After going through the Blue Blood thread....

I was able to decipher some very good points and my take is as followed:

Is Oklahoma a Blue Blood? Why of course they are. But they are a more of a Blue Balls Blue Blood right now. They are consistently a top 10 team, win conference championships, have players consistently chasing for the top award in college football, and are in an elite class chasing that coveted College Football Playoff spot. The problem is there inability to climax, to release that excitement that one ultimately strives for....winning a damn championship! They have all the ingredients in play but when it is time to gain that notoriety they pre-climax and we are all left wondering "what if?"

Blue Balls Blue Blood: an established program historically that is currently living up to what made them the name they are today but cannot currently cash in to add to that pinnacle legacy: 1-7 in CFP/NC games since winning their 7th national title in 2000.


Michigan can be referred to as a Blue Blood and not as a Blue Blood. They have the all time wins lead but they started much eaerlier than most, and many seasons they played over 10 games a season where most played fewer.

Much of UM's championship success was retroactive starting at the beginning of the 1900s. Perhaps their most respected, best coach was BO who racked up a lot of wins but usually bit the dust in bowl season.

from 1969-1989 under Schembechler, UM never won the national championship. Sure, they have had a few teams that were NC worthy, but to no avail. BO was so hard for getting his program to the Rose Bowl, but not so hard up in winning it. A 2-8 Rose Bowl Game record pretty much defines the overrated history of the Wolverines.

From 1970-1974 Michigan was 50-0-0 NOT counting the last game of each season. That's impressive right there. Unfortunately, other than being the conference champion, that was it. The last game of each of those five seasons resulted in an 0-4-1 record. That is how cursed and unluckly Michigan football is, and that is how they are today.

Michigan is a questionable Blue Blood.


Nebraska WAS a Blue Blood through the 2001 season. After their 2001 BCS national championship defeat, they quickly dissolved as a power. They have not won a conference title since the Big XII in 1999 and is 0-4 in conference title games since. If they were doing what Oklahoma has done consistently under Stoops and now Riley, they would still be a very much established Blue Blood.

Penn State had undefeated seasons in 1968, 1969, 1973, 1994 that resulted in ZERO National Championships. Ironically, their first national title in 1982 endured a loss in the season to Alabama. Their 1986 national title was the result of an undefeated season and largely thanks to Miami turning the ball over in the Fiesta Bowl way too many times. Nittany has done some decent work in the BCS era now into the CFP era. They have always been a borderline Blue Blood.

Texas has never started a season AP #1 since the preseason poll began in 1950. They have enjoyed a lot of success with national championships in 1963, 1969, and a share with Nebraska in 1970. They also played for two in 1977 and 1983. They have enjoyed a great deal of success since 2000 and if it wasn't for sharing a division and conference with Oklahoma, who knows what more they could accomplished. Thank goodness for that 2005 national championship or they wouldn't even be borderline Blue Blood, which is where they stand right now.

Notre Dame has enjoyed a lot of special treatment over the years not having to play more games than what they have allowed themselves to play and not playing in bowls until the 1970s. Notre Dame is a Blue Blood without a doubt, but not necessarily based on their championship resume which hasn't produced a #1 finish since 1988; but simply based on their iconic name in the realm of football, their popularity, and the fact they will always be relevant. It is a nice bonus that in the last ten years they have played for a national championship and have made the CFP.

Alabama is the only ULTIMATE BLUE BLOOD. They don't need any explanations.

LSU truly defines the makings of a modern era Blue Blood. National Championships in 2003 and 2007; very much worthy in 2011 despite the loss to Alabama in the title game; and the reigning 2019 national champions with the best Heisman winner of all time and the only team to capture a 15-0 record in the SEC (second in major college football in the modern era). LSU has 4 national championships which is second best in the SEC. There is no telling where they go from here but as of now they are Borderline Blue Blood.

Through the 2001 season, Tennessee was a Borderline Blue Blood. They were very much a championship caliber team that year. 2007 is when they officially went bankrupt and have yet to show any kind of resurgence since.

Georgia is not even Borderline but they are close. They have missed out on a lot of opportunities. They are the only team from the SEC in the BCS/CFP era to win an SEC title and not win a national title. They will always have 1980. Had they won in 1982 and 2017 they would easily be an established Borderline Blue Blood.

Southern California is an established Blue Blood currently in a funk.

Ohio State needs no explanation as an established Blue Blood.

Clemson is doing well to put themselves into Borderline Blue Blood status.

Florida is Borderline Blue Blood. They had a lot of success in the 1980s, made themselves known in the 90s and 2000s, and have done decent the last decade.

Miami was a surging Blue Blood from 1983-2002. They went from not being one to being one to now not being one.

Minnesota in 2019 resurrected a time to when they were considered among the nations most elite programs. Pre-AP titles in 1934 and 1935 to winning the first AP title in 1936, following up with back-to-back AP titles in 1940-41 before capping off their 6th and most recent title in 1960. The Gophers have a long ways to go to even be considered a Blue Blood nowadays.

Much like Michigan, Pittsburgh really loves to inflate their history. They claim NINE national championships. In reality, they have 1937 and 1976 with some opportunities in the 1980s. Other than that, they can brag about sharing a city with the Steelers.

Ultimate Blue Bloods:
- Alabama

Blue Bloods:
- Notre Dame
- Southern California
- Ohio State
- Oklahoma

Borderline Blue Bloods:
- Penn State
- Florida
- Louisiana State
- Florida State
- Texas

Former Blue Blood Status with an Identity Crisis:
- Tennessee
- Michigan
- Miami
- Nebraska
- Minnesota (Special Invite)

Awaiting Borderline Status:
- Georgia
- Clemson
- Auburn
- Washington
- Michigan State

Programs That Have Done Work But Are Looking For Any Kind of Established Identity That Will Move Them Upward:

1. Oregon
2. Wisconsin
3. Stanford
4. Texas A&M*
5. Virginia Tech
6. Pittsburgh*
7. Georgia Tech*
8. UCLA*
9. Colorado*
10. Texas Christian*
11. Brigham Young*
12. Arkansas
13. Utah
14. West Virginia
15. Kansas State
16. Syracuse*
17. Arizona State
18. Oklahoma State
19. Iowa
20. Maryland*
21. Mississippi
22. Baylor
23. Missouri
24. Louisville
25. Boise State

* denotes an AP and/or UPI title won

Exempt:
- Army*
- Navy