We still have a handful of days left until the first college football game of the year, and for many schools (and alumni bases) that means they want to keep the off-season circle jerking going for as long as possible, because they don’t want anyone to be reminded of just how far their programs have fallen over the years. So let’s all revel in the glorious programs of yesteryear, and how there’s finally one rankings in which the B1G is actually well represented.
Seriously though, have B1G teams been so well represented in any rankings other than this in the past 15 to 25 years (ever?)??? I get that these numbers are obviously skewed thanks to time. The rise of the SEC has vaulted many of those programs up the rankings, SEC programs that historically have no bearing on the college football landscape but have seen a meteoric rise in the past decade or so. And as much as it F*CKING KILLS ME to say anything good at all about the University of Miami, they’ve sent 318 players to the NFL and basically all of those players have made it to the NFL since the 1980’s. The same can be said for my Florida State Seminoles who have sent 278, most of which have been sent in the past several decades, and many of which have been sent over the past 3 years, as FSU has set the all-time NCAA record for most college football players sent to the NFL over a 3 year span.
This infographic came from MakeGameDayEveryDay, which is full of sports-related infographics. So if that’s something you’re interested in then I highly suggest you click on over!
P.s., for what it’s worth, Notre Dame is tied with USC (at 12) for the most players in the NFL Hall of Fame, though the last Notre Dame player to make it was Jerome Bettis…