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New York Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ranking the 25 best college football programs of the 2000s: Is Alabama or Ohio State No. 1?
Editor's note: All week, The Athletic has been looking back at the best of the first 25 years of the 2000s in college football. Also read the top 25 teams, top 25 players, top 25 coaches and top 25 games. We as college football fans often suffer from short memories. This exercise will serve as a nice reminder that most programs have not been exactly as good or exactly as bad as they are right now over the course of 25 years. Advertisement The factors I considered when ranking the top programs of the 2000s so far: Overall winning percentage, BCS or New Year's Six bowl appearances (including last year's first-round CFP games), national championships, conference championships*, wins against ranked opponents (via Stathead), percentage of total weeks spent in the AP Top 25 and top 10 (via College Poll Archive) and, as a counterbalance, their number of losing seasons. *Because every league but the SEC had co-champions at some point this century, I used each league's automatic BCS/CFP entrant to ensure only one champion per year in each conference. Michigan State's overall numbers aren't great. But from 2010-17, Mark Dantonio led the Spartans to six double-digit-win seasons, including a Rose Bowl win in 2013 and CFP berth in 2015. Then came an 11-win season and New Year's Six bowl win in 2021. They beat out West Virginia, Louisville, Kansas State and Stanford for the final spot. Washington's modest win percentage and eight losing seasons don't help its case to be included in these rankings. But the Huskies started the century with a No. 3 finish in 2000 and returned to prominence in the 2010s with three consecutive double-digit-win seasons (2016-18) and a Playoff appearance under Chris Petersen, before back-to-back top-10 seasons and a trip to the national title game under Kalen DeBoer in the 2020s. This is the one program that has had the same coach, Kirk Ferentz, for the entire century. He averaged 8.2 wins over that span (not including 2020). The Hawkeyes reached a bowl game in all but three seasons, including two Orange Bowls (2002 and '09) and a Rose Bowl (2015), and have finished a season ranked 11 times. Utah, then a member of the Mountain West, posted undefeated seasons in 2004 (under Urban Meyer) and 2008 (under Kyle Whittingham) before moving up to the Pac-12 in 2011. Whittingham has led the Utes to four double-digit-win seasons since then, with Pac-12 titles in 2021 and '22, but they're more often an eight- or nine-win team. Mike Gundy's Cowboys posted eight double-digit-win seasons from 2010-23 and have finished as a ranked team 10 times since he took over in 2005, more than the school registered in the 20th century. They more than held their own against Top 25 competition, too. Their two glaring holes are just one Big 12 title (in 2011, when they came up just short of the BCS title game) and a 6-18 record against rival Oklahoma. Figuring out where to rank Boise State was by far my biggest challenge. The Broncos' .808 winning percentage and zero losing seasons, even in Group of 5 leagues, are remarkable, as are their four Fiesta Bowl appearances (including two wins). But their relatively few ranked wins (18) are a reminder of the level of competition. Gary Patterson spent the first dozen years of the century racking up double-digit wins in Conference USA and the Mountain West, culminating in an undefeated season with a Rose Bowl victory in 2010. The Frogs have been less consistent in the Big 12, but they have still won at least 11 games four times since making the jump, most notably their trip to the CFP championship game in 2022. Virginia Tech under Frank Beamer was one of the nation's top programs from 2000-11, finishing in the Top 25 all but one season, including five top-10 seasons, and winning four ACC titles from 2004-10. But the Hokies have had only two ranked finishes since then, in 2016 and '17, and saw their streak of 25 straight winning seasons end in 2018. Penn State's century got off to a rough start with four losing seasons in five years under the previously dominant Joe Paterno. He rebounded to win Big Ten titles in 2005 and '08. More recently, James Franklin has won double-digit games in six of the past nine seasons. But the lack of big wins is glaring — just seven against top-10 foes this century. Wisconsin was a picture of consistency until recently, winning at least 10 games all but five times from 2005-19 under coaches Barry Alvarez, Bret Bielema, Gary Andersen and Paul Chryst. It went to three straight Rose Bowls from 2010-12. But the Badgers have also never reached the CFP and have just 10 top-10 wins (tied for 28th). Arguably no program has experienced as many peaks and valleys this century as Auburn. The Tigers enjoyed undefeated seasons in 2004 and 2010, winning the national championship in the latter, and reached another national title game in 2013. But they've also won eight games or fewer in 15 of 25 seasons, had a 3-9 debacle in 2012 and have gone 5-7 or 6-7 each of the past four years. Miami's dominance at the start of the century in its final years in the Big East — it went 46-4 with four consecutive top-five finishes from 2000-03 — helped The U land in the top 15 despite a largely forgettable two decades since joining the ACC in 2004. The Canes have reached double-digit wins only twice since then, in 2017 and 2024, without winning a conference title — though they still rank in the top 20 in every data point I looked at. It's been a tale of two 21st centuries for Notre Dame, which was mediocre for the first dozen seasons (Charlie Weis's 2005 and '06 BCS bowls excluded) before transforming under Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman. Since 2012, the Irish have reached two national title games, played in two other CFPs and hit the 10-win mark