Nick Loucks

  (1:48 PM)

Hey everyone, I'm going to get started a little early because some great questions are already flooding in... let's get started

Raleigh, NC

Nick - lots of UGA fans complaining about the team's performance last year and even saying Richt should be on the "hot seat" if the team doesn't meet 2009 expectations (whatever those are). Put UGA's performance in perspective for us during the Richt regime (since 2001) relative to the national competition. Thanks!

Nick Loucks

  (1:50 PM)

I think the biggest problem for Richt and UGA fans this decade has been bad timing... A lot of times they just hasven't been able to beat Florida, which means winning its oen division/conference is tough... and when they beat Florida, they drop some games they shouldn't ('07 vs S.Carolina for example). I think Richt is a great coach and this season's "let-down" was just a hiccup.

Riley (Tempe, AZ)

Are we going to get the BCS era rankings as well? You keep mentioning them for certain teams, and I wanted to know Utah's BCS era ranking. It has to be higher than Boise's #13, that you posted in the notables.

Nick Loucks

  (1:54 PM)

I think we are going to post the full BCS era rankings later in the week, but as a teaser, I don't think you'll like where your Utes are ranked in comparison to Boise State... Remember, that Utah has a couple losing seasons recently... and had "just" three 10-win seasons since 1998... As a point of comparison, Boise State has MISSED a bowl just twice in that span.

Rich - Charlottesville, Va

If VT is ranked so low in the prestige ranking how come ESPNalways ranks them so high pre-season? It's the same deal every year... They come out ranked in the top 10 play the bottom half of the ACC and a bunch of weak non-conference games, go up even higher in the rankings, and then lose to the first decent team they play. STOP PLAYING FAVORITES!!!

Nick Loucks

  (1:56 PM)

Hey Rich, I'm a researcher at heart... I let the numbers do the talking for themselves... I leave the voting to the pollsters.. Going back seven decades, Virginia Tech had some DOWN stretches... but recently, it's clear the Hokies are a consistent winner (no losing seasons since '92)... I think that's why you see them on TV a lot lately.

Brandon( Canton, MI)

Do you think Ohio State has a higher prestige than Michigan?

Nick Loucks

  (1:56 PM)

Oh man, I'm not going to go there...

Aaron (Washington, DC)

Why are we measuring a team's prestige dating back to the 30's? Many teams are no longer relevant and if a recruit doesn't recognize a team's prestige, then why should you?

Nick Loucks

  (1:58 PM)

A recruit has some very specific criteria when picking a school to go to for four years... A fan also has its own very different set of criteria when discussing the history of its team compared to another... We aren't tabulating the "Recruit Rankings"

Matthew (Birmingham AL)

12. Tennessee Volunteers Through the decades: Through 1958: 3rd | 1968: 7th | 1978: 9th | 1988: 10th | 1998: 10th Ok how do we never finish below 10th in the through the decades rankings and have a 7.8 average but still finish 12 on your poll? Can you guys not do math (add up the decade rankings and divide by 5 gives Tennessee a 7.8 average).

Nick Loucks

  (2:00 PM)

Hey MAtthew, thanks for reading the Rankings so closely.. but we may have been a little unclear on that part... Those rankings through the decades show where Tennessee sttod THROUGH '58, '68 and so on.. not just IN those decades. The Vols were 15th in the 70s and 17th in the 80s... If you just look at the BCS era, UT is 12th...

Scott , Mashpee, Massachusetts

What about points for pro or college Hall of Fame players and head coaches? Can you talk about Boston College, I was surprised to see a 40th ranking and 280 points. Thank you.

Nick Loucks

  (2:04 PM)

Scott, were you thinking BC should have been higher? or lower? BC has had a decent run lately since leaving the Big East, but at no point in their history were they a truly "elite" program. Its only major bowl appearance since WWII was in the '84 season with Flutie.

Wallace, Tampa FL

This is one dumb and stupid ranking of college football programs. Has ESPN nothing better to do that have these doofuses draft this stupid and meaningless poll??? What a waste!!

Nick Loucks

  (2:05 PM)

haha... I know I have a lot to do with my time, but like all things sports, we tried to make this fun. Just look at how much emotion you're getting out of this, Wallace... This is good stuff!

David, Lincoln, NE

How did you select 1936 as your starting point for this? Is that when the AP poll started or is it just an arbitrary number?

Nick Loucks

  (2:06 PM)

Greta question, David.. 1936 was the first year the AP poll started. That also is around the time that the NCAA finally started recognizing which programs were "major" or not. Before that, national titles were random and schedules were really imbalanced.

