Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Looks like the Duck's year according to this - Ruh-Roh 

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/greatest-college-football-team-decade/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTDLCpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEecRY5IJbHy-jqYI9LdQ1lwwp1GRg07uEKOWsjuHNq_Le2zJNNoOzwjMlxuwM_aem_viy7-H-Vyl27hx2fKkeyMA


1920s: Notre Dame (83-11-3)
It helps that this exploration starts with one of the most recognizable coaches and programs in college football history, as Knute Rockne was a shining star for the sport, leading Notre Dame in the 1920s.


1930s: Alabama (79-11-5)
Honorable mentions: USC (72-25-9), Tennessee (79-17-4)


1940s: Notre Dame (82-9-6)
Honorable mention: Army (68-17-7)


1950s: Oklahoma (93-10-2)
Every single season of the 1950s ended with a trophy for Oklahoma, as Bud Wilkinson cemented his status as a Hall of Fame coach, leading the most successful program of the decade. The Sooners won their conference championship every single season from 1950-59, adding eight top-10 finishes in that span and national championships in 1950, 1955 and 1956. Perhaps the most long-lasting mark of Wilkinson's Oklahoma run is the 47-game winning streak between 1953 and 1957 that still stands as a Division I record to this day,


1960s: Alabama (90-16-4)
Honorable mentions: Texas (86-19-3), USC (76-25-5)

1970s: USC (93-22-7) 
Honorable mentions: Alabama (103-16-1), Oklahoma (102-13-3), Nebraska (98-20-4)

Elsewhere, the Big Eight Conference was proving to be fertile ground for one of college football's all-time rivalries, as Nebraska took off under Bob Devaney with the 1970 and 1971 national championships, challenging Oklahoma not just for local supremacy but also for spots at the top of the national polls.

The Sooners, of course, were taking the sport by storm with Barry Switzer and the wishbone offense, which set the stage for one of the many "Game of the Century" labels when Oklahoma and Nebraska faced off in a No. 1 vs No. 2 showdown in 1971 (Nebraska won 35-31). Switzer would go on to lead the Sooners to national championships in 1974 and 1975, navigating the program through postseason and television sanctions as OU demanded attention with its dominance. Nebraska, meanwhile, saw Tom Osborne take the program over from Devaney in 1973 and deliver six top-10 finishes before the end of the decade but just two share conference titles.

It would be wrong to call the relationship between Oklahoma and Nebraska symbiotic, since they were both the biggest roadblocks to each other's success in a given season, but the competition between these two conference rivals certainly fueled an "iron sharpens iron" dynamic that drove both programs to landscape-shifting levels of success.


1980s: Miami (99-20)
Honorable mention: Nebraska (103-20), Penn State (89-28-2)

Later Miami teams would have a case as one of the best ever, especially at the start of the 2000s, but the success and impact of those first three title squads make this the best decade of Hurricanes football. The story starts with the 1983 title team, as Howard Schnellenberger had finally realized his vision for Miami football.

With an elite defense leading the way, the Hurricanes bounced back from a season-opening loss to Florida and rolled off 11 straight wins, culminating with an upset of No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Given Nebraska's accomplishments not just in that season but in the era as a whole, the upset victory was enough for voters to vault Miami from No. 5 to No. 1, giving the Canes their first national title. Schnellenberger then handed the reins to Jimmy Johnson, and that's when the profile elevated from plucky upstart in South Florida to college football's newest challenge to the establishment.

Penn State played a role in multiple title races of the 1980s, finishing in the top three four times, and Joe Paterno finally got his breakthrough season 14 years after his first runner-up finish with his first and second national championships. The Nittany Lions went 11-1 in 1982 but held off Herschel Walker and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to take over the No. 1 spot to claim the school's first national title. That was followed by another title in 1986, which was cemented by shutting down a seemingly unstoppable Miami offense in the Fiesta Bowl with five interceptions of Vinny Testaverde. 

Again, Nebraska makes an appearance here as it builds its argument to be one of the top programs of the late 20th Century. Tom Osborne led the Cornhuskers into a major bowl game every year from 1981-89 and finished ranked inside the top 11 of the AP poll every single year of the decade. The issue in this debate is the lack of national championships and a 3-6 record in major bowl games. Nebraska had a seat at the table throughout the decade, but just like the Orange Bowl at the end of the 1983 season, this is going to be a battle that's lost to "The U."

1990s - Nebraska (108-16-1), Florida State (109-13-1)
While we have been gracious in giving attention to many of the finalists for each of these decades, this is the only one in which we will award co-champions. Splitting hairs between Nebraska, which had been knocking on the door of Tom Osborne's title-winning breakthrough for decades, and a Florida State program that had just started throwing haymakers against the sport's best is too difficult. Celebrating both programs is necessary to the story of college football in the 1990s, so to make it up to you, we will award NO HONORABLE MENTIONS and stick to focusing on why Florida State and Nebraska stand out among the rest.

