ESPN’s Bill Connelly makes it clear in the opening paragraph of his piece — these aren’t the best college football teams of all time. These are the most influential. Notre Dame has two of them.
Influential means spurring major innovation and/or defining eras. Influential means making an impact through greatness and cultural or social impact. Influential means making an indelible mark on the sport.
Here are Connelly’s 30 most influential college football teams of all time.
- 1968 Texas (9-1-1)
- 1924 Notre Dame (10-0)
- 1925 Alabama (10-0)
- 1986 Miami (11-1)
- 2008 Texas Tech (11-2)
- 1991 Iowa Wesleyan (10-2)
- 2019 LSU (15-0)
- 1967 Grambling (9-1)
- 1993 Florida (11-2)
- 1912 Carlisle (12-1-1)
- 1947 Notre Dame (9-0)
- 2011 Alabama (12-1)
- 1974 Oklahoma (11-0)
- 1935 TCU (12-1)
- 2007 Oregon (9-4)
- 1940 Stanford (10-0)
- 1971 Alabama (11-1)
- 1973 Tennessee State (10-0)
- 1984 BYU (13-0)
- 1999 Virginia Tech (11-1)
- 1958 LSU (11-0)
- 2006 Boise State (13-0)
- 1980 Portland State (8-3)
- 2013 Auburn (12-2)
- 1956 Oklahoma (10-0)
- 1941 Missouri (8-2)
- 1998 Tulane (11-0)
- 1906 Chicago (4-1)
- 2010 TCU (13-0)
- 1899 Sewanee (12-0)
Connelly on 1947 Notre Dame: *“Frank Leahy had his own warship model\. His 1947 Fighting Irish roster was overflowing with future pro talent at a level that would even make \[Nick\] Saban jealous\. The 1946 and 1947 Notre Dame rosters featured 43 players who would go on to play professional football — and at a time when there weren’t nearly as many professional slots available*\.”
Connelly on 1924 Notre Dame: “The year before Alabama’s big breakthrough, a team from a Catholic school in northern Indiana enjoyed something similar. Notre Dame had already been good at football before Knute Rockne arrived, but the former Amos Alonzo Stagg protege had taken the Fighting Irish to a different level. Against admittedly weak schedules, Notre Dame went a combined 45-3-1 from 1919 to 1923. But Rockne’s promotional abilities, combined with Grantland Rice’s typewriter, made everything take off in 1924.”
Notre Dame tweets of the day
Deuce Knight: Athlete.
The don’t say four for forever for nothing.
The Fighting Irish held a recruiting camp on Thursday.
Fighting Irish quote of the day
“It is harder to get better as you get older. That’s what I see from Jack Kiser right now. Just getting better playing in the box. The speed to get to the edge. The speed to cover a back or a tight end. The instincts in zone to break on the ball. I just see him getting better at so many different things.”
— Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden on linebacker Jack Kiser
Blue & Gold headlines of the day
- Why Greg McElroy said ‘Notre Dame is everyone’s No. 1’
- Budding Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic OT Blaise Thomassie hoping to add Irish offer
- How Irish OC Mike Denbrock plans to attack good defenses on Irish schedule
- Four-star DL Elijah Golden makes it back to South Bend for important visit
- What On300 TE recruit JC Anderson said about working out with Irish assistant Mike Denbrock
- Preview: Crucial official visit weekend upcoming for Irish football
- Four-star WR Dylan Robinson reveals where Irish stand in his recruitment after official visit
- Quick hitters: What Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry said at Team Camp
- Four-star WR JonAnthony Hall goes in depth on Notre Dame official visit
- Lucky Charms: What I’m hearing on Notre Dame’s midweek official visitors
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