nine times. The late Bobby Bowden reached his last of three consecutive BCS title games in 2000 before falling off. But Jimbo Fisher's run of six double-digit-win seasons in seven years from 2010-16 (most notably winning the 2013 BCS title) coupled with Mike Norvell's pair in 2022 and '23 more than compensated for the Noles' five losing seasons since 2018. Michigan went through some bleak years under Rich Rodriguez (2008-10) and Brady Hoke (2011-14). But before that, Lloyd Carr led the Wolverines to three Rose Bowls in four years. And then came Jim Harbaugh (2015-23), who delivered six double-digit-win seasons, culminating in a 37-3 run over his last three seasons and national title in 2023. This one surprised me, given the Gators peaked in 2009 under Urban Meyer. But believe it or not, five coaches — Steve Spurrier (who left in 2001), Meyer, Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Millen — notched at least one 10-win season. Meyer won two national titles in three years and Mullen went to three consecutive New Year's Six bowls. Texas enjoyed a dominant first decade under Mack Brown, winning double-digit games every year from 2001-09, earning one BCS title and playing for another. Then the program went in the tank for most of the next dozen years, before Steve Sarkisian led the Longhorns to consecutive CFP semifinals. USC appearing in the top 10 is a testament to just how dominant the Trojans were under Pete Carroll from 2002-08, when it went 82-9, won six consecutive Pac-12 titles and two national crowns (one shared). While it feels like USC has been struggling ever since, it has added four more double-digit-win seasons and three New Year's Six bowl bids. Some may scoff at ranking Oregon this high without having won a national championship, but every other data point is that of an elite program. The Ducks' 182 weeks spent in the AP top 10 are higher than the likes of LSU, Clemson and Texas, among others. And they've been to more BCS/NY6 bowls than USC, Michigan and Notre Dame. Clemson was admittedly nothing special for the century's first 11 seasons, peaking at nine wins, and even then only four times. Then Dabo Swinney found his groove, and the Tigers won fewer than 10 games just once over the past 14 seasons. The program's rise aligned with the start of the CFP, which it has reached seven times since 2015, with national championships in 2016 and 2018. While it may seem like LSU has yo-yoed between peaks and valleys, it's hard to argue with 13 double-digit-win seasons across four coaches (Saban, Les Miles, Ed Orgeron and Brian Kelly), three of whom won national titles. The Tigers have won a ton of big games, ranking third in both Top 10 and Top 25 wins. A 'bad' season has generally been 9-4 or 8-5. The underappreciated Mark Richt led the Dawgs to double-digit wins in nine of his 15 seasons, then passed the baton to Kirby Smart who promptly took the program to another level. In nine seasons he has a .846 winning percentage and has accounted for three of the program's five conference championships and both national titles this century. Oklahoma was even more consistent than Ohio State until suffering two losing seasons over the past three years. No other power program comes close to the Sooners' 13 conference titles (all in the Big 12). Bob Stoops started the century with a national title before playing for three more, and Lincoln Riley added three consecutive Playoff appearances. Those six national championships between 2009 and '20 pretty much say it all, and Alabama played for three others in addition to those. Its winning percentage gets dragged down a bit by a 53-46 start to the century, but Saban's teams then won at least 11 games in all but one season from 2008-23 — and won 10 in the other one. Only one program has spent nearly the entire century competing at an elite level – and it's not Alabama, which was mediocre for six of the eight seasons before Nick Saban got rolling. Whereas Ohio State had only five seasons out of 25 in which it won fewer than 10 games (and one of those was an eight-game 2020 season). It's won three national championships, played for three more, and craziest of all, it has been ranked in the Top 25 in nearly 93 percent of the 411 AP polls since 2000. (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Brett Davis, Kevin C. Cox, Ben Jackson, Brett Deering / Getty Images)
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Five reasons why Michigan State can be this year's Indiana, reach College Football Playoff
Five reasons why Michigan State can be this year's Indiana, reach College Football Playoff It may seem crazy at first, but there is a path for the Spartans to be this year's Indiana and reach the College Football Playoff Indiana came out of no where last year to win 11 games and reach the College Football Playoff. So many this offseason have asked "who will be this year's Indiana?" -- which I believe could be Michigan State due to a few key reasons. Michigan State football finished last season with losses in four of their final five games to miss out on the postseason for a third straight season. That rough finish has left a sour taste in the fanbase's mouth, with this arguably being one of the most juice-less offseasons in a long time for the Spartans football program. But that doesn't mean things can't flip instantly should a few things go Michigan State's way in 2025. With an over/under win total of 5.5, it's extremely unlikely for the Spartans to be in the mix for the College Football Playoff this upcoming season. At least on paper that is the case. But Indiana also wasn't expected to have the year they had last year so there's still hope Michigan State could channel some of the magic we saw in Bloomington, Ind. last fall this upcoming season. So with that being said, let's take a trip down the "what if" road and look how Michigan State could be this year's team that stuns the college football world by jumping from bowl-less stinkers to College