For years, Bobby Bowden famously took an aggressive approach to scheduling, which had the Seminoles willing to take on anyone, anywhere, as Florida State laid the foundation to become a national power. Then, in the 1990s, a good portion of their scheduling was taken out of their hands by giving up Independence and joining the ACC, producing one of the most stunning runs of dominance in major-conference college football. Florida State joined the ACC in 1992 and proceeded to win its first 29 conference games, claiming a conference championship in every season of the decade and finishing the 1990s with a 62-2 record against ACC opponents.

On the national stage, the Seminoles never finished lower than No. 4 in the AP poll throughout the decade and won the national championship in 1993 and 1999. The truly stunning statistics showcasing Florida State's peak under Bobby Bowden stretch back to 1987 and through 2000 (double-digit wins and top-five finishes in every season), but it was in the 1990s that the spear was planted in the sport and the Seminoles became synonymous with college football at the highest levels.

Nebraska, meanwhile, ended a national title drought that spanned back to 1971. Tom Osborne built that consistency through the 1970s and 1980s, but it was not until the middle of this decade that everything clicked into place for a firework-like finale to his Hall of Fame career. The Cornhuskers went 60-3 from 1993-97, claiming at least a share of the national championship in three of Osborne's final four seasons. Nebraska may not have had the year-to-year consistency of Florida State throughout the 1990s, but three national titles (to FSU's two) and a top-three finish by Frank Solich in 1999 helped solidify the case for a true co-champion honor. It's fitting, I guess, that the last decade of shared championships includes the honor shared honors for this feature. 

2000s: Florida (100-30) 
Honorable mentions: Oklahoma (110-24), Texas (110-19)

It's really tempting to just name "The SEC" as the best of the decade in the 2000s, especially given a more modern review of the decade, where Oklahoma and Texas are conference members. Using the current membership, the SEC can lay claim to seven of the 10 national championships of this decade, with only the 2001 (Miami), 2002 (Ohio State) and 2004 (USC) seasons not ending with one of those southern-fried programs hoisting the BCS National Championship trophy. Oklahoma's only title of the 2000s came at the beginning with Bob Stoops' win in 2000, but thanks to Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, the decade would finish with a string of SEC kings.

2010s: Alabama (124-15)
Other coaches changed college football with a scheme or some play-related innovation. Meanwhile, Nick Saban changed the sport by winning. By the end of the 2010s, the Sabanization of college football had not been so much about his defense or recruiting blueprint; it was, top to bottom, the way he organized and ran a modern power in the sport.

2020s: Georgia (73-9)
Honorable mention: Ohio State (66-11)

https://www.si.com/college-football/ranking-50-best-college-football-players-of-all-time


50. Bubba Smith—DE, Michigan State (1964–66)

A 6'7", 280-pound giant, Smith was literally the biggest reason why Michigan State fielded one of the most dominant defensive units of all time. A fearsome pass rusher and run stuffer, Smith was an immovable object against the run-heavy offenses of the 1960s Big Ten, helping the Spartans field the nation’s No. 1 run defense in 1965 and No. 3 run defense in ‘66. Smith’s ‘66 season, during which he was named a unanimous All-American while facing double and triple-teams from opposing offensive lines, was especially impressive. After starring in the NFL, Smith went on to enjoy a successful career as an actor. On the silver screen, he’s best known for starring in the 1984 comedy Police Academy.

49. Joe Montana—QB, Notre Dame (1974–78)


48. Ozzie Newsome—WR/TE, Alabama (1974–77)


47. Michael Vick—QB, Virginia Tech (1998–2000)


46. Joe Greene—DT, North Texas (1966–68)


45. Johnny Manziel—QB, Texas A&M (2011–13)


44. Derrick Thomas—LB, Alabama (1985–88)


43. Dave Rimington—C, Nebraska (1979–82)
Rimington is on the very short list of players for whom a national award is named—the Rimington Trophy is awarded each year to the nation’s top center. While offensive line play can often be difficult to quantify, Rimington’s impact at Nebraska in the early 1980s was extremely clear. He was a two-time First-Team All-American (1981, ‘82) and is the only two-time Outland Trophy winner, awarded to the nation’s best lineman on either side of the ball. Rimington was named Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year, the only lineman to earn the honor. He was even a fifth-place finisher for the Heisman, an extreme rarity for an offensive lineman.


