I hadn't really thought of it much, especially since PSU hasn't won the MNC in a long time, but are they considered a Blue Blood? I know they're a "top program", but I wasn't sure on the BB status. The first 7 or so seem real clear (not in any particular order) OU/Tex/Bama/ND/UGA/Mich/OSU. Seems like PSU would be in the "Top 12" type status, just outside BB, but able to get in depending on if NU/UTenn or somebody else continues to slip down the order.
My Blue Blood list has PSU outside but fairly close, about the same as UGA (who I don't include as a BB).
It's arbitrary of course.
I'm at about the same place.
Looking at things like:
Total AP Poll Appearances:
AP Top-10 appearances:
AP Top-5 appearances:
AP #1 appearances:
Penn State is CLOSE, IMHO but they aren't quite a BB. I'd include Georgia but that is mostly due to recency bias because on the overall lists UGA and PSU are more-or-less interchangeable. IMHO, the BB's are tOSU, Bama, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC, and Texas. Then you have the three Florida schools who have performed at BB level since about the 1980s but don't quite have the long history that the aforementioned seven have. Then you have Nebraska which seems to be a bit more up-and-down than the seven listed above. They were phenomenal for a long stretch but they sucked for a LONG time before that and they've been pretty pedestrian for the last 25 years.
The other really close schools, IMHO, are UGA, PSU, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Clemson, aTm.
I think I covered all.
