Oklahoma is the Best College Football Program of the Modern Era

The University of Oklahoma is clearly the best college football program in the modern/post-WWII era. The stats speak for themselves.

OU has the highest combined regular-season and post-season winning percentage in the history of NCAA Division I: .754. No other program has won more total games since the end of WWII. No other program has won more national titles since the end of WWII. I don't see how this is even debatable.

First in winning percentage, total games won, and national titles?! Better than Notre Dame, USC, Alabama, and Ohio State. Love 'em or hate 'em...the Sooners are the best college football program. Check your facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I-A_national_football_championship

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Sep 24, 2007
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Alabama is still the best
by: Mo

Thanks for your comment. You make a strong case for the Sooners. Certainly, they are right up there. But, of course, you are only looking at post-WWII numbers. Our article is "best all-time football program" not just since WWII.

Also, I have to question the over-all strength of schedule that OU historically has played. Other than Nebraska and Texas I don't see that the Sooners have had to face the quality of opponents that Bama has over the years (i.e. Auburn, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, etc).

But, hey, OU has a great football tradition and a great football program. Your point is well taken.

Sep 15, 2008
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oklahoma
by: Anonymous

if your going by all time best teams how come you havent talked about yale or princeton? they won the first like 15 national championships so you would obviously have to start at WWII for the the best teams, which oklahoma is the best

Mar 25, 2009
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The best in the modern era?
by: tarponfan

I agree, Oklahoma has an outstanding program. There has to be a reason that they go to the national championship so much. But to say that they are the best? The Gators could give you a good argument on that winning two of the last three. With my LSU Tigers sandwiched in between. The Sooners need to win a championship before they can lay any claim to being the best. As long as they not facing an SEC team when they do, they might have a chance. LOL. Laughing with ya not at ya.

May 08, 2009
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you have to tell the whole story
by: Anonymous

Oklahoma has played in 1140 games in its great history having won 791 of those games. It's not like Oklahoma has played 200 less games than everyone else. Alabama has played more games in its history than Oklahoma, but its only an 18 game difference. Notre Dame has played more games in its history but difference is less than 20. You can't pick and choose what part of history you want to remember.

Jun 04, 2009
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Talking about modern era
by: OUSooners75

I do not think they are choosing which era to remember in this article. I think they are throwing that out.

Before WWII the NCAA was not as organized as it is now. For example, many teams, from Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Alabama, USC, etc, all have played high school teams, football clubs of a town or organization. They all played teams that are not even existent today. They also played teams that are in the NAIA.

As a Sooner fanatic, OU has been the best since 1950. The winningest team and tied with the most national championships. Not to mention 2 of the top 5 longest winning streaks, including the longest.

You can talk about Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, or whomever you wish. They all have been good and good for a very long time now. And they all are very deserving of discussion.

However, you cannot even start to mention teams like LSU, Florida, Florida State among these teams...even if talking about all time.

Aug 09, 2009
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boomer sooner
by: Anonymous

you would think judging by these comments that college football started in 1990...

hey guys i got news for y'all: florida and lsu are what some might call "new money"... ou has been around the block a few more times than both programs. i'm not saying they aren't great right now, just that ou has been CONSISTENTLY great for decades.

ou will be in the hunt as always, and they dont need an 8th national championship to prove themselves to the likes of lsu and florida ;)

Aug 10, 2009
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Oklahoma best program?
by: Anonymous

There are two valid reasons why you must look at the "modern era" of college football to determine the best program and not include teams prior to WWII.

First, the forward pass was not allowed until the late 30's. Football was a different game then - much more similar to English rugby, from where it came.

Second, Princeton and Yale dominated football prior to WWII, each with multiple (more than 10) National Championships. So, any discussion of all time best program must include them, and I don't think anyone would agree that is the case.

So, Oklahoma is the best program, and with a National Championship in 2009, there will simply be no argument. A Florida win would certainly cement them as the team of the decade and the best program currently.

Nov 28, 2009
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I would give it to OU also
by: Anonymous

I'm a SEC fan, and can't stand the Sooners, but I agree that they're the best in the modern era. When you get right down to it, every team mentioned in this discussion has received more credit than they deserved, but OU's accomplishments are probably less debatable than any of the others.

I'll also mention that I'm not convinced that the SEC has always been the best conference, and even if I'm wrong, it's dominance was never as great as it is today. I mention this because I don't think it's fair to say that Alabama is better because it played in the SEC, because I think it would be pretty difficult to claim that the SEC has been the best conference throughout the majority of college football history.

Sep 03, 2013
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Quality of teams played
by: Sooner Guns

The quality of teams played by any team vary from year to year. Alabama etc... has played weak quality of schedules/teams just like everyone else. The facts speak for themselves. Sooners are the best! End of discussion.

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