Nothing is surprising about the list that the College Football Report released on Thursday. Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, LSU, and Georgia have dominated college football lately. Meanwhile, Wisconsin, TCU, Oregon, and Oklahoma have been a model of consistency for a long time. Either way, these 10 teams tighter have somehow been able to be good year-in-and-year-out this century.
Wisconsin Surprises As Top-10 Winningest Program of Century
The Winningest Programs this Century:
1 Ohio St: 246-48 (.837)
2 Oklahoma: 245-60 (.803)
3 Alabama: 240-67 (.782)
4 Georgia: 235-70 (.770)
5 LSU: 223-75 (.748)
6 Clemson: 227-78 (.744)
7 Oregon: 212-80 (.726)
8 USC: 208-83 (.715)
9 TCU: 206-84 (.710)
10 Wisconsin: 208-90 (.698) pic.twitter.com/dXppC9OTxj— College Football Report (@CFBRep) July 9, 2023
There is no parity in college football, and this list exposes that. If you look at this list, there are no surprises. These teams have been the backbone of college football and have ushered in a blueprint of how to build a successful program. The aspect of success that these teams have in common is called continuity.
These teams don’t change coaches that often. Think about the programs not on this list, and what have they fallen short of? Progression to a top-notch program.
Changing coaches every few years doesn’t build a successful program. Instead it hurts the value of the school and makes recruits not want to play there. College football can bring a lot of revenue to a school but poor leadership can torpedo that immediately.
These teams have continuity and that’s why top-level talent comes to their school. But this particular school has stood out to me as being the cream of the crop
Why What Wisconsin Has Done Is Impressive?
There’s no question Wisconsin has been a sleeping giant for decades. Wisconsin doesn’t have the facilities or five-star recruits coming out of the sky that those other schools do. Still, they provide these recruits with an opportunity to strap on that Red and White and earn their chance. Wisconsin has recruited players that embodied the makeup of this state which is tough, hard-working, lunch-pail mentality, and someone who comes in to compete every game.
What made the Badgers successful is that they would find players who didn’t have a lot of interest from other schools, and they would bring them in, play four years, and go onto the NFL.
The names that come to mind are JJ Watt and TJ Watt. JJ Watt was a two-star recruit who committed to play at Central Michigan as a tight end. JJ transferred from CMU after one season, giving up his scholarship at CMU and walking on at Wisconsin. At Wisconsin, JJ Watt moved to defensive end, and the rest is history. Watt was selected in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft because Wisconsin utilized his talent and put him in a perfect position to succeed.
TJ Watt has the same story. He began his college career as a tight end before switching to defense in 2015. After that switch, Watt had a dominant 2016 season in which he had 11.5 sacks and 38 tackles. He was picked in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers because Wisconsin saw his talent being better suited on the other side of the ball.
Sure, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia, and Clemson have well run college football every year. But people like seeing the sleeping giant rise up. With new Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell coming to town, that sleeping giant will rise in the coming years.
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