42. Marcus Allen—RB, USC (1978–81)


41. Walter Payton—RB, Jackson State (1971–74)

40. Sammy Baugh—QB, TCU (1934–36)

39. Travis Hunter—WR/CB, Colorado (2023–24)/Jackson State (‘22)

38. Billy Sims—RB, Oklahoma (1975–79)

37. Paul Hornung—QB/RB/S/K/P, Notre Dame (1954–56)

36. Doc Blanchard—RB/LB/K/P, Army (1944–46)/North Carolina (‘42)

35. Steve McNair—QB, Alcorn State (1991–94)

34. Tommie Frazier—QB, Nebraska (1992–95)
“How many tackles can one man break?” Jim Nantz memorably asked when Frazier ripped off an epic 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter of the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. That run put the Cornhuskers up 49–18 on Florida, sealed their reputation as one of the greatest teams in history, and has largely clouded how good a quarterback the narrow 1995 Heisman runner-up actually was. An extraordinary gifted pilot of coach Tom Osborne’s option attack, Frazier recorded 43 touchdown passes in his career, the second-highest total in the history of the Big Eight.

33. Matt Leinart—QB, USC (2001–05)

32. Ndamukong Suh—DT, Nebraska (2005–09)
Cornhuskers fans are still howling that Suh didn’t win the Heisman Trophy in 2009, a year with no obvious offensive frontrunner (Alabama running back Mark Ingram narrowly edged out Stanford running back Toby Gerhart). All he did was rack up 12 sacks, win an armful of defensive accolades and so dominate the Big 12 championship against Texas that he was named MVP in defeat. Showcasing his versatility, he returned two interceptions for touchdowns in 2008.

31. Peyton Manning—QB, Tennessee (1994–97)

30. Larry Fitzgerald—WR, Pitt (2002–03)

29. Bronko Nagurski—RB/DT, Minnesota (1927–29)
In the 1920s, college football underwent a pronounced, oft-forgotten demographic shift—the Waspiness of the early game made room for the sons of Eastern and Southern European immigrants—and out of this trend came stars like Nagurski. At the then-imposing size of 6'2", 226 pounds, Nagurski bruised opponents on both sides of the ball, rushing for 737 yards in eight games in 1929. That total becomes especially impressive when one considers how tentatively games proceeded then, with teams huddling carefully after every play; we can only imagine how he’d have fared with a 2020s upbringing.

28. DeVonta Smith—WR, Alabama (2017–20)

27. Ed Reed—S, Miami (1997–2001)

26. Lamar Jackson—QB, Louisville (2015–17)

25. Baker Mayfield—QB, Oklahoma (2014–17)/Texas Tech (‘13)

24. O.J. Simpson—RB, USC (1967–68)

23. Reggie White—DL, Tennessee (1980–83)

22. Jerry Rice—WR, Mississippi Valley State (1981–84)

21. Archie Griffin—RB, Ohio State (1972–75)
”He's a better young man than he is a football player, and he’s the best football player I’ve ever seen,” Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes famously said of Griffin, the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner despite many spirited attempts in the years since. His coming-out party against North Carolina in 1972, in which he ran for 239 yards to set an Ohio State record, remains etched in Buckeyes folklore. To this day, he ranks fourth in Big Ten history in rushing yards, and was second as recently as the mid-2010s.


20. Ricky Williams—RB, Texas (1995–98)

19. Vince Young—QB, Texas (2002–05)

18. Charles Woodson—CB/WR, Michigan (1995–97)
Woodson, who played for Orlando Pace’s rival Ohio high school, headed north to play for coach Lloyd Carr's Wolverines—a move that paid dividends. He made first team All-Big Ten every year of his career, and in 1997 he turned in one of the great individual seasons in college football history on a national championship Michigan team. Woodson led the conference in interceptions with seven, returned punts, dabbled on offense and won the Heisman trophy over Manning.

17. Tony Dorsett—RB, Pitt (1973–76)

16. Roger Staubach—QB, Navy (1961–64)

15. Reggie Bush—RB, USC (2003–05)

14. Deion Sanders—CB, Florida State (1985–88)

13. Joe Burrow—QB, LSU (2018–19)/Ohio State (‘15–17)

12. Hugh Green—DE, Pitt (1977–80)

11. Earl Campbell—RB, Texas (1974–77)

10. Orlando Pace—OT, Ohio State (1994–96)
Orlando Pace blocks for Ohio State on a kick attempt vs. Minnesota.
One of the greatest offensive linemen in the history of football, Ohio State’s Orlando Pace didn’t allow a sack in 1995 or ‘96. | John Biever/Sports Illustrated
The gargantuan Pace started as a true freshman for the Buckeyes in 1994 and never looked back. Growing more dominant in each of his collegiate seasons, he didn't allow a sack in ’95 and replicated that feat in ’96 while finishing fourth in the Heisman voting. Few players on this list can credibly claim to have popularized a statistic, but Pace may have done just that with the pancake block.

