We discussed this a couple offseasons ago. I guess none of the helmets have gone through an extended period of mediocrity, but it's almost like once college football became a national sport, instead of a regional one, in the 70s and 80s, it somehow locked in the helmet schools.
Not this again, LoL.
I continue to believe that nothing is permanent so I disagree with this idea, usually advanced by
@Anonymous Coward , that the "Helmet" teams were locked-in circa the mid 1970's and can never change.
That said, I think that it takes a LOT less to MAINTAIN helmet status than it takes to OBTAIN helmet status. Basically, my view is that all a team needs to do to maintain helmet status is to be good enough to be talked about. A helmet doesn't actually have to win the big games to maintain their status they just have to be good enough to be involved in big games. Looking at Michigan specifically:
- 2018: They finished an "ok" 10-3, but in late November they were 10-1 and ranked #4 heading into THE GAME against #10. That is enough to maintain their status because it created a humongous matchup.
- 2017: They finished a very mediocre 8-5 but at one point they were 8-2 and ranked #19. That isn't great but it was enough to get them into the conversation.
- 2016: They finished an "ok" 10-3 but in early November they 9-0 and ranked #2. Even after the upset loss to Iowa they got back to #3 at 10-1 heading into THE GAME against #3. #2 v #3 is always a HUGE game and Michigan was in it. That was enough to maintain their status.
- 2015: They finished an "ok" 10-3 but they entered THE GAME 9-2 and ranked #12. That wasn't great but it was enough to get them into the conversation.
- 2012: They finished a very mediocre 8-5 but they entered THE GAME 8-3 and ranked #20. Again, not great but enough to be talked about.
- 2011: They finished 11-2 but they got to 6-0 and #11 before their first loss. Not great but enough to be talked about.
- 2006: They finished a very disappointing 11-2 but they got up to 11-0 and #2 heading into THE GAME against #1. #1 v #2 is always a HUGE game and Michigan was in it. That was enough to maintain their status.
All-in-all, in nearly half of the last 15 seasons Michigan has been a name that any CFB fan would have at least considered once or twice during the season. That is more than enough to maintain helmet status.
NOTE: As I noted above, I believe that helmet status is MUCH harder to get than it is to keep. As I tried to explain above, teams that already have helmet status don't need to WIN big games to keep helmet status, they just need to get into big games. For a non-helmet to obtain helmet status they need to WIN big games, conference titles, and national championships and they need to do it consistently. For example, if somehow Michigan ends up playing Minnesota in the B1GCG this year, the result of the game will have no bearing on Michigan's helmet status. Michigan will have already maintained their helmet status simply by getting into a big game. The result would be extremely important to Minnesota's potential helmet status because Minnesota can't achieve helmet status without big wins.