Football Playoff darlings. Year Two Growth Under Jonathan Smith It's an age old slogan and theory that the biggest jump for a program is from year one to year two under its new head coach. That may not be as true as it once was with the transfer portal, but there still is some value in this theory. For Michigan State specifically, the last two head coaches experienced notable jumps from year one to year two: Mark Dantonio improved from 7-6 to 9-4 with a shot at winning the Big Ten in the regular season finale between 2007 and 2008, and Mel Tucker went from 2-5 in 2020 to 11-2 in 2021. Certainly, the college football landscape had significantly changed even since Tucker had the massive jump in wins from his first season to his second, but this data alone further proves how much of a difference one year under the belt can make for a new head coach. Jonathan Smith's first year included taking numerous lumps as he began his rebuild at Michigan State. He said this spring that he feels the program is much further along than where they were last year, and I'm going to take him for his word on that since he isn't the type of coach to artificially generate hype for his team. Could this improvement Smith highlighted in the spring result in the addition of five or six more wins to make the College Football Playoff? That is probably unlikely, but we did see that kind of transformation in East Lansing, Mich. just four years ago and shouldn't completely rule that out this fall. (Mostly) Friendly Schedule One of the biggest reasons (or at least what many people pointed at) for the Hoosiers' massive rise last year was the schedule. Not that it was extremely easy but that it lacked many top level opponents -- only really a road trip to Ohio State. So how does the Spartans' schedule in 2025 compare to Indiana's of last year? Well, it's actually quite similar. Michigan State should be favored in each of its non-conference games, with the toughest challenge being a home tilt against BC. As far as Big Ten play goes, there is only one team I'm confident will be an elite level team next year -- that's Penn State, who you play at home. The rest of the conference schedule includes essentially toss-up matchups where Michigan State will be no worse than a single digit underdog, if not a favorite. So if we were to lay out a path for the Spartans to reach the College Football Playoff, they would probably need to win at least 10 games -- here's how that could look: Win all three of your home non-conference games (Western Michigan, Boston College and Youngstown State) Lose to Penn State -- but keep it relatively close in that home game Win seven of the remaining eight games: at USC, at Nebraska, UCLA, at Indiana, Michigan, at Minnesota, at Iowa and Maryland (in Detroit at Ford Field) On paper with what we know now, I don't think that third bullet point happens... BUT all eight of those teams are not world beaters and have their own flaws / uncertainties. This time last year, the Indiana schedule also looked a lot more daunting with Washington and Michigan on the slate, and both of those teams were no where near their preseason projections. Don't be surprised if we have a similar situation with teams like USC, Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan and Iowa being a few games below their projected win total this year. Improved Talent and Roster Depth Via Portal Michigan State had a quietly impressive offseason via the transfer portal. The Spartans didn't necessarily make a ton of flashy and splashy moves, but the overall depth and talent on the roster experienced an upgrade from my point of view. Michigan State added a number of key pieces to the offense via wide receiver transfers Omari Kelly (previously at Middle Tennessee State) and Chrishon McCray (Kent State), who should instantly improve the Spartans' passing game. Montana State offensive tackle transfer Conner Moore was another huge win for the staff as numerous other big-time programs were after him during the winter portal. Defensively, Michigan State added some depth and high-level players that should start -- especially in the secondary. Cornerback Joshua Eaton from Texas State, edge rusher David Santiago from Air Force, defensive lineman Grady Kelly from Florida State and Anelu Lafaele from Wisconsin are just a few of the notable additions to the Spartans via the portal. Maybe even more important for the Spartans this offseason was their ability to avoid the "big exit" via the transfer portal. The previous two offseasons (especially in the spring portal window), we saw Michigan State lose high-level contributors through the transfer portal, and that simply didn't happen this year. Did Michigan State turn a 5-7 roster into a College Football Playoff team through the portal this offseason? I'm not sure, but the roster definitely is improved from where Smith took over in December 2023. Aidan Chiles' Ceiling The biggest wildcard for Michigan State in 2025 will be starting quarterback Aidan Chiles. If he takes the next step and reins in his pure talent as a dynamic quarterback, then Michigan State could be truly special. If he doesn't and we see the same inconsistency from the early part of last year, then the Spartans will be hard pressed to reach a bowl game. There of course are other key factors for the Spartans' success in 2025 besides Chiles, but he is by far the most defining player for Michigan State. Last season, we saw glimpses of why he was a near five-star prospect out of high school and rated as the No. 2 transfer quarterback when he followed Smith from Oregon State to Michigan State. The problem with Chiles, though, was that those glimpses were just that, and we often didn't get his top play on a consistent down-to-down and drive-to-drive basis. The good news for Chiles and the Spartans is that he was a first time starter last year, and we saw his play improve throughout the season. Chiles improved his completion percentage by six percent, threw