5 most overrated programs in history.

[Chewbaccer]

pitt dont have the wins, but they got the nattys

As far as I'm concerned, Pitt and Minnesota have as much claim to being a blue blood as Michigan.

 

[Camfantasy]

I used to have a liberal definition of blue blood, but now I'm more picky than most.

At most your blue bloods consist of:

Alabama
USC
Notre Dame
Michigan
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Texas
Nebraska

Personally, I wittle the list down to:

Alabama
USC
Ohio State
Oklahoma

Nebraska lost their blue blood status 20 years ago

 

[Voltaire26]

I used to have a liberal definition of blue blood, but now I'm more picky than most.

At most your blue bloods consist of:

Alabama
USC
Notre Dame
Michigan
ohio state
Oklahoma
Texas
Nebraska

Personally, I wittle the list down to:

Alabama
USC
ohio state
Oklahoma

In very recent years I would have to agree with you ... if you add Clemson.

 

[Chewbaccer]

In very recent years I would have to agree with you ... if you add Clemson.

Recent years weigh a lot for me, but all time history does as well.

You've got to have a combination of recent and historical success.

 

[Voltaire26]

1. Notre Dame

Spoiler

They don’t have their own TV network, but they do have their contract with NBC and of course the film “Rudy.” The Fighting Irish are the college football elite and believe their successes from the 1940’s through the 1970’s guarantees them preferential treatment. The BCS even concurred with a special arrangement if they finished in the top 10 they would trump other programs for a bid into the big four games.

The College Football Playoff hasn’t shown that same treatment — but hasn’t had the need to. Under Brian Kelly the Irish did play for the BCS National Championship Game in 2013 (for the 2012 season) but those wins were erased by the NCAA and their time at the top was erased by Nick Saban’s Alabama defense.

The Irish fight song bellows, “Rally sons of Notre Dame: Sing her glory and sound her fame.” It’s even called “Notre Dame Victory March” but it hasn’t been literal in terms of victory. After Dan Devine left at the end of the 1980 season the Irish have had a losing season under every head coach since.

Lou Holtz guided the Fighting Irish to the national title in 1988, but he too had a losing season in 1986 while Gerry Faust before him had plenty of losses piled up. Bob Davie had two losing seasons, while Ty Willingham, Charlie Weiss and Brian Kelly have all had each.

The Irish embody overrated as they begin every season with Heisman Trophy hopefuls, a ton of hype, and the expectation that they’ll finish in the top 10 while that’s only been true once since 1993

2. Michigan

Spoiler

Michigan’s fight song is called “The Victors” and they’ve had successful seasons in the past but the Wolverines haven’t been in the national title hunt since the 1999 season where they finished No. 5 in both polls.

Michigan brings with it much tradition and pageantry from the winged helmets, the beautiful campus in Ann Arbor, MI, and “The Big House” holding 115,000 fans at excess. Michigan’s greatest NFL player was a part-time starter and 6th round draft pick in Tom Brady. Their national championship team in 1997 split the title with Nebraska. Bo Schembechler’s 1985 squad finished second overall, but the Wolverines lone title was the AP title from 1997.

Many pundits feel if Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson lined up across from the Huskers he wouldn’t have made an impact against a run-first attack. The Huskers had Scott Frost at quarterback and the power run game of Frost, Ahman Green and Joel Makovicka ripped off over 3,600 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns. The Huskers beat the third ranked Tennessee Volunteers and future Super Bowl winning quarterback Peyton Manning while the Wolverines beat No. 7 Washington State and NFL dud Ryan Leaf.

Since Carr’s forced retirement the Wolves have had three double-digit win seasons. One was from Brady Hoke in 2011 (11 wins) and the other two were Jim Harbaugh in 2015 and 2016. Even Harbaugh has already had a let down season with only eight wins in the 2017 season. Michigan wasn’t quite worth a documentary or the constant over-hype they receive in college football.

3. Texas

Spoiler

The expectations in Austin, TX surrounding their beloved Texas Longhorns are monumental. Texas boosters and fans have national championship dreams and were the darlings of the recruiting world for over a decade under Mack Brown. ESPN gave Texas their own Longhorn Network.

The Longhorns haven’t had a double-digit winning season since they flopped in the 2010 BCS National Title Game, following the 2009 season. That spans the final years under Brown, then Charlie Strong and most recently Tom Herman. Herman’s recruiting prowess already has the Longhorns “back” according to some media and most fans.

Texas holds a national title from their 2006 Rose Bowl upset over the USC Trojans. However, with the onslaught of top-rated recruiting classes the college football world was constantly talking about what’s next for Texas and the ‘Horns haven’t delivered.

