Agree or Disagree with this Comment from Ivan Maisel?

[WilsonHog]

"We are all engorged with the parity college football served up every week this fall. But no matter how many Missouris and West Virginias threaten to stage a coup d'etat in this sport, there will always be royalty. Think of the schools whose tradition is immediately recognizable across the nation: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, et al."

[ErieHog]

Agreed.   

[The Marmot]

Agreed.

[Gas Can]

Texas?

[gumby013]

Alabama?

[William von Hawgskett]

disagree

[agr347]

Agreed

[Gas Can]

Alabama?

They have like 12 National Titles...

[RazorBassin]

Agree.

[gumby013]

They have like 12 National Titles...

But do they still have that championship stigma?  Not really...

[bokid12]

Agree, although Ivan Maisel is an idiot.

[ErieHog]

They have like 12 National Titles...

12 claimed; 3-4 legit.

[Bama Hog™]

"We are all engorged with the parity college football served up every week this fall. But no matter how many Missouris and West Virginias threaten to stage a coup d'etat in this sport, there will always be royalty. Think of the schools whose tradition is immediately recognizable across the nation: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, et al."

To be the man you got to beat the man!


but surprised no mention of the Irish?

[badbrad]

agreed...

[3kgthog]

Disagree 100% on Texas, Georgia and Tennessee. When people are put on the spot to name college football royalty I don't think these three immediately spring to mind. I know they don't with me.

[EnemyOfMojo]

Disagree. The tradition factor is going the way of the dinosaur. Just look at Notre Dame, one of the most storied programs of all time and hardly anyone wants to play there these days.

[drivetimeporks]

disagree..the only ROYALTY these days is USC...

[TheNuttlessFrontier]

"We are all engorged with the parity college football served up every week this fall. But no matter how many Missouris and West Virginias threaten to stage a coup d'etat in this sport, there will always be royalty. Think of the schools whose tradition is immediately recognizable across the nation: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, et al.........if we here at ESPN have anything to say about it."

I added the part Ivan forgot to include.

I agree that the tradition of some programs is unsurpassed.  But, IMHO, Arkansas ranks right up there with OU and Georgia in tradition...and Tennessee can't touch our tradition.

[HawgPilot]

agreed

[spudhog]

agreed. unless you go on a 10-15 year run, it is hard to jump into the royalty stage.

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

"We are all engorged with the parity college football served up every week this fall. But no matter how many Missouris and West Virginias threaten to stage a coup d'etat in this sport, there will always be royalty. Think of the schools whose tradition is immediately recognizable across the nation: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, et al."

Agreed but for not the reasons you may think.

The media won't allow those schools to falter.  They'll always be in the mix during conversations.  They'll always get the benefit of the doubt with regards to coaches & coaching changes.  When down, they'll tell recruits that this is a great opportunity to be a part of a rich history and the resurgence to greatness.  When down, they'll find ways to keep them relevant and claim how great it'll be when they rise back up again (remember UCLA when we played them for the NC in b-ball).

I also disagree with Bama.  They may have beat everyone like a red-headed step-child in the day, but 93 scandals & 47 coaches later, they are just another upper middle SEC team.

Saban, who I think is a great coach (unlike some of you on here), could very well change that however.

[russell33]

i hate to but i agree.

[Conway Cool Daddy]

The question is, outside of tradition what do those schools have in common? What makes them royalty?
You answer that and you see what it takes to become one of the elite.

I do disagree with some of his choices but agree with his main premise.

Also, no Notre Dame. Ouch!

[Hawg_Heaven]

I love my Razorbacks, but when I think of college football, one team pops into my head and that is Notre Dame. I can't believe he left them out. They may not have been a force recently, but to me, they are the most prestigious football school of all time.

[HoggyWayne]

Agreed, as bad as it hurts.

[Big Daddy]

I believe with the transitory coaches we have now I believe the situation is more fluid than in the past. Thirty to forty years ago we were part of royalty and I continue to believe we can return to that position. I will never give in to the idea that any school with ample resources and the right people in place can't ascend to those heights.

[The Marmot]

Let me clarify my stance...

I agree with him if you look at the general history of college football that these teams, plus a few others, are the "royalty" or upper echelon.

If you only look at slivers of history or recent history, then the list changes constantly.

[TuckFexas]

Agree. Those schools are the pinnacle. Even though they currently suck,  you can add Notre Dame and Miami to that list.

[BloodRedHog]

USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, et al."

3 SEC
2 Big 10
2 Big XII
1 PAC 10

That's about right

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

I believe with the transitory coaches we have now I believe the situation is more fluid than in the past. Thirty to forty years ago we were part of royalty and I continue to believe we can return to that position. I will never give in to the idea that any school with ample resources and the right people in place can't ascend to those heights.

Yeah, but to do that, mainstream media has to allow a team to enter those ranks.  When we were the winningest team in the '90s in b-ball, you'd still hear a lot of crap about UNC, Duke, Kentucky (who we frequently beat), Indiana, UCLA, etc., etc.  Yeah, they'd mention us regularly, but not with the same kind of glaze that came over their eyes complete with drool out of the side of the mouth.

The same could be said on behalf of UCONN & Ariz.

[WilsonHog]

I think it becomes sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Teams like West Virginia and Missouri get near the pinnacle every so often, but because they have no history of being there the opportunity slips through their fingers.     

[Duke of Buckingham]

Georgia and no Notre Dame. Bizarre. I bet his mailbox is full. Notre Dame as 'et al'.

The traditional names get the best recruits, the others don't.

However, Army and Harvard used to be royalty. Florida, Florida St. and Miami were all penciled in as wins by most real teams. Nothing is forever.