for three more touchdowns and had eight less interceptions in the second half of the season compared to the first half. The growth and consistency in his play began last fall, and if he can elevate from that, then I'm very excited about what he could produce for Michigan State next year. His ceiling has always been high, and if he can approach that in 2025, then he instantly makes the Spartans a very dangerous team. Luck There's nothing scientific or purely in-depth about this final reason -- it's quite simple. If Michigan State football is going to flip from missing out on a bowl game to reaching the College Football Playoff, they'll need to have some good ole' fashion luck along the way. Saying a team had luck to reach a high-level goal or their ceiling is often considered an insult, but that isn't the case if you drill down into it. Injury luck, a fumbled ball bouncing perfectly back to the running back, a dropped interception or a costly missed field goal by the opponent are all things that sometimes go your way during a special season. For Michigan State to reach the College Football Playoff, they'll need these type of lucky moments or extended luck throughout the season. Indiana certainly experienced that last year, and the "Indiana" of this year will also get those same lucky breaks at a higher frequency than others en route to reaching the College Football Playoff. Final Thoughts Do you feel any more confident in the Spartans' chances of reaching the College Football Playoff in 2025 after reading through my five reasons? Probably not to the point where you're ready to start saving up for a CFP trip. But hopefully this article helped increase your faith in the potential for Michigan State this upcoming fall. I personally believe the Spartans are going to come up at least a few games short of getting an at-large College Football Playoff bid. But in putting this post together I did find myself starting to get more and more excited about the year two growth under Smith. And the possibility of big things coming down the pipeline should they hit on a few of these called out items. The most notable thing I'll wrap up this post with is the statement that Chiles will ultimately determine how far Michigan State can go in 2025. The roster around him is improved from last year, and if he has a great season, then Michigan State will also be great. If he has a rough season, then the Spartans will find themselves home for the holidays again. Chiles will dictate where Michigan State goes in 2025, and I'm at least willing to put my faith in his potential of making the Spartans very good again. Because if he hits his ceiling, the Spartans will be this year's Indiana. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
NBC Sports
05-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Baylor AD Mack Rhoades to lead CFP selection committee
IRVING, Texas — Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades will lead the College Football Playoff selection committee next season. Other new members of the 13-person committee will be former Michigan State and Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio, Maryland AD Damon Evans, Middle Tennessee State AD Chris Massaro, former Mississippi tight end Wesley Walls and sports writers Ivan Maisel and Steve Wieberg. The committee is in charge of ranking the teams to set them into the 12-team postseason bracket that debuted last season. Still undetermined is whether there will be changes to the system in 2025. The commissioners from the SEC and Big Ten are in favor of reworking the system so that conference winners aren't automatically awarded first-round byes. But any changes for the upcoming season would require a unanimous vote of the 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame AD who run the playoff.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Baylor AD Mack Rhoades to lead CFP selection committee
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades will lead the College Football Playoff selection committee next season. Other new members of the 13-person committee will be former Michigan State and Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio, Maryland AD Damon Evans, Middle Tennessee State AD Chris Massaro, former Mississippi tight end Wesley Walls and sports writers Ivan Maisel and Steve Wieberg. The committee is in charge of ranking the teams to set them into the 12-team postseason bracket that debuted last season. Still undetermined is whether there will be changes to the system in 2025. The commissioners from the SEC and Big Ten are in favor of reworking the system so that conference winners aren't automatically awarded first-round byes. But any changes for the upcoming season would require a unanimous vote of the 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame AD who run the playoff. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and The Associated Press
Associated Press
04-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Baylor AD Mack Rhoades to lead CFP selection committee
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades will lead the College Football Playoff selection committee next season. Other new members of the 13-person committee will be former Michigan State and Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio, Maryland AD Damon Evans, Middle Tennessee State AD Chris Massaro, former Mississippi tight end Wesley Walls and sports writers Ivan Maisel and Steve Wieberg. The committee is in charge of ranking the teams to set them into the 12-team postseason bracket that debuted last season. Still undetermined is whether there will be changes to the system in 2025. The commissioners from the SEC and Big Ten are in favor of reworking the system so that conference winners aren't automatically awarded first-round byes. But any changes for the upcoming season would require a unanimous vote of the 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame AD who run the playoff. ___