Library Stevens (Alaska)

Hey Buddy, my friend Peter Bayer believes that Utah is just like Boise State and will stick around the top 10 for years.

Nick Loucks

  (2:07 PM)

Well you tell Peter Bayer that I hope he's right! And tell him to see if he could set up an annual regular-season game between the Utes and Broncos... I bet ESPN would show it. That'd be must-see TV.

John (Westminster, SC)

Where are the Gators ranked in the BCS era and since 1988?

Nick Loucks

  (2:14 PM)

Florida is 4th in the BCS era... USC has that top spot pretty much locked down for awhile. As for since '88 around when Spurrier came to town... they wouldn't even be tops in their own state (FSU was just ridiculous in the 90s)

Michael (Memphis, Tenn)

Seems strange that Miami and Florida State - two teams with only recent history - can be ranked in a prestige poll in the top 10 over Tennessee and Penn State who both have more storied histories.

Nick Loucks

  (2:18 PM)

That's a fair observation, Michael... I think the thing that sways it heavily in the Canes and Noles favor is the NFL Draft. The Draft is such a big deal to players now, that's why we started counting 1st-round picks starting with the 1970 NFL Common Draft... Since then, Miami has 54.. Tennessee: 33. Tennessee has just 2 National Titles (51 and 98), while FSU had that just in the 90s. But it IS real close between those 3 schools overall.

joe (new orleans)

where's LSU fit in? they are arguably the team of this decade, with 2 national titles, 3 SEC titles and 4-0 in the BCS.

Nick Loucks

  (2:19 PM)

I think USC would have a fair argument against that...

Mo (NYC)

How much are the recent recruiting violations going to hurt Bama in the rankings? Without them, I think they're a sure fire number 1. With them, they might still deserve the top slot. Your thoughts?

Nick Loucks

  (2:20 PM)

Alabama got dinged a few times by the NCAA over the years, but the penalties were reletively tame... I don't think it affected where they finished in the overall rankings.

Will J (Portland, OR)

After doing your research, were there any programs rankings that really surprised you?

Nick Loucks

  (2:22 PM)

I think I thought Penn State would be higher, but all those undefeated seasons without a national title hurt their chances to finish in the Top 10... UCLA at 16th was also a surprise because I wasn't as familiar with the Bruins' strong history before digging up the numbers.

Jeremy (Ponchatoula, LA)

How would the conferences fair, since there is always the question of which conference is better? I would like to know which conference is the most prestigious and if you could go ahead and give all the rankings of the conferences.

Nick Loucks

  (2:24 PM)

We weighed each "conference title" the same... USC winning the Pac-10 counted the same as a perfect Marshall season in the MAC for instance. The difference being that of course, a conference title in a major conference gets you into a major bowl and the opportunites for way more points, while winning the MAC doesn't. That's how we justified that balance.

Johnny Trojan, Los Angeles

On your PSU comment, you stated USC only has 26 Bowl wins, they actually have 31, including 24 Rose Bowls.

Nick Loucks

  (2:25 PM)

Johnny, surely you read the page where we outlined our criteria... and on that page, we say that we only count football seasons from 1936 on. The Trojans won 4 Rose Bowl before that which didn't count in our rankings.

Blake(Miami)

Where do you think Texas will be in the rankings?

Nick Loucks

  (2:26 PM)

I think they'll be in the Top 10.. You'll have to stop back to ESPN.com tomorrow to see exactly where though, haha

Tom : (Raleigh, NC)

Before 1970 the national title was before bowl games. Many teams went on to lose their bowl game. In those cases, I hope you didn't use the bowl-loser as your champion of that year. It could be very misleading.

Nick Loucks

  (2:27 PM)

We took the National Champion(s) to be whoever the AP and the UPI/coaches poll voted as their national champion that year. Period. If they voted before or after the bowls, that's what the teams of that era went by, and that's what we went by.

James (Dallas)

By the process of elimination we now know the top 10 (just not the order). I am curious as to what top 10 program has the most deductions. Has to be Oklahoma right? (Big Red Sports and Imports, the entire Switzer era, and even the nickname references the fact they are proud of cheating "Sooners")

Nick Loucks

  (2:29 PM)

You know your scandal history, James! Actually, both Oklahoma and USC both had -29 points for NCAA penalties... Those would be the most among our ten remaining programs.

