College Football Programs Tiers in 2020

Yesterday I called UCF the “Alabama of the group of 5”, and I’ve said that many times in the past, it’s something I whole heartedly believe…They don’t have the history and the heritage of Bama, certainly, but they are recruiting talent…at their level…that just looks different than everybody else in the group of 5. It raises the standard, and it raises the expectation among its fans. I think that’s all a good thing…of course you have to back that up on the field…but, we won’t get back into that right now…I want to talk about CFB Tiers.

This is something I started pondering on Saturday as I was kicking back and watching CFB. How do we separate the average from the good, the good to the great, the great to the elite? I’ve got it…

I’ve got 4 tiers of CFB…Tier 1) Super elite, this means you recruit well every year, you pump talent into the NFL, and your basically a lock for the CFB Playoff. When you lose, it makes no sense. Tier 2) Elite: 5-stars all over the place, top flight facilities, huge fan base, periennial contender in your conference. Tier 3) Sub-elite: All the marking of tier 2, but, you just never seem to get over the hump. Usually tier 3 thinks they’re a tier higher. Slight delusion setting in. Tier 4) Up-and-comers: These are the programs that aren’t there yet now, but, if you were buying stock, this is who you invest in. 10 years from now, they will likely be in tiers 1-3.

Tier 1) Super-elite

Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State

Tier 2) Elite

Georgia, OU, Notre Dame, LSU

Tier 3) Sub-elite

Florida, Auburn, USC, Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Texas

Tier 4) Up-and-comers (or on the comeback)

UCF, Miami, FSU, Washington, Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Iowa, Iowa State

Tier 1 and 2 are locked, but tiers 3 and 4 are certainly up for debate, perhaps some programs left out. But, in my opinion, these are the key players in those tiers.

@ me: @BrandonKravitz

Florida State v Clemson

photo: getty images


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