It’s easy enough to identify the “blue bloods” of college basketball – it’s the teams with the most titles, nearly all of which have won one or reached the Final Four a significant number of times recently. Making a similar list for college football presents a stiffer challenge which Andy Staples of On3 Sports attempted to do – with varying results.
In his feature for On3, Staples identified nine teams that he considers “blue bloods” of college football: Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan, Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas, USC and Penn State.
Staples also had a “contenders” list that consisted of Florida State, LSU, Clemson, Nebraska, Miami, Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Oregon.
College Football Blue Bloods via @Andy_Staples👀
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The list immediately created a ton of debate on X over which ones need to be added and removed from Staples’ list. Some argued that Nebraska deserves to be up there for their dominance before the 2000s, while others believe that Penn State and Georgia shouldn’t be there because of the massive gaps in between their runs of dominance.
“Nebraska dominated football for 3 consecutive decades: 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. That’s blue blood whether we like it or not,” one user declared.
“Penn State and Georgia aren’t blue bloods, Nebraska is a blue blood,” another wrote.
“5 too many in that group. Should be Bama, OU, USC, and OSU. They are all awesome programs, but by the numbers a few are close but no cigar. Yet,” a third suggested.
Who would you add to the list? Who would you remove from it?
Related: Andy Staples Releases His 12-Team 2025 College Football Playoff Prediction