The lack of parity in college football over the past decade has been attributed to the success of several powerful programs that typically dominated on-field competition and recruiting during the playoff era. And identifying the top 10 national programs since the start of the 2012 season isn’t all that difficult when you look at the final rankings and consider future Hall of Fame coaches leading their respective teams.
This list includes various factors, including overall program win percentage, national and conference titles won, college football playoff appearances, individual player awards, and NFL draft picks.
When you can sign elite talent, turn those players into future draft picks, and take care of business against national rankings, your program has the ingredients to win it all. There isn’t much room upstairs either. Ironically, they only have five current head coaches with national titles to their credit – Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Dabo Sweeney, Jimbo Fisher as well as Mac Brown.
Here’s a look at the top 10 American football programs of the decade:
National championships won:0
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .698
NFL draft pick: 22
Word: Mike Gandy is the longest-serving Big 12 coach and one of the most consistent winners at the national level. He ends his second season with 12 wins for the Cowboys, finishing a couple of yards away from the conference championship. Unlike some of the other players in this top ten, Oklahoma State has not had a losing season this decade. Oklahoma State has finished in the top 25 six times this stretch and is projected to open the 2022 campaign in the AP Poll.
National championships won:0
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .771
NFL draft pick: 36
Word: Oregon advanced to the inaugural college football playoff national championship in 2014 after defeating undefeated defending champion Florida State in the Rose Bowl. It was as close to the ring as the Ducks could get, despite 12 wins in 2019. Oregon has made the top 10 four times this decade, and now a new era is beginning with Georgia’s former defense coordinator. Dan Lanning taking over as coach for the departed Mario Cristobal (Miami). The Ducks are expected to be the torchbearers of what’s left of the Pac-12 in the coming years, along with Utah following USC’s Big Ten entry.
National championships won: one
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .669
NFL draft pick:53
Word: One of five programs to win a national championship this decade, Florida State went undefeated in 2014, crowning Auburn in the final moments of the BCS title game under Jimbo Fisher and Heisman winner Jamis Winston. The Seminoles saw the nation’s longest winning streak snapped in the next campaign against Oregon in the Rose Bowl before combining 10-win seasons in a row until Fisher’s departure in 2017 after a five-win campaign led to his departure to Texas A&M. . The state of Florida is going through tough times, so the Seminoles barely made it into the top 10.
National championships won:0
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .758
NFL draft pick: 54
Word: Notre Dame reached the national championship in 2013 and made the college football playoffs twice this decade, but the Fighting Irish continue to seek their first title since the 1988 season. For now, Notre Dame’s main concern at the start of freshman coach Marcus Freeman’s term is deciding what to do with the reorganization and whether the Fighting Irish will remain independent or move to the super conference. Given Notre Dame’s brand and winning tradition, there’s no doubt the program is an attractive income option for the Big Ten and the SEC. However, it will be more difficult for the Fighting Irish to win a title in each of these two leagues.
National championships won: one
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .709
NFL draft pick:81
Word: LSU has won just 11 games since blasting through the SEC as the undefeated college football national champion to end the 2019 campaign, one of the most impressive singles seasons in the sport’s illustrious history. The Tigers produced a record number of NFL draft picks for that team, including the first overall pick. Joe Burrow, but coach Ed Orgeron’s tenure was short-lived after that. Since 2000, LSU has been the only college football program with three national titles from three different head coaches and Brian Kelly hopes to be number four in the not too distant future.
National championships won:0
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .817
NFL draft pick:59
Word: Oklahoma has had three trips to the college football playoffs since the 2017 season, with very little to show despite multiple Big 12 championships during that period. Lincoln Riley left the program in the elite status of a former Clemson defense coordinator and Oklahoma alumnus. Brent Venableswho now has the keys to the Cadillac. Oklahoma’s move to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the coming years will improve the Sooners football brand in terms of revenue, but could make it much more difficult for one of the country’s blue-bloods to win a national championship.
National championships won: one
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .791
NFL draft pick: 72
Word: Kirby Smart is 66-15 years old in Georgia since taking a job ahead of the 2016 season after the program walked away from longtime leader. Mark Richt. He expanded Georgia’s recruiting potential and brought the Bulldogs their first national championship since 1980 last fall. And that’s not all, given the pool of talent in Athens. This spring, the Bulldogs set several NFL draft records, including five first-round wins in a generational defense. Georgia gets the edge over Oklahoma here because the Bulldogs made it to the Final Four and made a deal.
National championships won: 2
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .877
NFL draft pick: 56
Word: 11 consecutive seasons with 10 or more victories, Dabo Sweeney part of the coaching elite of student football. Since 2015, he has won two national championships and lost two more times in the final. No program in the ACC has come close to this level of success since the Tigers stole the baton from Florida State and haven’t looked back. After failing to win the ACC last fall, Clemson remained the favorite for the 2022 pre-season with the most talented roster in the league.
National championships won: one
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .899
NFL draft pick:79
Word: The Buckeyes’ only national title this decade was held by a former coach Urban Meyerbut Ohio State is destined to return to the final game with Ryan Day after losing to Alabama two seasons ago with a championship on the line. No Big Ten program has produced more NFL draft picks or first round players than the Buckeyes, who potentially have two more exits in CJ Stroud and Jackson Smith-Njigba for 2023. Ohio State ranks second in the nation in winning percentage since the start of the 2012 season at .899 after winning the Rose Bowl against Utah.
National championships won: four
Winning percentage over last 10 seasons: .908
NFL draft pick:94
Word: Winner of six national titles since taking over in Alabama through the 2007 season. Nick Saban over the past decade, he’s produced more championships and been selected in the NFL Draft than any other head coach, and his path to excellence is echoed by nearly all of his peers who coached under him—or at least tried to. Alabama has won 11 or more games every year since 2011 and has been in the top 10 in the final AP poll every year during that period. Because the…
Source: 247sports.com