Before Mack Brown, Texas finished the 1996 season 8-5 with Priest Holmes and Ricky Williams at running back under John Mackovic. Before Mackovic, David McWilliams had extremely underwhelming seasons besides the 1990 season where Texas finished 10-2-1. Yet even in 1990, the Longhorns were annihilated by the Hurricanes in the 1991 Cotton Bowl. No matter how big of a slump the ‘Horns are in, the college football world is supposed to hold them as a blue blood.

Texas fans and the media have put enough of a hype machine behind the Longhorns for the past decade, now it’s time for Tom Herman to right the ship and get the ‘Horns back into the hunt. The Longhorns fight song says, “Texas Fight, Texas Fight, For it’s Texas that we love best” and yet the Longhorns haven’t requited the love with victories.

​

4. Georgia

Spoiler

Georgia isn’t as overrated as the top three on the list, but they’re still a media darling that believes it deserves more love than they’ve received. Sure, they were effective under Mark Richt as a top 10 finisher in eight seasons, but they weren’t a national title competitor even once.

Actually, the Bulldogs hadn’t finished in the top two in both polls since their national championship in the 1980 season until the 2017 finale. UGA might be turning that overrated label around, but until Kirby Smart walks away with the CFP National Championship trophy, UGA is overrated.

The Bulldogs have accumulated top five recruiting classes for the better part of the past decade and have produced NFL talent on both the offensive and defensive side of the football. Star running backs like Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel even shared a backfield with each other. Georgia has had highly touted quarterbacks like Aaron Murray and Matt Stafford. The defense has had All-American caliber players like Champ and Boss Bailey and David Pollack.

The Bulldogs are consistently pre-season darlings of the media, their fanbase expected better than ten-win seasons, and their aura with Athens and the hedges has them as an overrated program in college football.

​

5. Oregon

Spoiler

The Oregon Ducks don’t have the history of expectation like the Bulldogs but their media hype and fanbase (while very respectful in my dealings with them) expect a national championship. Oregon, however, hasn’t provided one.

The Ducks have found their way to three second-place finishes and a third-place ranking after losing national title games to Ohio State and Auburn while back-door’ing into the second position in 2012 and 2001. The Ducks hype came from Phil Knight, the man behind the of Nike fortune, and their amazing indoor facility and the gaudy uniform combinations. What Rich Brooks built on coaching chops, Mike Bellotti dug in and picked up four double-digit win seasons before retiring and handing over the reigns to Chip Kelly.

The Kelly era is where the hype machine took full effect. The indoor facility, the modifications to Autzen Stadium, and the uniform combinations became the basis of the hype but the gravy was the spread to run offense and quarterbacks like Dennis Dixon, Jeremiah Masoli, and Darron Thomas.

The speedy running backs and the zone option offensive scheme became trademarks of the Ducks. Eugene has produced their fair share of mediocre seasons under Brooks, Bellotti and Helfrich with only Chip Kelly coming out unscathed with a bad record. However, Kelly was also found in violation of NCAA recruiting rules and left Oregon for the NFL.

The Ducks fans expected a big name hire when Willie Taggart left for Florida State and instead missed on names like Justin Wilcox before landing on an internal hire in Mario Cristobal.

​

Michigan is getting beat up in this thread, but you start great conversations on this board ... I want to thank you and call you bad names at the same time!!!!

 

[Scapegoat]

Recent years weigh a lot for me, but all time history does as well.

You've got to have a combination of recent and historical success.

There has to be history. There can be gaps but not 40-50 year gaps.

 

[olympicoscar]

1. Notre Dame

Spoiler

They don’t have their own TV network, but they do have their contract with NBC and of course the film “Rudy.” The Fighting Irish are the college football elite and believe their successes from the 1940’s through the 1970’s guarantees them preferential treatment. The BCS even concurred with a special arrangement if they finished in the top 10 they would trump other programs for a bid into the big four games.

The College Football Playoff hasn’t shown that same treatment — but hasn’t had the need to. Under Brian Kelly the Irish did play for the BCS National Championship Game in 2013 (for the 2012 season) but those wins were erased by the NCAA and their time at the top was erased by Nick Saban’s Alabama defense.

The Irish fight song bellows, “Rally sons of Notre Dame: Sing her glory and sound her fame.” It’s even called “Notre Dame Victory March” but it hasn’t been literal in terms of victory. After Dan Devine left at the end of the 1980 season the Irish have had a losing season under every head coach since.

