The Top 25 Recruiting Programs, per Rivals, 2007-2010
This is based off of the enrolled rankings for 2007-2009 and the rankings for this year's group as of this evening. What I've done is to just calculate the "raw number". For example, Florida finished 1st, 3rd, 8th, and 1st, giving them a raw number of 13. So this obviously doesn't take into account things like balance, transfers, departures for the NFL, etc. But it gives a decent overview of which teams have had the most consistent success....on paper:
1. FLORIDA (13)
2. USC (22)
3. ALABAMA (23)
4. LSU (23)
5. TEXAS (26)
6. OKLAHOMA (34)
7. GEORGIA (36)
8. NOTRE DAME (40)
9. MICHIGAN (44)
10. OHIO ST (47)
11. FLORIDA ST (55)
12. TENNESSEE (62)
13. MIAMI (63)
14. AUBURN (70)
15. SOUTH CAROLINA (73)
16. UCLA (76)
17. OREGON (78)
18. CLEMSON (81)
19. NEBRASKA (85)
20. TEXAS A&M (94)
21. VIRGINIA TECH (97)
22. PENN ST (100)
23. CALIFORNIA (102)
24. NORTH CAROLINA (104)
25. OKLAHOMA ST (112)
Chicken or Egg?
by LaFortune Teller 
, South Bend, Thursday, February 04, 2010, 13:49 (5971 days ago) @ FunkDoctorSpock
I have posted the "Elite 21" college football programs list here before. It represents all of the 21 different college football teams that have achieved at least one 5-year period of excellence in the last 25 years that could roughly be considered "Elite", or top-5.
All but one Elite-21 team appears in the top-25 recruiting list posted by FunkDoctorSpock - Washington. 20 of the top 22 spots in FDS's list are Elite-21 teams. The exceptions are #15 South Carolina and #20 Texas A&M.
This is no coincidence. But it isn't proof of recent success breeding recruiting success either, since at least a handful of Elite-21 programs haven't been Elite recently (us, for example). Likewise, it isn't as though this will be definitive list of the top-25 teams for the next few years, either.
So my questions are if there is a relationship between recruiting success and a 25-year (or more) period of program success...
1. Are recruits flocking to Elite programs because of their program status (moreso than their recent place in college football hierarchy)
2. Do the ratings services inherently favor the Elite-21 programs in their rating of recruits?
3. Is there something else going on here?
Transitional as this ND class may be...
by PMan , The Banks of the Spokane River, Wednesday, February 03, 2010, 17:51 (5971 days ago) @ FunkDoctorSpock
It still ranks higher than all of the 2010 opponents, according to Rivals, except Southern Cal.
Michigan at 20
Stanford at 27
MSU at 29
and Pitt at 33 are the closest.