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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/jimbobbypaul on 2024-07-20 17:58:21+00:00.

Best of the Best: Simulating a Season with the Greatest Modern Era Teams

In an effort to figure out how each program’s best modern team stacks up against each other, I’ll be simming the 2024 season schedule. But, instead of using next year’s rosters, I’m using each program’s best team since 1996. By the end of this, we’ll have determined the best team, QB, RB, WR, offensive line, you name it–of the modern era. And we’ll have a full 134-team ranking of where every program’s best team stacks up with each other. If you view these posts using the old Reddit layout, you’ll be able to see team and conference flairs.

If you missed the previous weeks/results, the Main hub thread link is here.

Stats

National Leaders and Team Stats:

Top 25

Down go #1 Mizzou and #2 Clemson, and with that comes a shakeup at the top. Florida returns as the #1 team with the best resume in the country, beating 2001 Miami, 2017 UCF, 2012 Texas A&M, and 2014 Mississippi State in 4 of their first 5 games! 2019 Ohio State is the newcomer to the top 5 after destroying unbeaten Iowa, and Florida State rounds out the top 3 after taking down Clemson at GameDay. After 6 weeks, we’re down to just 8 unbeaten Power 4 teams (3 SEC, 2 Big Ten, 2 ACC, 1 Big 12). LSU’s the highest ranked 1-loss team at #7, while Clemson, Oklahoma State, and USC follow close behind.

Rank Team Record Change
1 2008 Florida 5-0 2
2 2019 Ohio State 5-0 10
3 2013 Florida State 6-0 4
4 1998 Tennessee 5-0 2
5 2020 Alabama 5-0 5
6 2023 Washington 6-0 5
7 2019 LSU 4-1 -3
8 2018 Clemson 4-1 -6
9 2011 Oklahoma State 5-1 6
10 2009 Cincinnati 5-0 -2
11 2004 USC 4-1 5
12 2007 Missouri 4-1 -11
13 2009 Iowa 4-1 -8
14 2010 Stanford 4-1 4
15 2007 West Virginia 4-1 -6
16 2000 Oregon State 5-0 3
17 2001 Illinois 4-1 3
18 2004 California 4-1 NEW
19 2017 UCF 4-1 -6
20 2007 UConn 5-1 1
21 2007 Hawaii 5-0 1
22 2006 Louisville 5-0 3
23 2009 Boise State 5-0 NEW
24 1998 UCLA 3-2 -10
25 2000 Oklahoma 4-1 -1

Also Receiving Votes: 2020 San Jose State 5-0, 2022 Troy 5-1, 2008 Tulsa 5-1, 2006 Rutgers 4-1, 2020 Buffalo 4-1, 2002 NC State 4-2, 1996 BYU 4-1, 1997 Kansas State 3-2, 2010 TCU 4-2, 2013 Baylor 4-2

Dropped From Top 25: #17 2020 Louisiana, #23 2013 Baylor

Conference Standings

SEC :

Who on Earth is going to win the SEC? Even for a team as good as 2020 Alabama, they still need to visit 1998 Tennessee, 2019 LSU, and 2010 Auburn. #1 Florida @ #4 Tennessee is BY FAR the biggest game next week, with the winner likely taking the #1 spot in the Top 25. It’s actually unbelievable how hard Florida’s schedule is–we already knew it was tough for the 2024 Gators, but in this sim they still need to play '98 Tennessee, '22 Georgia, '05 Texas, '19 LSU, and '13 Florida State. If they can get through that with 2, maybe 3 losses, they should be a lock for the Playoff. The Red River Rivalry’s also this week, Texas against #25 OU. It’ll be fun to see Vince Young against that vaunted Stoops defense.

