Which teams are positioned to remain powers in 2023?
The who's who of college football's blue bloods change from decade to decade and we may be seeing some transitions in which programs are positioned to be on top.
This new decade of college football, young as it still is, is liable to look very different from the last one.
The last decade was really dominated by four particular programs which had good staffs commanding nationally elite resources.
In the West: The Bob Stoops/Lincoln Riley (emphasis on the latter) Oklahoma Sooners
In the south east: The Dabo Swinney Clemson Tigers
In the Midwest: The Urban Meyer/Ryan Day (emphasis on the former) Ohio State Buckeyes
In the SEC West: The Nick Saban Alabama Crimson Tide
Oklahoma won the Big 12 Championship in 2010, 2011, 2012 (sorta), 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and in 2020. They made four playoff appearances and took home two Heisman trophies. Now Lincoln Riley, who powered the later resurgence as offensive coordinator and then head coach is off to build something similar with USC and the Sooners are rebuilding and reshaping their program.
Swinney’s Tigers won the ACC in 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, they went to the playoffs in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and in 2020, played in four National Championship Games and won two of them. Amazing run.
Then Brent Venables left to try and rebuild Oklahoma, completing a major staff drain of Clemson which has them in increasingly poor shape.
The Urban Meyer Buckeyes lost nine total games in seven games, never lost to Michigan, won the Big 10 three times, won the Big 10 East or tied at the top of the standings every year, and went to the playoffs twice and won the National Championship once. When Ryan Day took over for 2019 and 2020 they went to the playoffs both years and won both Big 10 Championships. Obviously Meyer is gone and Day has since lost to Michigan the last two seasons and missed the playoffs.
I’m not sure Saban’s Alabama really needs a resume read but in the 2010s they won five National Championships and four other years won the SEC Championship. They’re still rolling in the 2020s but at some point this decade it will end…right?
Other teams had some great years in there, but you couldn’t match those four for sustained dominance throughout the decade. All four are facing transitions and a few of them stood out in Week 1.
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