I mentioned this in a post the other day, that this "we rule college football" maxim is cyclical. The SEC is having their day right now, but that wave will inevitably subside. The reason that they're doing everything they can to essentially destroy the modern regional college football setup is because they are trying to break the wheel. But, it wasn't all that long ago that Eastern Independent football was what the SEC is now.
First, you have Pitt's national championship in 1976, Penn State won it all in '82 and '86, and Miami won it in '83, '87, '89, and '91. There were near misses with Pitt finishing #2 in 1980, Pitt and Penn State spending multiple weeks ranked #1 in 1981, WVU's national title berth in 1988, Syracuse's undefeated season in 1987 and many more top ten finishes by teams like Pitt, Penn State, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, Syracuse, and then Virginia Tech caught fire later in the decade and into the 1990s and beyond.
But, in terms of thinking the SEC or Big Ten have always been historically the "Kings of College Football", which there seems to be a media push to make fans everywhere believe, it's just not at all accurate. Here are some scores which prove that point - just cherry-picking BC & Pitt:
BC:
1981: Boston College 13 Texas A&M 12 (at BC) (WVU would defeat BC 38-10 this season)
1982: Boston College 38 Texas A&M 16 (at College Station, TX) (WVU would defeat BC 20-13 that season)
1983: #19 Boston College 20 #13 Alabama 13 (at BC) (WVU would defeat BC 27-17 in Chestnut Hill that season)
1984: #18 Boston College 38 #9 Alabama 31 (in Birmingham) (WVU would defeat BC 21-20 in Morgantown)
1986: Boston College 27 #17 Georgia 24 (Hall of Fame Bowl)
1987: Boston College 20 #13 Tennessee 18 (at BC) (WVU would defeat BC 37-16 in Chestnut Hill that year)
1992: Boston College 49 Northwestern 0 (at BC) (WVU and BC would tie 24-24 this season)
Boston College 14 Michigan State 0 (at BC)
1993: #22 Boston College 41 #1 Notre Dame 39 (WVU would defeat BC 17-14)
1999: Boston College 31 Notre Dame 29
PITT:
1980: #12 Pitt 30 Tennessee 6 (in Knoxville)
#3 Pitt 37 #18 South Carolina 9 (Gator Bowl)
1981: #9 Pitt 26 Illinois 6 (at Pitt)
#4 Pitt 42 South Carolina 28 (in Columbia)
#10 Pitt 24 #2 Georgia 20 (Sugar Bowl)
1982: #3 Pitt 20 #19 Illinios 3 (at Champaign, IL)
1983: Pitt 13 Tennesseee 3 (in Knoxville) (WVU would defeat Pitt 24-21 in Morgantown)
Pitt 21 #13 Notre Dame 16 (in South Bend)
1985: Pitt 31 Purdue 30 (at Purdue) (WVU and Pitt would tie 10-10 this season)
Pitt 42 South Carolina 7 (at Pitt)
1986: Pitt 41 Purdue 26 (at Purdue)
Pitt 10 Notre Dame 9 (in South Bend)
1987: Pitt 30 Notre Dame 22 (at Pitt)
1988: Pitt 42 #18 Ohio State 10 (in Columbus) (WVU would beat Pitt 31-10 at Pitt one week later)
1989: #23 Pitt 31 #16 Texas A&M 28 (Sun Bowl)
First, you have Pitt's national championship in 1976, Penn State won it all in '82 and '86, and Miami won it in '83, '87, '89, and '91. There were near misses with Pitt finishing #2 in 1980, Pitt and Penn State spending multiple weeks ranked #1 in 1981, WVU's national title berth in 1988, Syracuse's undefeated season in 1987 and many more top ten finishes by teams like Pitt, Penn State, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, Syracuse, and then Virginia Tech caught fire later in the decade and into the 1990s and beyond.
But, in terms of thinking the SEC or Big Ten have always been historically the "Kings of College Football", which there seems to be a media push to make fans everywhere believe, it's just not at all accurate. Here are some scores which prove that point - just cherry-picking BC & Pitt:
BC:
1981: Boston College 13 Texas A&M 12 (at BC) (WVU would defeat BC 38-10 this season)
1982: Boston College 38 Texas A&M 16 (at College Station, TX) (WVU would defeat BC 20-13 that season)
1983: #19 Boston College 20 #13 Alabama 13 (at BC) (WVU would defeat BC 27-17 in Chestnut Hill that season)
1984: #18 Boston College 38 #9 Alabama 31 (in Birmingham) (WVU would defeat BC 21-20 in Morgantown)
1986: Boston College 27 #17 Georgia 24 (Hall of Fame Bowl)
1987: Boston College 20 #13 Tennessee 18 (at BC) (WVU would defeat BC 37-16 in Chestnut Hill that year)
1992: Boston College 49 Northwestern 0 (at BC) (WVU and BC would tie 24-24 this season)
Boston College 14 Michigan State 0 (at BC)
1993: #22 Boston College 41 #1 Notre Dame 39 (WVU would defeat BC 17-14)
1999: Boston College 31 Notre Dame 29
PITT:
1980: #12 Pitt 30 Tennessee 6 (in Knoxville)
#3 Pitt 37 #18 South Carolina 9 (Gator Bowl)
1981: #9 Pitt 26 Illinois 6 (at Pitt)
#4 Pitt 42 South Carolina 28 (in Columbia)
#10 Pitt 24 #2 Georgia 20 (Sugar Bowl)
1982: #3 Pitt 20 #19 Illinios 3 (at Champaign, IL)
1983: Pitt 13 Tennesseee 3 (in Knoxville) (WVU would defeat Pitt 24-21 in Morgantown)
Pitt 21 #13 Notre Dame 16 (in South Bend)
1985: Pitt 31 Purdue 30 (at Purdue) (WVU and Pitt would tie 10-10 this season)
Pitt 42 South Carolina 7 (at Pitt)
1986: Pitt 41 Purdue 26 (at Purdue)
Pitt 10 Notre Dame 9 (in South Bend)
1987: Pitt 30 Notre Dame 22 (at Pitt)
1988: Pitt 42 #18 Ohio State 10 (in Columbus) (WVU would beat Pitt 31-10 at Pitt one week later)
1989: #23 Pitt 31 #16 Texas A&M 28 (Sun Bowl)
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