  1. #5 2020 Alabama 5-0 (2-0)
  2. #1 2008 Florida 5-0 (2-0)
  3. #4 1998 Tennessee 5-0 (2-0)
  4. 2010 Auburn 4-2 (2-1)
  5. #7 2019 LSU 4-1 (1-0)
  6. 2005 Texas 3-2 (1-0)
  7. #25 2000 Oklahoma 4-1 (1-1)
  8. #12 2007 Missouri 4-1 (1-1)
  9. 2023 Ole Miss 3-3 (1-1)
  10. 2012 Texas A&M 4-2 (1-2)
  11. 2013 South Carolina 3-2 (1-2)
  12. 2011 Arkansas 3-3 (1-2)
  13. 2018 Kentucky 3-2 (1-2)
  14. 2022 Georgia 2-3 (1-2)
  15. 2012 Vanderbilt 3-2 (0-2)
  16. 2014 Mississippi State 2-3 (0-2)
Big Ten :

So far, this looks like a 3-horse race between Ohio State, Washington, and USC. Washington doesn’t have a cakewalk this week, having to visit #13 Iowa, and Kinnick is going to be rocking. Newly minted #2 Ohio State has to visit new conference mate Oregon, their first time ever visiting Autzen Stadium. Aside from that, the conference is business as usual. USC is a heavy favorite hosting Penn State, and Illinois has a chance to move to 3-0 in the Big Ten with Purdue coming to town.

  1. #6 2023 Washington 6-0 (3-0)
  2. #11 2004 USC 4-1 (3-0)
  3. #2 2019 Ohio State 5-0 (2-0)
  4. #17 2001 Illinois 4-1 (2-0)
  5. #24 1998 UCLA 3-2 (2-1)
  6. #13 2009 Iowa 4-1 (1-1)
  7. 2006 Rutgers 4-1 (1-1)
  8. 2017 Wisconsin 3-2 (1-1)
  9. 2002 Maryland 3-2 (1-1)
  10. 2014 Oregon 2-3 (1-1)
  11. 2005 Penn State 2-3 (1-1)
  12. 2020 Indiana 4-2 (1-2)
  13. 2023 Michigan 3-3 (1-2)
  14. 1997 Nebraska 3-3 (1-2)
  15. 2013 Michigan State 3-3 (1-2)
  16. 2017 Northwestern 2-3 (0-2)
  17. 1998 Purdue 2-3 (0-2)
  18. 2019 Minnesota 3-3 (0-3)
Big 12 :

Oklahoma State doesn’t play any of the other 2-0 Big 12 teams this season (Cincinnati, UCF, Arizona)–meaning they’ve got a real shot at the conference title game. Them and Cincinnati are both top 5 offenses in the country currently, averaging 45.3 and 48.2 PPG, respectively. Speaking of Cincinnati, they play #19 UCF on the road this week. The Bounce House is going to be…bouncing. Another notable matchup is 4-1 Arizona at 4-1 BYU.

  1. #9 2011 Oklahoma State 5-1 (3-0)
  2. #10 2009 Cincinnati 5-0 (2-0)
  3. #19 2017 UCF 4-1 (2-0)
  4. 1998 Arizona 4-1 (2-0)
  5. 2010 TCU 4-2 (2-1)
  6. 2013 Baylor 4-2 (2-2)
  7. #15 2007 West Virginia 4-1 (1-1)
  8. 1996 BYU 4-1 (1-1)
  9. 1996 Colorado 3-2 (1-1)
  10. 2020 Iowa State 3-2 (1-1)
  11. 2007 Kansas 4-2 (1-2)
  12. 2008 Texas Tech 3-3 (1-2)
  13. 2015 Houston 2-4 (1-2)
  14. 1997 Kansas State 3-2 (0-2)
  15. 1996 Arizona State 1-4 (0-2)
  16. 2008 Utah 1-4 (0-3)
ACC :

Florida State is running away with this conference, definitely seems like a lock for the ACC Championship at this point. Clemson showed that they’re human last week, losing to the Noles, but look to get back on track by facing '06 Wake Forest this week. #22 Louisville is one of 8 unbeaten teams left, and could stay unbeaten since they play Virginia.

