Bill Bender Analyzes 20 Greatest College Football Teams Ever
Bobby, Steele, and Bill Bender discuss the rankings of the top college teams ever and examine unique views on the 1995 Nebraska and past Ohio State teams.
Video Transcript
When, you know, this came in, Bill, like diversity among teams.
How, what was it like at the top?
It obviously looks like it's a little more weighted toward modern day.
Kinda your thoughts about it.
Well, you know, we had 20 panelists.
Yeah, I had you and, locally I had you and Tim May.
You know, I could have asked like five more Ohio State writers, but I didn't wanna slant it too much that way and be accused of bias or anything like that.
But no, I mean, we had some of the best football minds, college football writers and broadcasters I know.
You know, Tim Brando, Dennis Dodd, Ivan Maisel.
He was really I mean, the CF- the ESPN 150 thing a few years ago, that- Ivan was all over that.
So I thought the most interesting part was the, you know, the ballots.
Like I said, there was 73 different schools that, that got at least one vote.
73rd- 73 different teams.
But that number one team on there, 1995 Nebraska, they were the only one that appeared on every single ballot, which I found very interesting.
You know, there were ballots that didn't have a one Miami.
And, and one thing I'll say from the Ohio State side, I believe ha- they had, I, I believe seven different Ohio State teams got at least one vote, and I think that hurt in some ways because then, you know, how do you pick the best team?
And Bobby, I'm gonna be honest, I'm surprised you didn't vote for that, national championship Ohio State team in, you know, '03, 0-203 there.
I was like, "Why is he not voting for them?
He was on the team.
Come on, get..." I, I would have 100% voted if I was on that team.
I might have put them number one, but they were right there, like just outside the top 25.
Well, what's interesting with that, Bill, is I mean, I, I tell people that was probably the third best team I was on, even on Ohio State.
And so I look at some of these schools and teams that didn't win national championships, and you look at that Nebraska team in '95.
They won a national championship.
They were undefeated.
Penn State also undefeated that year, you know, doesn't get a sniff.
You look at the guys, Kerry Collins, Ki-Jana Carter, Kyle Brady, like rolled over a bunch of squads.
And I went through this and I was amazed that Penn State didn't have it.
They only had, they've had two national champions, didn't get on.
But I think that '95 team, just like I honestly think that '95 Ohio State team was probably one of the best two or three teams ever assembled in Ohio State history.
And just you look at the talent on some of those squads and how they used to do it, like that playoff would've been remarkable to watch something like that go back and forth.
And I'm assuming every team on here, Bill, I didn't research it, just at a quick glance, it looked like they all won national champions, championships.
Yeah.
What, what percentage of do you think teams that came in were non-national champions on people's ballots?
Yeah, that, that almost would've been a better list in some ways because we know these are all national championship teams.
And it wasn't until you, you had '95 Ohio State on your ballot, and I got to thinking about it, I was like, "Yeah, '95 Nebraska's the number one team on here," but I would've paid to see them play that Ohio State team, for sure.
A- and that Penn State team you mentioned in the '90s that had, Ki-Jana and, Kerry Collins, Kyle Brady, absolutely loaded.
Ingram was one of their better receivers.
An early Big Ten Penn State team.
Wonder what they would've done against those Nebraska teams.
But that was the consensus, that that, that Nebraska team in particular, you go back and look in their numbers, averaging 50 points per game.
Had seven running backs that had at least 300 rushing yards, if you include Tommy Frazier, who was an absolute unicorn in the sport for anybody that remembers watching him play.
I mean, unbelievable quarterback.
Not great passing yards, but just that run against Florida, I, I replay it all the time.
So a- a- again, it, it was an interesting methodology.
It does, this poll does lean towards modern teams, which is the hard part.
When you're talking about football since 1886 and you try to compare eras, we only have one team that was, before 1950 on the top 20.
That Army 1944 team, which by the way, averaged 56 points per game and had two Heisman Trophy runners- Heisman Trophy in the football.
Yeah, not a bad team there
