This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/jimbobbypaul on 2024-07-07 17:58:48+00:00.
Ranking the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years: .Link
Ranking The Top 131 Programs…2024 Update: Link
What happens if you take the greatest teams from the modern era and pit them against each other in a tournament? Better yet, what if you take the best teams from EACH PROGRAM and put them in a season?
How many yards does 2010 Cam Newton rush for against the 2020 Alabama and 2019 LSU defenses? How does Jameis Winston fare against the vaunted 2018 Clemson D-Line? Does 2009 Boise stake their claim as an overlooked all-time team because they were Group of 5? How about 2010 TCU, 2017 UCF, 2008 Utah? How about Reggie Bush vs the 2023 Michigan defense? How many points in a game between Brandon Weeden-Justin Blackmon and Graham Harrell-Michael Crabtree?
We’re about to find all that out, and more.
Best of the Best: Simulating a Season with the Greatest Modern Era Teams
Folks, we’ve got unfinished business.
Last summer during my “Ranking the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years” series (linked at the top), there was much ado over the ranking of individual seasons as the greatest teams of all time. 1995 Nebraska was the best team since 1983 on a per-game basis, but 2018 Clemson took second, and was the best team in terms of cumulative resume. Does 2018 Clemson deserve to be above 2001 Miami, 2005 Texas, 2019 LSU? What about teams like 2010 Auburn, 2004 USC, 2023 Michigan? I’m sure they’d like a crack at the top. Boise, TCU, Utah, and UCF have all had teams that went unblemished and don’t get respect as historically great teams, let alone great within their respective seasons.
What’s Gonna Happen?
I’ll be posting every day at 2 PM Eastern like last summer.
Thanks to Whatifsports.com, we can sim every game from the 2024 season, but instead of using the 2024 iteration of each team, we use their best team since 1996, the furthest back Whatifsports goes.
To pick the best team from each program, I used the same algorithm, the JB Rankings, that I used last summer to make the “131 Teams” series. We’re gonna get Joe Burrow (LSU) vs Matt Leinart (USC) in week 1. 2018 Clemson, 2013 Florida State, and 2001 Miami (FL) all vying for the ACC. Michael Penix on both 2023 Washington and 2020 Indiana. Scott Frost the player (1997 Nebraska) and Scott Frost the coach (2017 UCF). Cam Newton vs Johnny Manziel with Jordan-Hare voodoo. Tim Tebow looks to get revenge on Alabama, this time featuring the 2020 squad with Mac Jones and Heisman winner Devonta Smith. The unstoppable force of Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Frank Gore (Miami) will meet the immovable object of Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, and Clelin Ferrell (Clemson).
The full schedule is listed below. We’ll have rankings and conference standings on “Preview” days, and results and stats on “Game” days. At the end of the season there’ll be award voting, as there’ll be tons of stats including passing, rushing, receiving, sack, interception, kick return, punt return, and kicking stats for all players. There’ll be bowl selections and a 12 team playoff featuring the 5+7 format with the top 5 conference champions and 7 at-large bids.
All this to get a final ranking of all 134 programs and their best teams since 1996. Who will win it all? Who will be the G5 playoff representative? Which teams will slip and fall? Who will win the Heisman, the Doak Walker, the Biletnikoff, the Ray Guy? We’ll see.
| Date | Itinerary | Link to Post |
|---|---|---|
| 7/8 | Season Preview | |
| 7/9 | Week 1 games | |
| 7/10 | Week 2 preview | |
| 7/11 | Week 2 games | |
| 7/12 | Week 3 preview | |
| 7/13 | Week 3 games | |
| 7/14 | Week 4 preview | |
| 7/15 | Week 4 games | |
| 7/16 | Week 5 preview | |
| 7/17 | Week 5 games | |
| 7/18 | Week 6 preview | |
| 7/19 | Week 6 games | |
| 7/20 | Week 7 preview | |
| 7/21 | Week 7 games | |
| 7/22 | Week 8 preview | |
| 7/23 | Week 8 games | |
| 7/24 | Week 9 preview | |
| 7/25 | Week 9 games | |
| 7/26 | Week 10 preview | |
| 7/27 | Week 10 games | |
| 7/28 | Week 11 preview | |
| 7/29 | Week 11 games | |
| 7/30 | Week 12 preview | |
| 7/31 | Week 12 games | |
| 8/1 | Week 13 preview | |
| 8/2 | Week 13 games | |
| 8/3 | Week 14 preview (rivalry week) | |
| 8/4 | Week 14 games (rivalry week) | |
| 8/5 | Week 15 preview (conference championships) | |
| 8/6 | Week 15 games (conference championships) | |
| 8/7 | Week 16 preview (Army-Navy) | |
| 8/8 | Week 16 games (Army-Navy) | |
| 8/9 | Award nominations | |
| 8/10 | Award winners | |
| 8/11 | Bowl/Playoff preview | |
| 8/12 | First half of bowl games | |
| 8/13 | Second half of bowl games | |
| 8/14 | First round of playoffs | |
| 8/15 | Second round of playoffs | |
| 8/16 | Playoff semifinals | |
| 8/17 | Playoff championship | |
| 8/18 | Final Recap |
Participating Teams
To pick each team, I used my algorithm from last summer to determine the best season since 1996. Linked under “Team Info” is my writeup of each of these squads from last summer.
| Team | Conference | Year | Record | Coach | Team Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | MWC | 1998 | 12-1 | Fisher DeBerry | Link |
| Akron | MAC | 1999 | 7-4 | Lee Owens | Link |
| Alabama | SEC | 2020 | 13-0 | Nick Saban | Link |
| Appalachian State | Sun Belt | 2019 | 13-1 | Eli Drinkwitz | Link |
| Arizona | Big 12 | 1998 | 12-1 | Dick Tomey | Link |
| Arizona State | Big 12 | 1996 | 11-1 | Bruce Snyder | Link |
| Arkansas | SEC | 2011 | 11-2 | Bobby Petrino | Link |
| Arkansas State | Sun Belt | 2012 | 10-3 | Gus Malzahn | Link |
| Army | American | 2018 | 11-2 | Jeff Monken | Link |
| Auburn | SEC | 2010 | 14-0 | Gene Chizik | Link |
| BYU | Big 12 | 1996 | 14-1 | LaVell Edwards | Link |
| Ball State | MAC | 2020 | 7-1 | Mike Neu | Link |
| Baylor | Big 12 | 2013 | 11-2 | Art Briles | Link |
| Boise State | MWC | 2009 | 14-0 | Chris Petersen | Link |
| Boston College | ACC | 2006 | 10-3 | Tom O’Brien | Link |
| Bowling Green | MAC | 2003 | 11-3 | Gregg Brandon | Link |
| Buffalo | MAC | 2020 | 6-1 | Lance Leipold | Link |
| California | ACC | 2004 | 10-2 | Jeff Tedford | Link |
| Central Michigan | MAC | 2009 | 12-2 | Butch Jones | Link |
| Charlotte | American | 2019 | 7-6 | Will Healy | Link |
| Cincinnati | Big 12 | 2009 | 12-1 | Brian Kelly | Link |
| Clemson | ACC | 2018 | 15-0 | Dabo Swinney | Link |
| Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 2020 | 11-1 | Jamey Chadwell | Link |
| Colorado | Big 12 | 1996 | 10-2 | Rick Neuheisel | Link |
| Colorado State | MWC | 1997 | 11-2 | Sonny Lubick | Link |
| Duke | ACC | 2013 | 10-4 | David Cu… |
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