College Football: The greatest teams of every decade

1940s: Notre Dame retakes title as team of the decade

In the 1930s, Notre Dame regressed from the top of the college football world down to ninth in the country in winning percentage. The Fighting Irish rebounded during and after World War II. In the process, they regained the title of the top team of the decade. After losing 20 games in the 1930s, the Irish went 82-9-6 over the next decade.

Under Frank Leahy, the Irish won four national titles. The first came in 1943 with the war raging. The last three came in the postwar period, as Notre Dame claimed the award in 1946, 1947, and 1949. A single tie in 1948 prevented the Irish from winning a fourth straight national titles.

1950s: Oklahoma emerges as top team of the Fifties

With Bud Wilkinson at the helm, Oklahoma broke out as the top team of the 1950s. The Sooners put together two of the longest winning streaks in college football history during this period. From 1953 to 1957, WIlkinson’s teams won 47 straight games. The mark still stands as the record to this day.

By the end of the decade, Oklahoma finished with a 93-10-2 record and a winning percentage barely under 90 percent. Three national titles followed as a result of all the winning. Oklahoma took the title in 1950, 1955, and 1956. They also earned minor shares in 1953 and 1957.

1960s: Alabama reemerges atop Division I in the Sixties

The second great era in Alabama football came in the 1960s thanks to the return of a former player to take over as coach. Bear Bryant heeded the call from Mama to come home to Tuscaloosa, where he had been a standout end opposite future Green Bay Packers star Don Hutson.

Bryant arrived to take over coaching duties in 1958. By 1960, the Crimson Tide had turned around their flagging fortunes. Alabama went bowling in 10 straight seasons during the 1960s, going 90-16-4 and winning national titles in 1960, 1964, and 1965. Only the fact that the polls named national champions before the bowl games prevented the Tide from a third straight crown in 1966.

1970s: Oklahoma returns to the top of Division I this decade

Bud Wilkinson was gone, but Oklahoma regained its place atop the college football hierarchy during the 1970s. That was due in large part to another legendary head coach, Barry Switzer. The Sooners began the decade with Chuck Fairbanks at the helm, and went 11-1 in 1971 and 1972. Once Switzer took over, though, the successes multiplied.

Oklahoma went 102-13-3 in the decade. Alabama won one more game than the Sooners, but the Crimson Tide also lost three more games and earned two fewer ties. Switzer’s teams won back-to-back national titles in 1974 and 1975, and were in the thick of the race for several more during the decade.

1980s: Nebraska wins more games than any other in the Eighties

By the 1980s, Oklahoma was forced to watch as their Big Eight rival took over the throne as the top team in college football. Guided by Tom Osborne, Nebraska went 103-20 in the 1980s. Even as they failed to win a national title, the Cornhuskers emerged as the top team of the decade.

Between 1980 and 1984, the Huskers earned minor shares of the national championship. But the big prize never came from either of the major polls at the time. It was a decade of close calls, but on aggregate there was no team with a better overall run during the 1980s than Nebraska. Osborne would have to wait until the following decade to earn a handful of national titles before retirement.

1990s: Florida State dominates the last decade of 20th century

To be fair, Marshall finished the 1990s with a better winning percentage than any other team. But the Thundering Herd did not transition to the I-A ranks until the latter part of the decade. They were the only team to win a I-AA national title the year before the transition to the higher subdivision. Because most of their time was at the I-AA level, though, they fell short of the title of top team in the decade.

That distinction instead goes to Florida State, which finally captured a pair of national titles under Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles won the crown in 1993 and again in 1999, as they played for the title three straight years at the beginning of the BCS era. Shanked field goals and other close calls prevented them from playing for more titles. Still, over the decade Florida State finished with a 109-13-1 record.

2000s: Boise State breaks out as top team to begin 21st century

Looking at the first decade of the 21st century, one finds a fresh face atop the list of teams with the most wins over the period. The landmark Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma is the most memorable part of the run, but Boise State emerged as a mid-major power over the course of the entire decade.

Bouncing from the Big West to the WAC, Boise State went 112-17 against a range of opponents. That is two more wins than either Oklahoma or Texas could manage during the decade. The Broncos won the Big West crown in the conference’s final season sponsoring football in 2000, then claimed seven WAC titles in nine seasons.

2010s: Alabama restores glory in second decade of new millennium

The most recent decade of college football history will be remembered for the resurgence of a historic power. Under Nick Saban, Alabama jumped back to the top of the SEC and became a perennial contender for the national title. In the process, they have gone 86-12 so far this decade.

The Crimson Tide were a bridge of dominance between the BCS and College Football Playoff eras. With two years left to go in this decade, Alabama has already won four national titles. They also played for a fifth in the 2016 season. There is little to indicate any potential drop, either. Alabama should be in the mix for the rest of the decade. No matter what happens, though, it will be hard for any other team to catch the Tide as the top team of the 2010s.

Final thoughts

Winning percentage is hardly everything, which must be acknowledged before wrapping up this piece. But, ultimately, winning is the goal for every football team.

What we find, looking at this list over time, is the shift in power and the democratization of opportunity. In the 19th century, college football was dominated by the private schools of the northeast that would eventually band into the Ivy League.

Washington’s hold over the 1910s broke that spell, and ever since the Ivy League schools have faded into relative irrelevance. In their place, the balance of power shifted westward and southward.

One interesting aspect of that power shift, though, is who is excluded as much as who is included. Teams like Alabama, Oklahoma, and Nebraska are hardly surprises on this list. But the absence of any Big Ten teams is fascinating, given the league’s position as the longest-standing major conference in the country.

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A different metric would likely give other teams the chance to claim the honors as top team of a given decade. But, as former UCLA coach Red Sanders said back in 1950, “Winning isn’t everything… it’s the only thing!” In that spirit, this list demonstrates those teams that put together consistent runs of success over a given time period.