9. Red Grange—RB/DB, Illinois (1923–25)
The history of college football superstardom begins with Grange, a three-time All-American who led the Fighting Illini to the national championship in 1923. Taking advantage of new forms of mass media and a booming economy, Grange burnished his legend with performances such as his five-touchdown day against Michigan upon the dedication of Memorial Stadium. The NFL’s first true box-office draw later became one of the first great players to jump to TV broadcasting.

8. Tim Tebow—QB, Florida (2006–09)

7. Dick Butkus—LB/C, Illinois (1962–64)
Butkus was such an influential figure in the history of football, specifically in the history of linebacker play, that there is an award named after him to celebrate the excellence of players at the position he once starred at for Illinois, and later, the Chicago Bears. A tackling machine, Butkus was the nucleus of the Fighting Illini defense, as exemplified by his 1963 season, in which he recorded a then-school record 145 stops and forced 10 fumbles while leading the program to a Rose Bowl victory. Butkus was also a versatile player, starring at center for Illinois and finishing third in the Heisman vote in 1964, the highest finish at the time for a defensive player and lineman.


6. Bo Jackson—RB, Auburn (1982–85)

5. Cam Newton—QB, Auburn (2010)/Florida (2007–08)

4. Jim Thorpe—RB/DB/K/P, Carlisle (1907–08, ‘11–12)
Thorpe, an accomplished practitioner of (deep breath) baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, tennis, track and field, boxing and ballrooom dancing, is less a man than a folk hero in this day and age. Here are the facts of his remarkable college football career, achieved amid the stifling racism of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School: he was a two-time consensus All-American (1911 and ‘12), and may have ripped off as many as 29 rushing touchdowns in ’12 (which would tie for seventh all-time). The ’12 season included his signature moment: upon having a 92-yard touchdown run called back for holding against Army, he simply ran for a 97-yard touchdown on the next play.


3. Barry Sanders—RB, Oklahoma State (1986–88)
The stats from Sanders’s 1988 Heisman campaign—maybe the greatest single season that any running back has had in college football history—tell the story here. In just 11 games, he rushed for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns on 344 carries. Those remarkable numbers don’t include his 222-yard, five-touchdown performance against Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl. In the back half of Sanders’s season, including the bowl, he ran for at least 215 yards and two scores per game, and averaged 282.3 yards and 3.8 touchdowns per outing. Sanders topped 300 yards four times during the season. He was frankly unstoppable, and that didn’t change once he entered the NFL as the No. 3 pick to the Lions in the 1989 draft.


2. Herschel Walker—RB, Georgia (1980–82)
It is difficult to match Walker’s accomplishments on the college gridiron. The legendary Georgia running back was a three-time consensus All-American from 1980 to ‘82, capturing the Heisman Trophy in his final season by rushing for 1,752 yards and 17 touchdowns. He eclipsed 1,600 yards and ran for at least 15 touchdowns in each of his three seasons, and finished no worse than third in Heisman voting. His freshman season ended with Georgia winning the 1980 national title.

1. Jim Brown—RB/DB/K, Syracuse (1954–56)
Before making his case as the greatest NFL player of all time, Jim Brown did it all for Syracuse. Literally. Brown led Division I in rushing touchdowns with 13 during his senior season in 1956, finishing with 986 yards in just eight games. He also kicked extra points with the Orange, and logged eight career interceptions on defense. Along with football, Brown played basketball and ran track at SU, and also has a claim to the title of greatest college lacrosse player of all time. Few can come close to matching Brown’s full college athletics résumé.

If I didn't know better, this list was created just to infuriate me.
It's so NFLized, it's disgusting.  And what the fuck does playing track, basketball, and lacrosse have to do with anything?!?

Why does Barry Sanders get deified for his 1 big season, but Derrick Thomas isn't on anyone's top-10 list (27 sacks that same year)?
Marcus Allen never gets his due for his monster season at USC.  Why isn't Hugh Green on every top 5?  What more could he have done?!?

This list is full of NFL HOFers who played at I-AA/smaller schools, which is BS.
And Joe Montana wasn't one of the best 500 college football players, much less top 50. 

If 1-year wonders like Sanders, Burrow, and Newton are going to be so high, just take every player's peak season and say so.  And if you do that, you're going to have a lot more random-ass names on this list.

This is a top 50 of fame, not resume. 

Sports Illustrated, baby!

SEC bias!