Mike(Philadelphia)

Is it safe to say that Florida State recieved a substantial boost for playing in a pretty weak ACC for years and winning all those conference championships while a team like Penn State suffered for being an independent and did not have the ability to win a conference(rather, needing to be ranked above 3 of the conference winners instead)

Nick Loucks

  (2:31 PM)

That's fair, Mike... FSU definitely took advantage of its situation in the 90s... But Penn State certainly made the most of its independent status for decades to its advantage. Most notably, going to the Fiesta Bowl for that famous National Title game vs Miami because its independent status didn't tie them down to any bowl affiliation. That allowed them to win one of the best games in college football history and a national title... So it worked both ways.

christian (porterville.CA)

WHO IS THE BEST TEAM EVER TO STEP ON THE FIELD

Nick Loucks

  (2:32 PM)

I'm partial to the '95 Nebaraska team with Tommie Frazier... but I think the '01 Miami squad with all those future NFL stars might be the best ever.

John (Westminster, SC)

The AP started in 1936, however, if you look in any sports almanac that list top 20's, you will find a hidgepodge of teams in the final rankings during WWII including military bases, shouldn't the rankings be after 1946 instead?

Nick Loucks

  (2:33 PM)

Nice find, John... some colleges kept their football prgorams going during WWII. We didn't want to penalize them for that. We just didn't give any points to the Iowa PRe-Flights of the world.

Bruce (CT)

Where can i find these rankings?

Nick Loucks

  (2:34 PM)

We are unveiling the Top 20 five at a time all week long... ALl teams 21 through 119 can be found on the college football page on ESPN.com.. go ahead.. snoop around.

Steiny (NYC)

Who came up with this idea? You, Chris Fallica or Harold Shelton?

Nick Loucks

  (2:35 PM)

Harold came up with the idea for college basketball about a year ago and those rankings appeared on ESPN.com over the summer... Mr. Fallica, the football College GameDay researcher, decided we should carry it over to the football world too... No brainer, win-win.

joe (new orleans)

explain how USC has an argument over LSU or Florida as the team of the 2000s? At last check, USC has ONE crystal football. LSU and UF each have TWO.

Nick Loucks

  (2:37 PM)

BCS era numbers... Weeks at No. 1: USC: 42, LSU: Florida: 30, LSU: 19.

Nick Loucks

  (2:38 PM)

major bowl wins: USC: 6, Florida: 4, LSU: 4

Nick Loucks

  (2:38 PM)

Consensus All-Americans: USC: 18, Florida: 8, LSU: 7

Nick Loucks

  (2:39 PM)

10-win seasons: USC: 7, Florida: 5, LSU: 5. I think that's enough.

Tom (River North)

Nick, if you say USC is #1 for BCS, let's say LSU is #2 and Florida is #4, who is the #3 team?

Nick Loucks

  (2:41 PM)

LSU isn't in the Top 5 of the BCS era... It's USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma then Florida.

Tom (River North)

Shouldn't Miami be subject to the same deductions as FSU? They've been on probation, and the Big East was an embarrassment during the 80s and 90s (until Va Tech picked it up toward the end)

Nick Loucks

  (2:42 PM)

Wow... The Big East wasn't even AROUND in the 80s, so how could they be an embarassment?

Will J (Portland, OR)

Nick, which college team (year) do you think was the best one of all-time? If it's too difficult, top 3.

Nick Loucks

  (2:44 PM)

According to out points system, Florida State's 93 team had a record 119 "Prestige Points" alone.

Fight On! (CA)

If seasons pre 1936 were not counted, why is Alabama getting credit for Rose Bowl wins before '36, and USC isn't? Nice research.

Nick Loucks

  (2:46 PM)

Alabama received points for 28 bowl wins sine 1936... USC has 26. No one got any credit for anything before the 1936 season.

Will J (Portland, OR)

How long did it take you all to do the research? How did you get the old information, newspapers? LOL

Nick Loucks

  (2:47 PM)

The internet, along with the ESPN sports almanac, College Football Encyclopedia and NCAA record books, are amazing tools.

Adam (Milwaukee)

Where can I find the College BB prestige rankings?

Nick Loucks

  (2:47 PM)

I'm sure if you look hard enough, yo ucan find them using our new and improved search tool on ESPN.com

John (Westminster, SC)

How good is a title over Iowa Pre-Flight?

Nick Loucks

  (2:48 PM)

At the time, considering what most of the young men were doing in the country, I'm going to assume it was a level playing field.

