Ranking the Top 25 College Football Programs Over the Last 40 Years

The Nebraska Cornhuskers solidify their hold as college football's most dominant program as the rankings now span 40 years. The bulk of this era covers the entire head-coaching career of Tom Osborne and includes some high-caliber seasons at the hands of Bob Devaney and Frank Solich.

Alabama, Oklahoma, USC and Notre Dame make significant leaps up the rankings, while Miami's and Florida State's stocks begin to plunge.

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. Nebraska Cornhuskers

As dominant program of the last 40 seasons, Nebraska runs away from all other competition. The Cornhuskers' main rivals to this point -- Miami and Florida State -- were relatively inconsequential before the 1980s. And other big football schools prior to 1980 (such as Oklahoma, USC and Alabama) saw some pretty lean stretches in the last 30 seasons that affectively hold them back despite having seen very recent dominance.

From 1970 to 2009, the Cornhuskers won 393 games. They appeared in 9 National Title matches (winning five of them). They had a minimum of 9 wins in 36 of those 40 seasons and finished ranked in 35 out of 40 AP polls. They produced not a single losing season in 31 consecutive years (1970 to 2001 -- part of a 40-year stretch beginning in 1962). They appeared in 38 bowl games. They produced (by wide opinion) the two best college football teams of the 20th Century in 1971 and 1995 and established a contender for greatest college football dynasty of all time in a 60-3 stretch from 1993 to 1997.

Indeed, Nebraska leads (or ties for first) in almost all categories. Other schools had some superlatives - Miami, Alabama and USC won as many titles over the same period. Ohio State had one-fewer losing seasons. Florida State produced an impressive stretch of 14 consecutive 10-win seasons to finish out the century. But no other team maintained such a high level of consistency at the top from 1970 on than the Big Red.

Losing seasons 3
10 win seasons 22
Total wins 393
National Title games played 9
National Title games won 5
Undefeated seasons 5
January wins 12

Total points: 88.3

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

Bear Bryant's last full decade at Alabama sends the Crimson Tide skyrocketing to #2 in these rankings. The legendary coach compiled a 109-16-1 record in the 1970s and snagged his school an additional three National Titles. All this even without Forrest Gump returning kick-offs from end zone to end zone. If only Gump had actually played in Tuscaloosa!

Alabama had the second most total wins and 10-wins seasons over the last 40 years and tied Nebraska, Miami and USC for most National Titles won. With another solid decade for Bama in the 1960s, Bear Bryant's team shows no immediate signs of slipping in these rankings.

Losing seasons 5
10 win seasons 20
Total wins 367
National Title games played 7
National Title games won 5
Undefeated seasons 3
January wins 10

Total points: 76.7

3. Oklahoma Sooners

The one-two punch of Chuck Fairbanks and Barry Switzer elevate the Sooners to elite status for the first time since the 10-year rankings. Fairbanks raised Oklahoma out of a mid-decade slump in the 1960s thanks to schematic innovations (and perhaps a little recruiting impropriety) culminating in back-to-back 11-1 seasons in the early 1970s. Fairbanks was the coach on the opposite sideline of Nebraska's Bob Devaney for the legendary 1971 "Game of the Century".

Despite taking over a program on probation, Barry Switzer brought the Sooners back to the juggernaut levels of Bud Wilkinson's Oklahoma teams, winning back-to-back National Titles in 1974 and 1975.

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 20
Total wins 364
National Title games played 7
National Title games won 4
Undefeated seasons 3
January wins 9

Total points: 72.9

4. Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State's 359 wins since 1970 are, amazingly, the product of one single coach. Joe Paterno. Much like the other top Big 10 schools (Ohio State and Michigan), the Nittany Lions managed to avoid severe downturns more than other schools. While the early 2000s were no happy times in Happy Valley, that brief slump is nothing when weighed against a span of 40 mostly excellent years.

Ironically, Penn State faired best as an independent, playing for National Titles four times and winning two of them before joining the Big 10 in 1993. Despite going undefeated in 1994, Paterno's squad was left out of the National Title picture altogether thanks to another iconic school going undefeated the same year. Consistently great, yet hamstrung for the whole enchilada. Penn State seems to share a common curse with the other two top Big Ten schools.

Losing seasons 5
10 win seasons 18
Total wins 359
National Title games played 4
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 3
January wins 15

Total points: 67.4

5. USC Trojans

Great in the Pete Carroll 2000s and equally so in the McKay/Robinson 1970s, USC's 40-year run sags heavily in the middle. But one thing's for sure -- when the University of Southern California goes on a gridiron tear, there's very little that can stop the Trojans. Except for maybe the NCAA sanctions committee.