Lou Holtz guided the Fighting Irish to the national title in 1988, but he too had a losing season in 1986 while Gerry Faust before him had plenty of losses piled up. Bob Davie had two losing seasons, while Ty Willingham, Charlie Weiss and Brian Kelly have all had each.

The Irish embody overrated as they begin every season with Heisman Trophy hopefuls, a ton of hype, and the expectation that they’ll finish in the top 10 while that’s only been true once since 1993

2. Michigan

Spoiler

Michigan’s fight song is called “The Victors” and they’ve had successful seasons in the past but the Wolverines haven’t been in the national title hunt since the 1999 season where they finished No. 5 in both polls.

Michigan brings with it much tradition and pageantry from the winged helmets, the beautiful campus in Ann Arbor, MI, and “The Big House” holding 115,000 fans at excess. Michigan’s greatest NFL player was a part-time starter and 6th round draft pick in Tom Brady. Their national championship team in 1997 split the title with Nebraska. Bo Schembechler’s 1985 squad finished second overall, but the Wolverines lone title was the AP title from 1997.

Many pundits feel if Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson lined up across from the Huskers he wouldn’t have made an impact against a run-first attack. The Huskers had Scott Frost at quarterback and the power run game of Frost, Ahman Green and Joel Makovicka ripped off over 3,600 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns. The Huskers beat the third ranked Tennessee Volunteers and future Super Bowl winning quarterback Peyton Manning while the Wolverines beat No. 7 Washington State and NFL dud Ryan Leaf.

Since Carr’s forced retirement the Wolves have had three double-digit win seasons. One was from Brady Hoke in 2011 (11 wins) and the other two were Jim Harbaugh in 2015 and 2016. Even Harbaugh has already had a let down season with only eight wins in the 2017 season. Michigan wasn’t quite worth a documentary or the constant over-hype they receive in college football.

3. Texas

Spoiler

The expectations in Austin, TX surrounding their beloved Texas Longhorns are monumental. Texas boosters and fans have national championship dreams and were the darlings of the recruiting world for over a decade under Mack Brown. ESPN gave Texas their own Longhorn Network.

The Longhorns haven’t had a double-digit winning season since they flopped in the 2010 BCS National Title Game, following the 2009 season. That spans the final years under Brown, then Charlie Strong and most recently Tom Herman. Herman’s recruiting prowess already has the Longhorns “back” according to some media and most fans.

Texas holds a national title from their 2006 Rose Bowl upset over the USC Trojans. However, with the onslaught of top-rated recruiting classes the college football world was constantly talking about what’s next for Texas and the ‘Horns haven’t delivered.

Before Mack Brown, Texas finished the 1996 season 8-5 with Priest Holmes and Ricky Williams at running back under John Mackovic. Before Mackovic, David McWilliams had extremely underwhelming seasons besides the 1990 season where Texas finished 10-2-1. Yet even in 1990, the Longhorns were annihilated by the Hurricanes in the 1991 Cotton Bowl. No matter how big of a slump the ‘Horns are in, the college football world is supposed to hold them as a blue blood.

Texas fans and the media have put enough of a hype machine behind the Longhorns for the past decade, now it’s time for Tom Herman to right the ship and get the ‘Horns back into the hunt. The Longhorns fight song says, “Texas Fight, Texas Fight, For it’s Texas that we love best” and yet the Longhorns haven’t requited the love with victories.

​

4. Georgia

Spoiler

Georgia isn’t as overrated as the top three on the list, but they’re still a media darling that believes it deserves more love than they’ve received. Sure, they were effective under Mark Richt as a top 10 finisher in eight seasons, but they weren’t a national title competitor even once.

Actually, the Bulldogs hadn’t finished in the top two in both polls since their national championship in the 1980 season until the 2017 finale. UGA might be turning that overrated label around, but until Kirby Smart walks away with the CFP National Championship trophy, UGA is overrated.

The Bulldogs have accumulated top five recruiting classes for the better part of the past decade and have produced NFL talent on both the offensive and defensive side of the football. Star running backs like Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel even shared a backfield with each other. Georgia has had highly touted quarterbacks like Aaron Murray and Matt Stafford. The defense has had All-American caliber players like Champ and Boss Bailey and David Pollack.

The Bulldogs are consistently pre-season darlings of the media, their fanbase expected better than ten-win seasons, and their aura with Athens and the hedges has them as an overrated program in college football.

​

5. Oregon

Spoiler

The Oregon Ducks don’t have the history of expectation like the Bulldogs but their media hype and fanbase (while very respectful in my dealings with them) expect a national championship. Oregon, however, hasn’t provided one.

