ZeekLTK
22 May 2004, 04:07 AM
This debate has raged on the college football message board I post on, so I was just wondering what the people here at Big Soccer thought... who was the best college football team in 1966? The facts are below:
Michigan State: 9-0-1
vs North Carolina State (5-5) W 28-10
vs Penn State (5-5) W 42-8
at Illinois (4-6) W 26-10
vs Michigan (6-4) W 20-7
at Ohio State (4-5) W 11-8
vs Purdue (9-2) W 41-20
at Northwestern (3-6-1) W 22-0
vs Iowa (2-8) W 56-7
at Indiana (1-8-1) W 37-19
vs Notre Dame (9-0-1) T 10-10
Opponent's Record: 48-49-3
Point Difference: 293-99 (+194)
Notre Dame: 9-0-1
vs Purdue (9-2) W 26-14
at Northwestern (3-6-1) W 35-7
vs Army (8-2) W 35-0
vs North Carolina (2-8) W 32-0
at Oklahoma (6-4) W 38-0
at Navy (4-6) W 31-7
vs Pittsburgh (1-9) W 40-0
vs Duke (5-5) W 64-0
at Michigan State (9-0-1) T 10-10
N USC (7-4) W 51-0
Opponent's Record: 54-46-2
Point Difference: 362-38 (+324)
Alabama: 11-0-0
vs Louisiana Tech (1-9) W 34-0
at Mississippi (8-3) W 17-7
vs Clemson (6-4) W 26-0
at Tennessee (8-3) W 11-10
vs Vanderbilt (1-9) W 42-6
vs Mississippi State (2-8) W 27-14
vs LSU (5-4-1) W 21-0
vs South Carolina (1-9) W 24-0
N Southern Mississippi (6-4) W 34-0
vs Auburn (4-6) W 31-0
N Nebraska (9-2) W 34-7
Opponent's Record: 51-61-1
Point Difference: 301-44 (+257)
*Note: Most of the games were either played in Birmingham, AL or Tuscaloosa, AL... so I'm counting all of these as HOME games. The game vs USM was played in Mobile, AL so I put N for Neutral but I guess that could be considered a home game. All in all, Alabama only left their state for 3 games the entire season.
Final AP Poll:
1. Notre Dame (9-0-1)
2. Michigan State (9-0-1)
3. Alabama (11-0-0)
4. Georgia (10-1-0)
5. UCLA (9-1-0)
6. Nebraska (9-2-0)
7. Purude (9-2-0)
8. Georgia Tech (9-2-0)
9. Miami (FL) (8-2-1)
10. SMU (8-3-0)
My Conclusions:
-Michigan State vs Notre Dame was ranked #4 on the list of the ''Best 100 games in college football history". Michigan State had a 10-0 lead at half time and then Notre Dame came roaring back to tie it at 10-10 in the 4th quarter. A great quote from the article about the game sums it all up: "In the eyes of college football fans, the disappointment turned into contempt for the Irish for playing it so safe when Michigan State pulled out all the stops to try and win the game." Link to Article About Game (http://www.collegefootballnews.com/Top_100_Games/Top_100_Games_4.htm)
-Notre Dame played the toughest schedule, as they are the only team to have opponent's combine for a winning record, although maybe Michigan State's opponent's would have had a winning record too if the Spartans had been allowed to play in a bowl game, since that would have most likely added at least 8 wins to their opponent's record and only 2-3 losses, bumping it up to something like 56-52-3. Still lower than the Irish's, but a little more respectable. Either way, both are WAY better than Alabama, who's combined opponents were 10 games under .500.
-Besides playing each other, Notre Dame and Michigan State each beat Purdue, who finished #7 in the nation. Alabama defeated Nebraska, who finished #6. Against their only (if you don't count MSU/ND playing each other) top 10 opponent's, Alabama won by 27, Michigan State won by 21, and Notre Dame won by 12. However, perhaps Purdue was better than Nebraska, because Purdue's only losses came to the undefeated teams, while Nebraska lost another game, to a 6-4 Oklahoma team that got blown out, in Norman, by Notre Dame. Plus the poll came out before the bowl games, so most likely Nebraska would have been ranked below Purdue afterwards, since the final poll did not count the Husker's loss to Alabama, but it did incude both of Purdue's losses to Michigan State and Notre Dame.
-Notre Dame clearly holds the edge in points, as they outscored opponents by 324 points. Alabama outscored their opponents by 257, and Michigan State outscored their opponents by 194. All impressive, but even more so for Notre Dame since they played the toughest schedule and managed the largest margin.
-Against similar opponents, Michigan State did slightly better than Notre Dame (vs Purdue and Northwestern). Neither side played a team that Alabama faced.
-As mentioned above in the 'note'. Alabama only left the state of Alabama a total of 3 times during the season, but at least during each out of state visit they played a team who finished with a winning record (Ole Miss, Tenn, and Nebraska), although they did struggle in two of the games, winning only 17-7 and 11-10. Michigan State had 4 road games, none against teams with winning records though. Notre Dame had 5 road games, three against teams with winning records, and in two of those contests they won by 38+ points, and had shutouts too.
