The Top 10 Greatest Program Turnarounds in College Football

Over the last 20 years there have been some incredible, even miraculous turnarounds in college football.

Whether the credit goes to the coaches or the players, they were programs that were left for dead before new leadership and new players were brought in that turned the program from pretender to contender.

But out of all the college football programs in division one, how many of those have had the biggest turnarounds? What schools went from dumpster diving to having the best players come to them?

Here are my top 10 for the biggest college football turnarounds of the last 20 years.

No. 10: Northwestern

In 1995, Northwestern University received their very first bowl bid in 46 years, having not been to one since 1949.

Under the guidance of head coaches Gary Barnett, Randy Walker, and Pat Fitzgerald, the team went from the kickball of the Big Ten to six bowl appearances and three conference championships (two shared), tying them with Penn State with the most conference titles in the Big Ten.

They may not be a powerhouse, but at least they've become respectable again.

No. 9: USC

Some might be surprised by this pick, but maybe that's because they're only at No. 9 and not higher.

In the 1980s through the 1990s, USC didn't have a winning record in bowl games, going 2-5 from 1980-1989 and 3-3 from 1990-1999.

Pete Carroll arrived and everything changed. USC made their highest number of bowl appearances in school history (nine) finishing 7-2 in those appearances. Their previous mark of eight was set back in the 1970s.

No. 8: Cal

The Cal Bears were never a powerhouse. Heck, they only made six bowl game appearances from 1958-2001 and had just one conference championship since 1975.

Enter Jeff Tedford. During his tenure not only has he matched those numbers in just eight seasons, he's exceeded them.

Cal has appeared in seven straight bowl games and has not had a losing season since Tedford arrived in 2002.

No. 7: Rutgers

Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano has been the best thing that this Rutgers football program has ever had, and I mean that...EVER.

From 1981 to Schiano's first season in 2001, Rutgers had not made a single appearance in a bowl game. In fact, the last coach to have a winning record at Rutgers was Frank R. Burns (1973-1983) who finished 78-43-1 over his 10 seasons at the helm.

Schiano has produced 55 wins for the program and five straight bowl appearances including four straight wins.

No. 6: TCU

Gary Patterson has been a God-send to TCU football. A program that was void of anything good, struggling to just five winning seasons from 1970-1999.

Patterson took over the program in 2000 when he was named the head coach prior to the Mobile Alabama Bowl.

In nine seasons, Patterson has led TCU to an 85-28 record, eight bowl appearances (5-3), and winning records in seven of those nine seasons. Not to mention his TCU teams finished ranked in the Top 25 in six of his nine seasons at the helm.

No. 5: Florida

The Florida Gators are on this list? Yes, they sure are and for good reason. Consider this: prior to 1990, Florida had the same number of conference championships that Vanderbilt did—none.

Then, Florida hired young head coach Steve Spurrier and Florida went from being a hibernating bear to a giant of the college football world.

In 12 seasons with the Gators, Spurrier led them to six SEC championships and one national championship (1996).

Now do you see why they're on this list? I thought you would.

No. 4: Navy

Three bowl appearances and two winning seasons. Those were the facts of the Navy football program from 1980-2001. Navy only had two seasons during that stretch that they finished with a winning record (1996, 1997).

What's worse, the Midshipmen had won just 87 games from 1983-2001 while losing 155.

In 2002, a man by the name of Paul Johnson was hired as the new head coach of the Navy football program. Johnson had been the head coach for five seasons at Georgia Southern, leading them to a 62-10 record and two Division I-AA National Championships (1999, 2000).

When Johnson took over the Navy program in 2002, the team finished with a 2-10 record and it looked like things were never going to change. But, things did change in a big way.

From 2003 to 2007, Johnson led them to a 43-19 record and five straight bowl appearances.

No. 3: Oregon State

For almost 30 years, Oregon State wasn't even a blip on anyone's radar, and for good reason.

From 1970-1998, the Beavers piled up an impressive 73-242-6 record. Hey, impressive doesn't always mean good. How many teams can pile up almost 250 losses without getting to at least 100 wins? Well, apparently Oregon State can and did.

Enter Dennis Erickson (31-17) and Mike Riley (64-47). Erickson and Riley, in 12 combined seasons, have led Oregon State to more victories (95) than the team had in almost 30 years previous.

Not to mention that the team's conference title in 2000 was just the second in school history.

No. 2: Florida State

Most would be of the opinion that Florida State, since Bobby Bowden, has had the biggest turnaround in college football history. Well, they're close, but not close enough.

Prior to Bobby Bowden taking over the team in 1976, Florida State had appeared in just seven bowl games. Since Bowden, the Seminoles have appeared in 30, 31 if you count the one that was vacated in 2006.

Those numbers not enough for you? OK, try this on for size.

Florida State, under Bowden, had 14 straight top four finishes in the polls, two national championships, two Heisman trophy winners, and a streak of 13 straight ACC championships.

No. 1: Kansas State

The biggest turnaround in college football goes to Bill Snyder and Kansas State.

From 1938-1988, the Kansas State program compiled just 127 wins. Since Snyder took over the program in 1989 until 2005, Kansas State racked up 136 wins.

Even more impressive than that. During the same stretch (1938-1988) Kansas State had just one bowl appearance. Since Snyder, Kansas State had 11 bowl game appearances...consecutive.