Got 12? I Don't Think So
by Jay Coulter on Jul 8, 2008 5:00 AM CDT
in Football
6 comments
By War Eagle Atlanta
glg68@aol.com
Faithful readers of this blog will notice that a lot of what this article contains has been stated by me in the past. That's because I thought it as being so well-written that I could regurgitate it once again in order to preempt any more lame threads from popping up like weeds in the parched earth here in the CFB dry season. The bee in my bonnet about national championships came last spring when Washington tried to slip one through the back door 47 years after the fact.
Since then, I've quit wearing bonnets and have educated myself on the history of the national championship. I now feel qualified to be the final arbiter of which teams' national championship claims are legit, and which are as bogus as a Jeff Spicoli quip.
Here are the qualifications that I will use:
1) Only current Divison 1-A (FBS) teams with three or more MNCs will be considered.
2) Only AP championships (1934, 1936-present) UP championships (1935, 1950-1957) UPI championships (1958-1995) USA Today/ESPN championships (1997-present) and BCS championships (1998-present) are counted. However, prior to 1950, before the AP and UP polls ran concurrently, I will accept a preponderance of the other selectors. In other words, if your team claims MNCs from selectors not listed here, they are illegitimate. If none of this makes sense, just read on and complain about it later.
3) No back-dated titles will be considered. Using the definitions in (2) above, that means no MNCs before 1934. If you still don't know what a back-dated title is, sign up for my remedial newsletter at my link below.
I, Richard Dawson, and the Survey says!!!
Notre Dame, 12 NCs claimed: 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988. First three titles back-dated, 1953 illegitimate. Real total: 8 titles. Talk about winning one for the Gipper, they won three BEFORE the Gipper--and before national championships ever existed. One third of your titles bogus--pretty shabby.
Alabama, 12 NCs claimed: 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992. First 3 titles back-dated, 1934 and 1941 titles illegitimate. Real total, 7 titles. Bama is famous for throwing everything that sticks into the trophy cabinet. If you want a more detailed analysis of the Tide, read this.
USC, 10 NCs claimed: 1928, 1931, 1932, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004. First 3 titles back-dated, all the rest legitimate. Real total, 7 titles. Not bad, other than the back-dated ones. Let's see: 60s and 70s, got that covered; 21st century--check. Hey, what happened to the 80s and 90s???
Michigan, 7 NCs claimed: 1901, 1902, 1923, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997. First 4 titles back-dated, the rest legitimate. Real total: 3 titles. Oh, snap! Don't worry, Go Blue. Batting .429 in the major leagues earns you bazillions a year...
Oklahoma, 7 NCs claimed: 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000. All legitimate! Real total: 7 titles. The first perfectly honest team. Naturally, OU owes Texas for all this glory--not!
Minnesota, 6 NCs claimed: 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960 All legit! Real total: 6 titles. But what are you guys thinking about doing for the next half of the 20th century???
Pittsburgh, 6 NCs claimed: 1910, 1916, 1918, 1936, 1937, 1976. First 3 titles back-dated, 1936 illegitimate, other 2 fine. Real total: 2 titles. Only 33% of your claimed titles for real? We haven't seen this kind of illegitimacy outside of the Mugabe administration...
Miami, 5 NCs claimed: 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001. All legit. Real total: 5 titles. Still can't figure out how you got the nod in 1983 over a far superior Auburn team...
Nebraska: 5 NCs claimed, 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997. All legit. Real total: 5 titles. Solid! Can't figure out why they can't duplicate this kind of success in the other corn-producing states...
Ohio State, 5 NCs claimed: 1942, 1954, 1957, 1968, 2002. All legit. Real total: 5 titles. Best in the Big 10(11). Best ever: Woody or The Vest?
Army: 4 NCs claimed, 1914, 1944, 1945, 1946. First is back-dated, the rest legit. Real total: 3 titles. Gee, if we could only have another World War to drain the nation's manpower again...
GA Tech: 4 NCs claimed, 1917, 1928, 1952, 1990. First 3 titles back-dated, 1990 legit. Real total: 1 title. "I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and a helluva embellisher..."
Illinois: 4 NCs claimed, 1914, 1919, 1923, 1927. All back-dated! Oh come on! Are you kidding me? Real toal: ZIP!!! However, as luck would have it, the Zook era has arrived.
Tennessee: 4 NCs claimed, 1938, 1950, 1951, 1998. 1938 and 1950 illegitimate, the rest legit. Real total: 2 titles. The SEC's historic 2nd best team follows the SEC's historic best team, Alabama--in title embellishment.
Texas: 4 NCs claimed, 1963, 1969, 1970, 2005, all legit! Real total: 4 titles. Thanks Daryl Royal. Still wondering why they're so woefully behind Oklahoma in this category...
California: 3 NCs claimed, 1920, 1921, 1922. All back-dated! What?? Real total: ZERO titles. See admonishment to Illinois...
Michigan State: 3 NCs claimed, 1952, 1965, 1966. 1966 is illegitimate, although you probably got hosed! Real total: 2 titles. Not bad--only one behind your Ann Arbor cousins...
There you have it. Now let me have it. War Eagle Atlanta will now take your stinging rebukes...
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Very Interesting
I noticed Auburn didn’t make the cut! Oh well. 1957 was a loooooong time ago.
Yeah, 1983 was a royal screwing. How does one win their bowl ranked 3rd, and 1 and 2 both lose, and three not get the nod at number 1? Hell, we didn’t even move up! 5 became the national champion!
Anyways, that was fun to read…..
Yup!
Actually wrote most of that article last year before LSU had won their latest. Sorry…
by War Eagle Atlanta on Jul 8, 2008 10:22 AM CDT reply actions
I'm still waiting...
.....to see a Southern Cal/LSU title game, in a year when both are up. We fans wuz ROBBED, in 2003!
I just wish...
...that the NCAA would form a committee to study the possibility of laying down some guidelines of what teams can claim, but I gave no delusions about that ever happening.
The numbers above reflect what is generally recognized as MNCs for each team, not what the team actually claims, which is generally more—much more.
If we counted like some schools do, we could liberally claim 7 MNCs. Our only problem is that we haven’t openly done that for decades like these schools have. It boils down to the old adage about a lie unanswered soon becomes fact…
BTW: I’m not for that. I like the parameters that I’ve laid down because I think they are fair, even if that means we only have one and the Gumps have seven.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Jul 8, 2008 8:39 PM CDT reply actions
One thing I would disagree with
I wouldn’t count USC’s 2003 NC. It has more to it than our 2004 “People’s Choice” NC, but at the time the AP was a part of the BCS and had 1/3 of the formula for determining the BCS Championship entrants. They were a part of the reason USC was left out and Oklahoma got in, and then they backtrack and give it to USC. IMHO there should be no “split titles” in the BCS era. And yes, I would say the same thing if somehow Auburn had taken the AP 2004 title with it (albeit through clinched teeth!). I will say, however, that I think OU had/has no business being up there in those games, seeing as how they’ve lost 5 straight BCS games (and counting). LSU/USC would have been much more entertaining that year, and having seen both teams play that season, I’d have to give the nod to USC in a head-to-head matchup.
War Damn Eagle!
by PowerOfDixieland on Jul 10, 2008 1:55 AM CDT reply actions
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