[idiotghos]

There are places where it will always be easier to win than others, but you need a good coach, period.

Who was texas before Royal came along?  Tennessee was a mediocre has-been before Johnny Majors, and Oklahoma has shown that it can be a very average program without a Wilkinson, Switzer, or Stoops at the helm.  Even USC spent the better part of two decades being just another decent program until Carroll came along.

Ten years ago, Nebraska and Notre Dame, and Miami would've been on that list.  Forty years ago, so would've Michigan State and Arkansas.

[intoxhog]

I think it becomes sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Teams like West Virginia and Missouri get near the pinnacle every so often, but because they have no history of being there the opportunity slips through their fingers.     

You hit the nail on the head. I've said so many times that tradition is nothing more than expatiations of the fan base. +1

[Bacon The Saddle Again]

It depends on your definition of royalty.  Alabama has amazing history and tradition, but over the last deacade or so it has been more like the British Royal family- lots of window dressing but no real power to back it up.  Times change and so do dynasties.

[LAHOGG]

Disagree 100 percent.  Everyone of those teams have had decades of bad football.  And they are all one bad coach away from another.

[The Marmot]

Disagree 100 percent.  Everyone of those teams have had decades of bad football.  And they are all one bad coach away from another.

So who would you say are the upper echelon of college football, looking at the history of the sport?

[WindyCityHog]

Disagree.

Scholarship limitations and TV coverage have evened out the playing field.

[Oliver]

"We are all engorged with the parity college football served up every week this fall. But no matter how many Missouris and West Virginias threaten to stage a coup d'etat in this sport, there will always be royalty. Think of the schools whose tradition is immediately recognizable across the nation: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, et al."

Disagree.  Those schools had to start out just like the West Virginia's, Louisville's, South Florida's, etc.  You can become good at something if you dedicate enough time and money.  Just look at Duke basketball.  How did a school like Duke become one of the biggest basketball elite?

[DeltaBoy]

Disagree Texas has one 1 in the past 30 years Tinner 1 in the past 15 and UG the dogs won 1 in the past 25 years.

USC had a drought for the better part of 15 years until Pete Carroll.

The truth is before Scholarship limitations YES   and maybe the 1st 10 years after but since NO! Bama did not win one since the Bear left until Curry and Copeland led the tide to one over the Canes in the Sugar Bowl.

While we have had some Streaks since 1970; Royalty or Helmet games are gone the way of the Military Academies winning NC. 

Herb H from ESPN called it after the UM and App State Game  The Era of the Helmet game is over.

[HatfieldHog]

"We are all engorged with the parity college football served up every week this fall. But no matter how many Missouris and West Virginias threaten to stage a coup d'etat in this sport, there will always be royalty. Think of the schools whose tradition is immediately recognizable across the nation: USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, et al."

I agree totally with this statement, but, now days,  these "royalty" teams may just be on the bottom side of the score.

Just because you are royalty does not mean that you are a winner.

See ya

[Bacon The Saddle Again]

Funny thing about it is, he mentioned Michigan which got beat by App State.  He didn't mention Notre Dame, which would HAVE to be on that list and they won less games that the Falcons.  Tennessee has been so-so since Tee Martin graduated.  Bama got beat by a directional school this year. 

Maybe he meant "royalties" as in they sell more merchandise.

[WilsonHog]

Disagree.  Those schools had to start out just like the West Virginia's, Louisville's, South Florida's, etc.  You can become good at something if you dedicate enough time and money.  Just look at Duke basketball.  How did a school like Duke become one of the biggest basketball elite?

Duke is somewhat of a special case. They certainly began with a great coach in Coach K, but their success mushroomed with the emergence of ESPN. They are ESPN's poster child for what college athletics are about - a championship program at a private school with stringent "academic standards."     

[Hugulus Hog]

Agreed.  Some schools visit the mountaintop.  A few schools live on the mountaintop.  1 or 2 schools stand in the valley and proclaim themselves on the mountaintop.

[LAHOGG]

So who would you say are the upper echelon of college football, looking at the history of the sport?

I guess I should of clarified.  I think those are upper echelon teams.  But I think that there are another 10 to 15 teams that could also be mentioned in that group that are having down years.  Sure there are teams that have an advantage because of location.  But those teams also have to share talent with other teams.  Has Miami, Florida, and Florida St. ever been power houses at the same time?  They've all been good but not great at the same time.  In the 80's and 90's nobody was as good as Miami.  Now they may go through 2 decades before they are back to that level.  IMHO he's just listing teams that are good at this time.

[LordStanleysHog]

disagree..the only ROYALTY these days is USC...

Hardly...

[El Dogg Hog]

Agree!

[Bacon The Saddle Again]

Hardly...

I would say the top program today is Ohio State.  You can't go every other year without those dang silver helmets playing for the championship.

[Bacon The Saddle Again]

Agreed, but the college football landscape is always subject to change.  No one knows where the next big trend might come from or how games will go down that may end up affecting programs for years to come. 

Exactly, over the past 10 years you could put teams like Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Auburn, etc on that list.

[hawgslop00]

Agreed.  Some schools visit the mountaintop.  A few schools live on the mountaintop.  1 or 2 schools stand in the valley and proclaim themselves on the mountaintop.

Good post.  I agree with Maisiel.  He wasn't counting NC's he was talking about tradition.  Most of the teams he mentioned will be competing around a BCS bowl game level year in and year out, give or take 2 or 3.  Those teams mentioned are those whose seasons are considered a loss if they are not competing for a chance at a BCS bowl.  Some have just made more appearences than others lately.