  1. #3 2013 Florida State 6-0 (5-0)
  2. #22 2006 Louisville 5-0 (2-0)
  3. #8 2018 Clemson 4-1 (2-1)
  4. #14 2010 Stanford 4-1 (2-1)
  5. 2021 Pittsburgh 3-2 (1-0)
  6. 2001 Miami (FL) 4-2 (1-1)
  7. 1997 North Carolina 4-2 (1-1)
  8. #18 2004 California 4-1 (1-1)
  9. 1996 Syracuse 4-1 (1-1)
  10. 2002 NC State 4-2 (1-1)
  11. 2006 Wake Forest 3-2 (1-1)
  12. 1998 Virginia 3-2 (1-1)
  13. 2014 Georgia Tech 2-4 (1-3)
  14. 2006 Boston College 3-3 (0-2)
  15. 2013 Duke 3-3 (0-2)
  16. 2023 SMU 1-5 (0-2)
  17. 2000 Virginia Tech 0-6 (0-2)
Pac-12 :

It’s a “Mountain West week” for the conference, with Oregon State visiting 2010 Nevada and Wazzu visiting 2018 Fresno State. Neither game is an easy matchup, and if Oregon State wants a shot at the Playoff, they’ll need to all but win out, given the Pac-2 champion doesn’t have an autobid.

  1. #16 2000 Oregon State 5-0 (0-0)
  2. 2018 Washington State 2-3 (0-0)
Independents :

If only we got a UConn-Notre Dame matchup this season. The Irish hope to spoil the party for #14 Stanford this week, who comes to South Bend with their only loss to former #1 Clemson.

  1. #20 2007 UConn 5-1
  2. 2017 Massachusetts 2-4
  3. 2018 Notre Dame 1-4
American :

Still waiting to see who starts to separate themselves from the pack. The conference title game might feature 2 teams with 2-3 conference losses each.

  1. 2008 Tulsa 5-1 (2-0)
  2. 2018 UAB 3-2 (2-0)
  3. 2019 Memphis 2-3 (1-0)
  4. 2008 Rice 4-1 (1-1)
  5. 2017 FAU 3-2 (1-1)
  6. 2022 Tulane 2-4 (1-1)
  7. 1996 East Carolina 2-4 (1-1)
  8. 2016 Temple 2-4 (1-1)
  9. 2019 Charlotte 2-4 (1-1)
  10. 2015 Navy 2-3 (1-2)
  11. 2021 UTSA 3-2 (0-1)
  12. 2007 South Florida 2-3 (0-1)
  13. 2013 North Texas 1-4 (0-1)
  14. 2018 Army 1-4 (1-3)
Mountain West :

This is the Group of 5 conference to watch this week, because we’ve got SOME HUGE MATCHUPS. The entire country will be tuned into Mountain West After Dark to watch #23 Boise State take on #21 Hawaii on the Island. Back in '07, Hawaii and Colt Brennan beat a 10-1 Boise team 39-27 at home, but the '09 Boise squad is miles better than their '07 team. Will the 2009 Broncos avenge the loss? Will Colt Brennan go 2/2? Who wins the day between Colt and Kellen Moore? It’s a sold out Aloha Stadium of 50,000, winner becomes the instant favorite to be the Group of 5 Playoff representative. Outside of those two, San Jose State goes on the road to Colorado State, Nevada hosts #16 Oregon State, and Fresno State hosts Washington State.

  1. 2020 San Jose State 5-0 (2-0)
  2. #23 2009 Boise State 5-0 (1-0)
  3. #21 2007 Hawaii 5-0 (1-0)
  4. 1996 Wyoming 3-2 (1-0)
  5. 2007 New Mexico 2-3 (1-0)
  6. 2018 Fresno State 3-2 (1-1)
  7. 1997 Colorado State 3-2 (0-0)
  8. 2010 Nevada 3-3 (0-1)
  9. 2012 Utah State 2-3 (0-1)
  10. 2021 San Diego State 1-4 (0-1)
  11. 2000 UNLV 1-4 (0-1)
  12. 1998 Air Force 2-3 (0-2)

**Sun Belt…

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