*Final Note: All of the stats were obtained from www.cfbdatawarehouse.com
My pick: Michigan State
Michigan State: 9-0-1
vs North Carolina State (5-5) W 28-10
vs Penn State (5-5) W 42-8
at Illinois (4-6) W 26-10
vs Michigan (6-4) W 20-7
at Ohio State (4-5) W 11-8
vs Purdue (9-2) W 41-20
at Northwestern (3-6-1) W 22-0
vs Iowa (2-8) W 56-7
at Indiana (1-8-1) W 37-19
vs Notre Dame (9-0-1) T 10-10
Opponent's Record: 48-49-3
Point Difference: 293-99 (+194)
Notre Dame: 9-0-1
vs Purdue (9-2) W 26-14
at Northwestern (3-6-1) W 35-7
vs Army (8-2) W 35-0
vs North Carolina (2-8) W 32-0
at Oklahoma (6-4) W 38-0
at Navy (4-6) W 31-7
vs Pittsburgh (1-9) W 40-0
vs Duke (5-5) W 64-0
at Michigan State (9-0-1) T 10-10
N USC (7-4) W 51-0
Opponent's Record: 54-46-2
Point Difference: 362-38 (+324)
Alabama: 11-0-0
vs Louisiana Tech (1-9) W 34-0
at Mississippi (8-3) W 17-7
vs Clemson (6-4) W 26-0
at Tennessee (8-3) W 11-10
vs Vanderbilt (1-9) W 42-6
vs Mississippi State (2-8) W 27-14
vs LSU (5-4-1) W 21-0
vs South Carolina (1-9) W 24-0
N Southern Mississippi (6-4) W 34-0
vs Auburn (4-6) W 31-0
N Nebraska (9-2) W 34-7
Opponent's Record: 51-61-1
Point Difference: 301-44 (+257)
*Note: Most of the games were either played in Birmingham, AL or Tuscaloosa, AL... so I'm counting all of these as HOME games. The game vs USM was played in Mobile, AL so I put N for Neutral but I guess that could be considered a home game. All in all, Alabama only left their state for 3 games the entire season.
Final AP Poll:
1. Notre Dame (9-0-1)
2. Michigan State (9-0-1)
3. Alabama (11-0-0)
4. Georgia (10-1-0)
5. UCLA (9-1-0)
6. Nebraska (9-2-0)
7. Purude (9-2-0)
8. Georgia Tech (9-2-0)
9. Miami (FL) (8-2-1)
10. SMU (8-3-0)
My Conclusions:
-Michigan State vs Notre Dame was ranked #4 on the list of the ''Best 100 games in college football history". Michigan State had a 10-0 lead at half time and then Notre Dame came roaring back to tie it at 10-10 in the 4th quarter. A great quote from the article about the game sums it all up: "In the eyes of college football fans, the disappointment turned into contempt for the Irish for playing it so safe when Michigan State pulled out all the stops to try and win the game." Link to Article About Game (http://www.collegefootballnews.com/Top_100_Games/Top_100_Games_4.htm)
-Notre Dame played the toughest schedule, as they are the only team to have opponent's combine for a winning record, although maybe Michigan State's opponent's would have had a winning record too if the Spartans had been allowed to play in a bowl game, since that would have most likely added at least 8 wins to their opponent's record and only 2-3 losses, bumping it up to something like 56-52-3. Still lower than the Irish's, but a little more respectable. Either way, both are WAY better than Alabama, who's combined opponents were 10 games under .500.
-Besides playing each other, Notre Dame and Michigan State each beat Purdue, who finished #7 in the nation. Alabama defeated Nebraska, who finished #6. Against their only (if you don't count MSU/ND playing each other) top 10 opponent's, Alabama won by 27, Michigan State won by 21, and Notre Dame won by 12. However, perhaps Purdue was better than Nebraska, because Purdue's only losses came to the undefeated teams, while Nebraska lost another game, to a 6-4 Oklahoma team that got blown out, in Norman, by Notre Dame. Plus the poll came out before the bowl games, so most likely Nebraska would have been ranked below Purdue afterwards, since the final poll did not count the Husker's loss to Alabama, but it did incude both of Purdue's losses to Michigan State and Notre Dame.
-Notre Dame clearly holds the edge in points, as they outscored opponents by 324 points. Alabama outscored their opponents by 257, and Michigan State outscored their opponents by 194. All impressive, but even more so for Notre Dame since they played the toughest schedule and managed the largest margin.
-Against similar opponents, Michigan State did slightly better than Notre Dame (vs Purdue and Northwestern). Neither side played a team that Alabama faced.
-As mentioned above in the 'note'. Alabama only left the state of Alabama a total of 3 times during the season, but at least during each out of state visit they played a team who finished with a winning record (Ole Miss, Tenn, and Nebraska), although they did struggle in two of the games, winning only 17-7 and 11-10. Michigan State had 4 road games, none against teams with winning records though. Notre Dame had 5 road games, three against teams with winning records, and in two of those contests they won by 38+ points, and had shutouts too.
*Final Note: All of the stats were obtained from www.cfbdatawarehouse.com
My pick: Michigan State