By War Eagle Atlanta
glg68@aol.com
Faithful readers of this blog will notice that a lot of what this article contains has been stated by me in the past. That's because I thought it as being so well-written that I could regurgitate it once again in order to preempt any more lame threads from popping up like weeds in the parched earth here in the CFB dry season. The bee in my bonnet about national championships came last spring when Washington tried to slip one through the back door 47 years after the fact.
Since then, I've quit wearing bonnets and have educated myself on the history of the national championship. I now feel qualified to be the final arbiter of which teams' national championship claims are legit, and which are as bogus as a Jeff Spicoli quip.
Here are the qualifications that I will use:
1) Only current Divison 1-A (FBS) teams with three or more MNCs will be considered.
2) Only AP championships (1934, 1936-present) UP championships (1935, 1950-1957) UPI championships (1958-1995) USA Today/ESPN championships (1997-present) and BCS championships (1998-present) are counted. However, prior to 1950, before the AP and UP polls ran concurrently, I will accept a preponderance of the other selectors. In other words, if your team claims MNCs from selectors not listed here, they are illegitimate. If none of this makes sense, just read on and complain about it later.
3) No back-dated titles will be considered. Using the definitions in (2) above, that means no MNCs before 1934. If you still don't know what a back-dated title is, sign up for my remedial newsletter at my link below.
I, Richard Dawson, and the Survey says!!!
Notre Dame, 12 NCs claimed: 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988. First three titles back-dated, 1953 illegitimate. Real total: 8 titles. Talk about winning one for the Gipper, they won three BEFORE the Gipper--and before national championships ever existed. One third of your titles bogus--pretty shabby.
Alabama, 12 NCs claimed: 1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992. First 3 titles back-dated, 1934 and 1941 titles illegitimate. Real total, 7 titles. Bama is famous for throwing everything that sticks into the trophy cabinet. If you want a more detailed analysis of the Tide, read this.
USC, 10 NCs claimed: 1928, 1931, 1932, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003, 2004. First 3 titles back-dated, all the rest legitimate. Real total, 7 titles. Not bad, other than the back-dated ones. Let's see: 60s and 70s, got that covered; 21st century--check. Hey, what happened to the 80s and 90s???
Michigan, 7 NCs claimed: 1901, 1902, 1923, 1933, 1947, 1948, 1997. First 4 titles back-dated, the rest legitimate. Real total: 3 titles. Oh, snap! Don't worry, Go Blue. Batting .429 in the major leagues earns you bazillions a year...
Oklahoma, 7 NCs claimed: 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000. All legitimate! Real total: 7 titles. The first perfectly honest team. Naturally, OU owes Texas for all this glory--not!
Minnesota, 6 NCs claimed: 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960 All legit! Real total: 6 titles. But what are you guys thinking about doing for the next half of the 20th century???
Pittsburgh, 6 NCs claimed: 1910, 1916, 1918, 1936, 1937, 1976. First 3 titles back-dated, 1936 illegitimate, other 2 fine. Real total: 2 titles. Only 33% of your claimed titles for real? We haven't seen this kind of illegitimacy outside of the Mugabe administration...
Miami, 5 NCs claimed: 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001. All legit. Real total: 5 titles. Still can't figure out how you got the nod in 1983 over a far superior Auburn team...
Nebraska: 5 NCs claimed, 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997. All legit. Real total: 5 titles. Solid! Can't figure out why they can't duplicate this kind of success in the other corn-producing states...
Ohio State, 5 NCs claimed: 1942, 1954, 1957, 1968, 2002. All legit. Real total: 5 titles. Best in the Big 10(11). Best ever: Woody or The Vest?
Army: 4 NCs claimed, 1914, 1944, 1945, 1946. First is back-dated, the rest legit. Real total: 3 titles. Gee, if we could only have another World War to drain the nation's manpower again...
GA Tech: 4 NCs claimed, 1917, 1928, 1952, 1990. First 3 titles back-dated, 1990 legit. Real total: 1 title. "I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and a helluva embellisher..."
Illinois: 4 NCs claimed, 1914, 1919, 1923, 1927. All back-dated! Oh come on! Are you kidding me? Real toal: ZIP!!! However, as luck would have it, the Zook era has arrived.
Tennessee: 4 NCs claimed, 1938, 1950, 1951, 1998. 1938 and 1950 illegitimate, the rest legit. Real total: 2 titles. The SEC's historic 2nd best team follows the SEC's historic best team, Alabama--in title embellishment.
Texas: 4 NCs claimed, 1963, 1969, 1970, 2005, all legit! Real total: 4 titles. Thanks Daryl Royal. Still wondering why they're so woefully behind Oklahoma in this category...
California: 3 NCs claimed, 1920, 1921, 1922. All back-dated! What?? Real total: ZERO titles. See admonishment to Illinois...
Michigan State: 3 NCs claimed, 1952, 1965, 1966. 1966 is illegitimate, although you probably got hosed! Real total: 2 titles. Not bad--only one behind your Ann Arbor cousins...
There you have it. Now let me have it. War Eagle Atlanta will now take your stinging rebukes...