J.B. (Dunmore, PA)

So PSU gains prestige for graduating players and staying out of trouble but loses it because sportswriters who don't see their games don't vote them as National Champions in unbeaten seasons? OK, got it.

Nick Loucks

  (2:49 PM)

Don't hate the player, hate the game. College football has a screwy set of rules. If I was a Penn State fan in the 70s and 80s, I would have been screaming bloody murder for a playoff!

Kevin (Columbus, OH)

The Big Ten had a rule until 1974 that a team couldn't go to the Rose Bowl (the only bowl the Big Ten could go to) in back-to-back seasons. The Pac Ten had no such rule. Doesn't this greatly help USC over OSU and UM in your rankings?

Nick Loucks

  (2:52 PM)

I'm going to go with a big NO... Do you know how many NON-Rose Bowl bowl games that USC played in during the time between 1936 and 1974? Zero.

Christian (Pittsburgh)

How do you justify giving points for being number 1 in the AP poll? This would mean Georgia gets as many points in that category as Florida this year and we know the results those teams achieved. Also...a team like Miami in 2002 riding previous year hype got almost as many points from the AP weeks as OSU did for winning the national title. All in all, Miami recieved more points for that season than OSU did....but OSU was the champ. How is that even remotely fair?

Nick Loucks

  (2:54 PM)

In 2002, Ohio State got 79 points while Miami got 74... Consdiering all the extra points Miami earned for All-Americans and playing as the nation's No. 1 all season, I think that's pretty fair.

Robert (Gainesville)

Why give so many points for weeks at #1. It rewards being over rated. Only the poll at the end of the year should matter!

Nick Loucks

  (2:56 PM)

Every Monday a new poll comes out and a team always sits atop it... and that next Saturday that team is going to get its opponents' very best shot. They play with a bullseye on their back and desrve extra recognition for keeping its spot.

Mo (NYC)

But you just proved Kevin's point. USC was eligible for the Rose Bowl every year from '36 to '74 and thus played in more than UM or OSU, who were not eligible every year. That certainly helped them out.

Nick Loucks

  (2:57 PM)

Mo.. this again? USC won its conference every year so it played in the Rose Bowl.. If Michigan or OSU didn't win the Big Ten, they didn't get to go to a bowl.

Nick Loucks

  (2:58 PM)

The fact that USC didn't play in ANY bowl other tha nthe Rose in that time span, what advantage did it have over those two schools who claim the same thing? (No non-Rose Bowl from 36-74)

J.B. (Dunmore, PA)

Just curious here. What carried more weight in the rankings: what a team did on the field or what it did off of the field to help it get there? Basically was it worthwhile for a program to break the rules in order to win football games as far as the prestige rankings went?

Nick Loucks

  (3:00 PM)

Obviously how teams fared on the field of play, and how they were rewarded by the pwoers that be at the time... THe probations were a way to penalize teams to an extent, but was not meant to negate all accomplishments on the field.

David (Fairborn, OH)

How could Oregon be 53....53? Behind TOLEDO?

Nick Loucks

  (3:00 PM)

Did you know bvetween 64 and 88, Oregon didn't make a SINGLE bowl? That's not very Quack-tastic.

Don (Salt Lake City)

So, seriously. What is BYU doing in the top 25? Let's say they get second in 1984, and that Ty Detmer didn't get his Heisman Trophy. Where does BYU fall to. Lower then 50?

Nick Loucks

  (3:02 PM)

OK, let's play the What If game... If BYU didn't win that title, it would've lost out on 25 points... A Heisman was worth 8 points. So that's 33. Take that away from the Cougars' total and it would've dropped down to 28th.

J.B. (Dunmore, PA)

So cheating was beneficial. OK, got that too.

Nick Loucks

  (3:03 PM)

Hey we never said college football was perfect... That's how it works now, doens't it? Teams cheat all the time. It's just a question of if they get caught.

Matt (Birmingham)

You calculated UPI and AP. Tennessee won UPI titles in 1938 and 1950 therefore Tennessee has 4 National Titles! This poll is officially a joke because you did not abide by your own rules.

Nick Loucks

  (3:05 PM)

Erroneous on both counts! The UPI wasn't around until 1950. And Oklahoma won both the UPI and AP titles in '50. The Vols won in '51.

Nick Loucks

  (3:07 PM)

OK guys, I had a lot of fun... USC, Ohio State, SEC... all good topics... Enjoy the rest of the rankings this week. There will be another chat tomorrow with Harold Shelton. Later!