The Mind of Mike is a crazy place. But you already knew that.
It’s odd sometimes the way I think, but for some reason, I wondered who the top teams were heading into the new century and what the state of the program is now. That period of time has been on my mind lately. I’m going to look back at the top five teams in the year 2000 and figure out just what happened.
1. Florida State
— The ‘Noles beat Michael Vick to win it all at the turn of the century and were one of the most dominant programs in college football history. Since then it’s been consistent, then down, then up with another natty with Jimbo Fisher, and then a disaster. But Mike Norvell has them back near the top of the ACC and possibly the country next season.
2. Virginia Tech
— Ugh. The Michael Vick era was the pinnacle for the Hokies under Frank Beamer but the remained a dominant program for a long time into the 2000s. Then Beamer retired and Justin Fuente dragged things down. Now Brent Pry is off to a horrible start as they are one of the worst teams in the country.
3. Nebraska
— Ahhh the power says were winding down and we didn’t even know it. That Nebraska team was nasty as usual and Frank Solich had things rolling nicely until AD Steve Pederson ruined it all. Bo Pelini was solid but after him, it’s been awful and Scott Frost was an utter disaster. There is hope however with Matt Rhule but this program is a far cry from the old days.
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4. Wisconsin
— Barry Alvarez had things rolling and Ron Dayne couldn’t be stopped. The Badgers have been very solid since and a consistent winner in the Big Ten but haven’t reached these same heights. There is hope for the next step however with a new offense under Luke Fickell.
5. Michigan
— Tom Brady was the QB and Lloyd Carr was the head coach and things were going well. With Jim Harbaugh turning the corner now they are as strong as they were at the turn of the century.