The Ducks have found their way to three second-place finishes and a third-place ranking after losing national title games to Ohio State and Auburn while back-door’ing into the second position in 2012 and 2001. The Ducks hype came from Phil Knight, the man behind the of Nike fortune, and their amazing indoor facility and the gaudy uniform combinations. What Rich Brooks built on coaching chops, Mike Bellotti dug in and picked up four double-digit win seasons before retiring and handing over the reigns to Chip Kelly.

The Kelly era is where the hype machine took full effect. The indoor facility, the modifications to Autzen Stadium, and the uniform combinations became the basis of the hype but the gravy was the spread to run offense and quarterbacks like Dennis Dixon, Jeremiah Masoli, and Darron Thomas.

The speedy running backs and the zone option offensive scheme became trademarks of the Ducks. Eugene has produced their fair share of mediocre seasons under Brooks, Bellotti and Helfrich with only Chip Kelly coming out unscathed with a bad record. However, Kelly was also found in violation of NCAA recruiting rules and left Oregon for the NFL.

The Ducks fans expected a big name hire when Willie Taggart left for Florida State and instead missed on names like Justin Wilcox before landing on an internal hire in Mario Cristobal.

​

Oregon shouldn't be on this list since they only became a power in the 21st century and that died quickly.

Texas has had pretty good teams over the years, consistently in the top 10 with a few natty's.

Michigan was dominant in the 20th Century with I believe 2 NC. Look at all their wins.

Notre Dame did very well in the 20th Century. They are not overrated.

 

[PEOPLESCHICKEN]

Aren't the top 3 schools listed the top 3 in all time wins?

Interesting huh?

 

[socaljim242]

5. Notre Dame, based on their past history, Notre Dame gets special treatment. But they are in the Top ten in all time wins, have the most hall of fame players, and NBC pays them a lot of money.

USC-11
Notre Dame 10

Top 10 schools with the most Pro Football Hall of Famers

 

[Deep Creek]

My point exactly. If anything they are on the overachiever list.

I was going to totally agree with this because you never see them having a top 10 recruiting class. But, maybe their classes are better than I thought because there are 33 TCU players listed on NFL teams. I'd of guessed 12-15.

NFL Players by College - T - National Football League - ESPN

Offense -19 total 10 OLs (4 Centers!), 6 WR/TE, 2 QBs, 1 RB
Defense - 14 total 3 DLs, 5 LBs, 6 DB/S

So their talent is better than I thought or Patterson's crew does a damn good job of developing them.

 

[Tin Man]

Tennessee could have some real say so in thissun, too ... right @WestEndVol & @UTVolCountry ????

 

[Olyduck]

Oregon shouldn't be on this list since they only became a power in the 21st century and that died quickly.

not dead yet

 

[Tin Man]

I'll go:

1. Michigan
2. Texas
3. Notre Dame
4. LSU
5. Tennessee

You wanna change that 5th entry, doncha, pal?

 

[Chewbaccer]

You wanna change that 5th entry, doncha, pal?

Just being honest.

 

[jjc2009]

USC-11
Notre Dame 10

Top 10 schools with the most Pro Football Hall of Famers

When was this list compiled? It doesn't include Tim Brown or Jerome Bettis.

I believe they're tied at 12 with number of players. Eddie Debaralo Jr. Gets us to 13 inductees, but he wasn't a player.

 

[WizardHawk]

Hall of Famers by College - Hall of Famers | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site

Seems a bit more up to date.

 

[kburjr]

Hall of Famers by College - Hall of Famers | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site

Seems a bit more up to date.

Seems like the winner in that list is "Multiple schools".

 

[Olyduck]

USC-11
Notre Dame 10

Top 10 schools with the most Pro Football Hall of Famers

is this a metric because then Oregon is tied for 10th with 6 with Illinois, Penn State and UCLA and ahead of everyone not named Notre Dame, Southern California, Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Miami - Florida, and Minnesota

 

[craigk217]

I used to have a liberal definition of blue blood, but now I'm more picky than most.

At most your blue bloods consist of:

Alabama
USC
Notre Dame
Michigan
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Texas
Nebraska

Personally, I wittle the list down to:

Alabama
USC
Ohio State
Oklahoma

LOL at excluding the most storied Irish.

Stop the hatin, bruh. lol

 

[Chewbaccer]

LOL at excluding the most storied Irish.

Stop the hatin, bruh. lol

Blue bloods don't go 30 years without a title.

Nobody gives a shit about what happened 60 years ago or what happened when Knute Rockne was there.