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5 Power Five Football Teams That Should be Mid-Majors
Conference realignment has left a lot of solid schools behind. Meanwhile some schools have gotten lucky to stay in power five conferences. A few don’t belong.
Last week, the Big 12 decided not to expand and stay at it’s current 10 school allotment, leaving some decent and solid football programs behind even longer. Houston, Cincinnati and BYU are left to continue to try make due with what they have.
Conference realignment decimated the sport. From the collapse of the Big East to the extreme weakening of the Big 12 to rivalry games being ruined from schools like Maryland and Nebraska jumping ship.
Some schools like Utah and TCU got lucky and got the call to the big time from the mid-major scene. Some schools like Rutgers somehow got picked to move up to the Big 10 for all the wrong reasons.
Some schools got grandfathered into their big conferences and got to stay. Schools like Purdue, Iowa State, Wake Forest who don’t move the needle, but can’t be kicked out, got to stay.
Athletic programs from great schools like Houston, Cincy, Memphis and even UConn are left behind and forced to try to make something out of this.
In a fantasy world, from a strictly college football perspective, what if we could kick out five schools that didn’t belong with the big boys? Who would they be?
Here’s who I think should step aside for some of the more worthy teams.
Oct 15, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers quarterback David Blough (11) runs with the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
5. Purdue/Illinois
Take your pick here between these two lowly Big 10 football programs.
Purdue hasn’t been above .500 since they won 7 games in 2011 and before that it was 2007. Since 2013 they have gone 1-11, 3-9, 2-10 and so far 3-4 this season. In their 125-year school history they have only finished the season ranked 17 times.
For Illinois, since going 9-4 and having a surprise Rose Bowl trip in 2007, they’ve only reached 7 wins twice. In their 125-year history, they’ve only finished being ranked 13 times. They haven’t had a week in the Top 25 since 2011. They are just there in the bottom of the Big 10 every season.
In a head to head match up with Cincy this season, Purdue got blown out 38-20. Illinois lost to MAC school Western Michigan 34-10 this season.
You can’t even make an argument for their value money wise. Illinois doesn’t move the needle in Chicago. That is not their town. Even Northwestern has way more of stranglehold there than them. Purdue is behind Notre Dame and Indiana as the top school to watch in Indiana.
In the Big 10 before realignment began, these two schools were the lucky ones.
Oct 8, 2016; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and umbrella logo on the wall in the end zone during the game against the Syracuse Orange at BB&T Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
4. Wake Forest
Having a decent start to 2016 at 5-2, Wake Forest surely doesn’t belong in big time college football when you look at their historical picture.
Their last above .500 season was in 2008. They had that nice random 11-win season in 2007 that saw them in the Orange Bowl, but other than that, there is really nothing there for the Demon Deacons.
In 109 seasons their cumulative record is 430-640-31. That’s over 200 games below .500. How is that program able to stay with the big boys and get their money share when some more deserving teams are left in the AAC or elsewhere?
In their history they’ve only finished ranked in the Top 25 four times. They’ve been ranked for 42 weeks in 109 seasons! They only made the preseason rankings once.
There is nothing there of substance in the history of this program. They’re just an easy win for Florida State and Clemson. That 2007 season continues to define logic and drive me crazy. No idea how that happened.
Oct 22, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston College offensive lineman Jon Baker (77) sits alone on the bench during the final seconds of Syracuse
3. Boston College
Boston College got lucky and bailed for ACC from the Big East before the major shakedowns happened. The ACC wanted them because, you know, so many people in Boston love to watch Boston College football. Big viewership there. Almost as important as the Patriots.
Anyway, to some stats. In 82 seasons, they’ve finished ranked just 14 times, 140 weeks total and just four preseason rankings. Again, not a stellar history for the program. In the early 2000’s I’ll give them credit for the Big East days. They were solid back then with some eight and nine-win seasons. When they jumped to the ACC in 2005 they started with nine, 10 and 11 win seasons but that was with Matt Ryan.
Since then, their high water mark is seven wins and they continue to set offensive football back 100 years. They are more like an AAC program. They’re a step below major college football. They don’t belong with the big guys.
If you know anything about football then you should agree.
Oct 15, 2016; Waco, TX, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach David Beaty on the sidelines with wide receiver LaQuvionte Gonzalez (1) during the second half against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium. Baylor won 49-7. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
2. Kansas
Remember, this is strictly about football. Basketball wise there is no doubting Kansas’s impact on the landscape. However, football wise, that’s a whole different can of worms.
They stink.
In 116 years they are below .500 at 522-593-54. They’ve finished being ranked just seven times for 109 total weeks and have only been ranked preseason six times.
Their last season where they won at least five games (which is still below .500) was 2009. Since then they have totals of three, two, one, three, three and zero. Yes, they won no games last season. They don’t look much better this season either.
2007 was their unicorn season, as they finished 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl. That still sticks out as one of the most random seasons in college football history. 2008 brought another solid seasons with 8 wins and a bowl appearance. They haven’t made one since.
They are a true cupcake in the Big 12 and they don’t seem to be getting any better anytime soon. Too bad there isn’t away to keep them in for basketball but kick them out for football for Boise State or Houston or something.
Oct 8, 2016; Piscataway, NJ, USA; The Rutgers Scarlet Knight stands next to the National Championship coaches trophy at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
1. Rutgers
You can argue that Kansas should be ahead of Rutgers on this list, but with how Rutgers got into the Big 10 and the results they’ve had since, they take the top crown.
Rutgers was added to the Big 10 because they supposedly bring the NYC market. No one in the NYC area cares about Rutgers. I live in the area, this is fact. The region is a pro football area anyway. College football isn’t a thing in the NY/NJ/CT area. That being said, although football isn’t their strong suit either, UConn even brings more than Rutgers. UConn has a TV deal with SNY, not Rutgers.
To the field, since the jump to the big boy leagues, Rutgers has gone 8-5 in their first season then 4-8 and so far 2-6 this season. The eye tests have shown they just do not belong. Look at this season. Yes it was Ohio State and Michigan, but they shouldn’t lose 58-0 and 78-0. They are supposed to be a Power Five school! Not some FCS program.
Historically Rutgers has only finished ranked just four times and have been ranked for a total of just 38 weeks 102 seasons. Not very good.
The Big 10 botched this one. All they added was lousy bottom feeder that brings the quality of their product down a notch.
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