ESPN ranks USC no. 1, UCLA no. 27 in decade of football

An ESPN.com survey of 15 college football experts, including 14 who work for ESPN, named USC as the no. 1 college football program of the last decade, spanning the period of 1997-2006.

UCLA was the no. 3 program listed from the Pac-10 at no. 27, with Oregon at 17th. Behind the Bruins were California (35), Oregon State (37), Arizona State (41), Washington State (43), Washington (52), Arizona (71) and Stanford (82).

The Bruins were named to the top 25 on two of the 15 ballots, both times at no. 21, by ESPN The Magazine’s Bruce Feldman and by Joe Schad, one of ESPN’s college football reporters. USC was first on nine ballots and never lower than seventh.

Ivan Maisel, writing on ESPN.com commented, "you could make the case that USC didn't dominate the decade long enough to deserve to be No. 1. But the most interesting observation to come out of this ranking is the realization that none of the teams has been dominant for 10 years. Bob Stoops has made No. 5 Oklahoma into a power over his eight seasons, but in the two years before his arrival, the Sooners won a total of nine games.

"No. 4 Florida endured the moderate three-year dip under Ron Zook. The only team that can make a good case for 10 consecutive successful seasons is Ohio State, which is No. 2. The Buckeyes, however, have one fewer national championship than the Trojans, and their four seasons under John Cooper in this decade produced a lot of wins, but not enough of them in big games."

So a decade that starts out 6-5 (under John Robinson), then 8-5, 6-6, 5-7 (with Paul Hackett), and finishes 6-6, 11-2, 12-1, 13-0, 12-1 and 11-2 (with Pete Carroll) equates to domination. By that standard, UCLA’s basketball squad will probably be the nation’s top basketball program over the past decade after three more years, which will still include the last three seasons under Steve Lavin.

Are you kidding? I'm jogging a "Script Ohio" right now!

Comments

[Bruce]

Thank you! Someone who has a memory longer than 5 years! Yes, $UC has been dominant the last few years. But people easily forget the years of angst in the 90s. Those were years when UCLA beat $UC on the field and in recruiting time and again.

[Jake]

ESPN is just a lap dog for southern cal. This ranking is a farce when you look at the superior records of at least 8 teams ahead of socal. Get real people.

[Bruin Guy]

Remember, the bRuins are not #1 in championships. They forgot to say they are #1 in TEAM NCAA championships. USC is #1 in TOTAL NCAA championships.

Fight On.

[SoBayBruin]

Give credit where credit is due. Last year USC's opponents were ALL BCS teams. The Big10, SEC, B12, ACC play the likes of Troy,McNeese State,Middle Tennessee, Bowling Green Ball State, Western Illinois, Florida Atlantic, Central Florida, Louisiana Monroe, etc. So Carolina even played Wofford. There non conference schedules are cream puffs. That is how they pad their records. Playing Wofford should be against the law.

[Peter]

"Remember, the bRuins are not #1 in championships. They forgot to say they are #1 in TEAM NCAA championships. USC is #1 in TOTAL NCAA championships."

Because I really care who the best collegiate javelin thrower was 70 years ago...

What really gets me is how Ohio St's one championship is one less than USC's one championship.

[SoBayBruin]

Oh please. Ohio State is way overrated. Their one championship was due to a blown penalty call in the end zone. Last year they played the likes of No Illinois, Cincinnati and Bowling Green. Wow! They did not belong on the same field as Florida. The same for Michigan, they played Vanderbilt, Central Michigan and Ball State. Huh? Both of them are Big 10 stiffs and Wisconsin is worse.