Losing seasons 7
10 win seasons 13
Total wins 341
National Title games played 6
National Title games won 5
Undefeated seasons 3
January wins 14

Total points: 66.1

6. Michigan Wolverines

Same song, fifth versus. Consistently great, but can't (very often) win it all. The Michigan Wolverines.

Losing seasons 3
10 win seasons 18
Total wins 360
National Title games played 3
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 13

Total points: 64.5

7. Florida State Seminoles

Bobby Bowden lead the Seminoles to the "promise land" in the 1980s. But prior to his arrival in 1976, Florida State was flat-out awful. Before Bowden, the most famous associate of the program was Burt Reynolds. And it wasn't because he took a few snaps as halfback.

Florida State ranked as the most dominant program of the last 20 years and went toe-to-toe with Miami and Nebraska for the 25, 30, and 35-year rankings. But the pre-Bowden days see the program fall precipitously.

Losing seasons 4
10 win seasons 17
Total wins 341
National Title games played 5
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 14

Total points: 64.1

8. Ohio State Buckeyes

Same song, sixth verse. Consistently great, but can't (very often) win it all. The Ohio State Buckeyes.

Losing seasons 2
10 win seasons 16
Total wins 358
National Title games played 5
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 9

Total points: 63.3

9. Miami Hurricanes

Much like the Seminoles with Bobby Bowden, Miami was no football paradise before the arrival of Howard Schnellenberger. The Hurricanes saw just two winning seasons in the entire decade of the 1970s and just barely. The most dominant program of the last 25 and 30 years falls hard.

Losing seasons 10
10 win seasons 14
Total wins 325
National Title games played 8
National Title games won 5
Undefeated seasons 3
January wins 11

Total points: 63

10. Texas Longhorns

Texas works it's way back into the Top 10 with 88 wins in the 1970s plus another National Title. Lean years in the 1980s and 1990s keep the Longhorns (much like USC) further down the list than one might immediately assume.

Losing seasons 8
10 win seasons 17
Total wins 345
National Title games played 4
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 7

Total points: 56

And here are how 15 other college football programs stack up over the last four decades.

11. Florida Gators

Losing seasons 5
10 win seasons 12
Total wins 336
National Title games played 4
National Title games won 3
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 9

Total points: 55.1

12. Tennessee Volunteers

Losing seasons 6
10 win seasons 13
Total wins 333
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 12

Total points: 50.3

13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Losing seasons 9
10 win seasons 11
Total wins 321
National Title games played 3
National Title games won 3
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 10

Total points: 50.1

14. Georgia Bulldogs

Losing seasons 9
10 win seasons 14
Total wins 334
National Title games played 3
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 11

Total points: 49.9

15. BYU Cougars

Losing seasons 9
10 win seasons 15
Total wins 343
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 1

Total points: 44.8

16. Auburn Tigers

Losing seasons 10
10 win seasons 10
Total wins 315
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 9

Total points: 38

17. LSU Tigers

Losing seasons 12
10 win seasons 7
Total wins 297
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 2
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 4

Total points: 32.7

18. Virginia Tech Hokies

Losing seasons 11
10 win seasons 11
Total wins 288
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 3

Total points: 31.3

19. Arizona State Sun Devils

Losing seasons 12
10 win seasons 9
Total wins 291
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 2
January wins 2

Total points: 30.1

20. Clemson Tigers

Losing seasons 11
10 win seasons 6
Total wins 291
National Title games played1
National Title games won1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 2

Total points: 29.1

21. Washington Huskies

Losing seasons 11
10 win seasons 6
Total wins 279
National Title games played 1
National Title games won 1
Undefeated seasons 1
January wins 6

Total points: 28.9

22. Texas A&M Aggies

Losing seasons 13
10 win seasons 9
Total wins 293
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 3

Total points: 26.8

23. UCLA Bruins

Losing seasons 12
10 win seasons 6
Total wins 287
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 7

Total points: 26.2

24. Arkansas Razorbacks

Losing seasons 12
10 win seasons 7
Total wins 289
National Title games played 0
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 3

Total points: 25.4

25. West Virginia Mountaineers

Losing seasons 13
10 win seasons 5
Total wins 287
National Title games played 2
National Title games won 0
Undefeated seasons 0
January wins 3

Total points: 24.2