thanks to sanctions and unfortunate coaching changes. But with two fantastic National Champions (in 1992 and 2009) coupled with a total of 11 ten-win seasons, it's hard to knock Alabama from the top 10.

Losing seasons 5
10 win seasons 11
Total wins 215
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 5

Total points: 38

10. Penn State Nittany Lions

With an undefeated season and National Title in 1986, Penn State sees its program jump into the Top 10 for the first time since the list of most dominant programs of the last 5 years. A pretty stiff slump in the early 2000s canceled out a lot of success in the 1990s. But from here on, it's nothing but up for the Nittany Lions.

Losing seasons 5
10 win seasons 10
Total wins 218
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 10

Total points: 37.8

11. USC Trojans

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 8
Total wins 210
National Title games played 3
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 8

Total points: 35

12. Texas Longhorns

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 11
Total wins 213
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 5

Total points: 33.8

13. Virginia Tech Hokies

Losing seasons 4
10 win seasons 11
Total wins 202
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 3

Total points: 29.7

14. Auburn Tigers

Losing seasons 5
10 win seasons 7
Total wins 207
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 7

Total points: 28.2

15. Georgia Bulldogs

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 8
Total wins 209
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 9

Total points: 27.4

16. LSU Tigers

Losing seasons 8
10 win seasons 7
Total wins 193
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 4

Total points: 26.3

17. BYU Cougars

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 10
Total wins 217
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 1

Total points: 26.2

18. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Losing seasons 8
10 win seasons 7
Total wins 196
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 5

Total points: 25.1

19. Boise State Broncos

Losing seasons 2
10 win seasons 9
Total wins 134
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 2

Total points: 23.4

20. Texas A&M Aggies

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 7
Total wins 201
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 2

Total points: 22.1

21. Colorado Buffaloes

Losing seasons 8
10 win seasons 6
Total wins 184
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 3

Total points: 21.9

22. Clemson Tigers

Losing seasons 5
10 win seasons 4
Total wins 192
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 4

Total points: 20.2

23. West Virginia Mountaineers

Losing seasons 7
10 win seasons 5
Total wins 187
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 3

Total points: 20.2

24. Utah Utes

Losing seasons 7
10 win seasons 5
Total wins 182
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 2

Total points: 19.2

25 (tie). Iowa Hawkeyes

Losing seasons 9
10 win seasons 7
Total wins 182
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 4

Total points: 18.2

25 (tie). Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 3
Total wins 162
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 2

Total points: 18.2