College Football: Which School has the Richest Tradition?

Georgia has bagged a couple of consensus national titles (1942 and 1980), produced two Heisman Trophy winners in Frank Sinkwich and Herschel Walker, won 12 SEC championships, played in 43 bowl games (won 24), and has produced quite a few All-Americans and College Football Hall of Fame inductees.

So, they definitely have a place in this list, without a doubt. Apologies to Bulldog fans for the oversight the first time around!

LSU

The defending national champions have really made the jump back into the nation’s elite in the last several seasons, winning two national titles in five seasons, which gives the Tigers three, along with the title that they won in 1958.

LSU has also won 10 SEC titles and has 20 bowl wins in 39 appearances. Since Nick Saban took over from Gerry DiNardo, LSU has been geauxing, geauxing, geauxing all the way back to the prominence that they held off and on from Bernie Moore in the 30s and 40s to Bill Arnsparger in the 80s.

Provided Les Miles doesn’t get fidgety anytime soon, expect sustained success for the near future.

Miami

Like their in-state and conference rival Florida State, Miami got a late jump, as ‘Da U’ was anything but a standard bearer until Howard Schnellenberger arrived in 1979 and started getting the talent, wins, and championships flowing to the OB in short order.

Sure, a lot of people can’t stand the swagger, and sure, we can point and laugh at their struggles right now, and sure, the Orange Bowl may have needed to be put out of its misery, but five national championships, a couple of Heismans, and a ton of NFL stars can shut a lot of people up.

Michigan

From Fielding Yost to Bo Schembechler to Lloyd Carr, Michigan football has a tradition of success. Sure, all but three of their national championships are from before World War II, but they’ve bagged Big Ten titles in every decade since the 1890s to now.

There’s also the distinction of being on top of the all-time win charts (869 wins as of the end of the 2007 season), playing in the first Rose Bowl, three Heisman Trophy winners, the Big House, and the maize and blue you can see from a mile away.

Nebraska

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Nebraska hasn’t been the same since Tom Osborne hung it up following the 1997 season.

But, that period that Nebraska reigned supreme from 1994-97 was no doubt sweet for Husker fans, especially since it’s worth noting that their three titles in four seasons were won while the option was becoming increasingly less popular.

But before and after those glory years, from Osborne predecessor Bob Devaney (national titles in 1970 and 1971) to successor Frank Solich, Nebraska set a standard with 33 straight seasons with at least nine wins.

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