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 Hundred wins war Powerhouses gunning for rare 100-victory decade
Posted: Thursday August 12, 1999 11:26 PM
By Ryan Hunt, CNN/SI Florida State, Nebraska, Florida and Tennessee all can make a case for being college football's "Team of the Decade" in the '90s. The schools have combined to win six of the decade's national championships, 20 conference titles and 22 bowl games. However, each has a chance to do something only four other Division-I teams in the history of college football have accomplished. The Seminoles, Cornhuskers and Gators all should reach 100 wins in the '90s before November, barring a complete collapse. The defending national champion Volunteers can become the fourth '90s team to 100 with another 10-win season.
Penn State is the only other team with a shot, if the Nittany Lions win all of 13 of their games. It will be Nebraska's second consecutive 100-win decade. Only Brigham Young ('80s), Alabama ('70s) and Oklahoma ('70s) have reached triple digits in the win column. Marshall also has 101 wins this decade, but the Thundering Herd didn't join Division I-A until 1997.
Granted, reaching 100 wins these days is easier with the advent of conference championships and umpteen bowl games. For example, Oklahoma won 93 games in the '50s. But the Sooners played only 105 games the entire decade. Entering 1999, Nebraska already has played 112. The Sooners' .895 winning percentage from 1950-59 is the highest of any decade. Oklahoma won three national titles in that 10-year span. Florida State, which only has the 1993 title to its credit, has the highest win percentage of the '90s at .878.
Even with a 12-0 season, the highest the Seminoles can reach is .883. However, the 'Noles can have a 10-2 season and still own the second-highest winning percentage in the last six decades. In fact, five teams have a shot at .800 winning percentages this decade. The only decade with more teams playing better than .800 ball was the 1970s, when eight teams (Oklahoma, Alabama, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn St., Ohio St., Notre Dame and Southern Cal) did it. In the '80s, only Nebraska and Miami won 80 percent of their games. Which team is anointed the "Team of the Decade" remains to be seen. But the '90s itself has been one of the best in history.
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