Ranking college football’s most influential teams … ever: Vick’s Hokies make the first half of our list
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Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff Writer
We all have our own opinions regarding the best college football teams of all time. Maybe you’re a 2001 Miami person. Maybe you prefer 2005 Texas or 1995 Nebraska, or maybe you’d rather go with another Nebraska vintage, the 1971 version. Maybe you’re like Beano Cook, forever spreading the gospel of 1947 Notre Dame. Maybe you were hypnotized by the coolness of Joe Burreaux and 2019 LSU. Maybe you think the best of the Nick Saban Alabama teams — 2011? 2012? 2020? — deserves the honors. Maybe you’re like me, a 1945 Army hipster.
The greatest teams don’t always make the greatest impact on the sport, however. For more than a century, college football’s evolution has been driven by teams both big and small and by coaches both massively and only moderately successful.
This list is an attempt to celebrate the influencers — both the Nick Sabans and the Mouse Davises, both the LSUs and the Gramblings. It is a list of the 30 most influential teams in college football history. (We’ll talk about the first 15 today and the next 15 tomorrow.) You can make this list in a lot of different ways. Maybe you spurred major innovation. Maybe your team came to define the peak of a certain era. Maybe you made an impact both through greatness and cultural or social impact. Maybe you were just cool as hell. Regardless, here are 30 teams that made a particularly indelible mark on the sport.
Head coach: Billy Suter
Record: 12-0
I can’t tell you what kind of tactical brilliance Billy Suter unfurled, and I can’t tell you what made captain and future College Football Hall of Famer Ditty Seibels so special. But I (and a million other college football fans) can tell you this: Over the course of six days and 2,500 miles of train rides in November, Suter’s iron men played Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, LSU and Ole Miss. They won those five games by a combined 91-0. A few days after returning home, they crushed Cumberland 71-0.
If we are still talking about your feat 125 years later, you probably did something special.
29. 2010 TCU
Head coach: Gary Patterson
Record: 13-0
The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs has heated up, and the end of many series is approaching. How many teams will move on with clinching games Wednesday night?
There are two potential elimination games on the docket. First up is Montreal Canadiens–Washington Capitals (7 p.m., ESPN), with Alex Ovechkin & Co. on the verge of sealing the deal over the Habs.
Staggered just 30 minutes later is the possible final game of the 2025 edition of the Battle of Florida (7:30 p.m., ESPN2). Will the Florida Panthers get win No. 4, or can the Tampa Bay Lightning draw the series to 3-2?
Finally, the St. Louis Blues visit the Winnipeg Jets (9:30 p.m., ESPN) in a series that sits at 2-2 following the first four, including major intrigue as leading Vezina Trophy candidate Connor Hellebuyck continues to struggle in goal.
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, recaps of what went down in Monday’s games, and the Three Stars of Monday Night from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals
Game 5 (WSH leads 3-1) | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN
Historically, teams that have a 3-1 series lead have gone on to win the series 90.8% of the time in Stanley Cup playoff history. The Capitals’ record in that scenario is 8-5, which is 62%.
Cole Caufield is taking many shots. His 21 shots on goal are the second most in the playoffs (trailing Nathan MacKinnon, with 31), and he has had 11 shot attempts blocked, which is tied for second most in the playoffs, behind Jack Eichel.
Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson is the sixth first-year blueliner in playoff history to record at least five assists in his first postseason series, joining Ray Bourque (1980), Janne Niinimaa (1997), Erik Karlsson (2010), Marc-Andre Gragnani (2011) and Quinn Hughes (2020).
Alex Ovechkin has scored the most goals in NHL regular-season history, and he is 13th on the all-time playoff list with 75. His next will tie Mario Lemieux for 12th.
Anthony Beauvillier is the first player in Capitals history to record an assist in each of his first four playoff games with the club, and the fourth with at least one point, following Dave Christian (five GP in 1984), Adam Oates (four GP in 1998) and Mike Knuble (five GP in 2010).
Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 5 (FLA leads 3-1) | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2
In the 2025 playoffs, home teams have a 23-10 record. That script has flipped in the Battle of Florida series as the road team has won three of four games.
The Panthers are 5-0 all time when leading a playoff series 3-1, closing out three of the previous series in Game 5. The Lightning are 1-5 all-time in a best-of-seven series when trailing 1-3.
Lightning forward Jake Guentzel is tied with Brad Marchand for the fourth most playoff goals since 2017 (40), behind Nathan MacKinnon (51), Leon Draisaitl (44) and Brayden Point (44).
Andrei Vasilevskiy has been doing his part: He allowed five goals combined in Games 2-4 (.936 save percentage) after allowing six goals in Game 1 (.647).
Matthew Tkachuk is tied with Nate Schmidt for the Panthers’ goal-scoring lead this series (three), and has 20 in 48 career playoff games with Florida; that is third most in franchise history, behind Sam Reinhart (22 in 59) and Carter Verhaeghe (27 in 65).
With each game and win, Sergei Bobrovsky adds to his lead in each category since the start of the 2023 playoffs (47 games played, 31 wins).
St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets
Game 5 (series tied 2-2) | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck has encountered another postseason rough patch. He allowed 11 goals combined in the past two games, and has now allowed four-plus goals in 10 of 14 starts the past three postseasons. That is a 71% rate, and his regular-season rate for that same stat is 17% in the same three-season span.
After starting the series hot — with five points in the first two games, both wins for the Jets — Mark Scheifele has been pointless in the two losses in Games 3 and 4. Kyle Connor has been just slightly better, with four points in the first two and just one goal in the ensuing two.
Although the Jets outshot the Blues 31-23, Jordan Binnington was up to the task in Game 4, stopping all but one. Overall this postseason, Binnington has a .907 save percentage and 2.29 goals-against average. In the Blues’ Stanley Cup run in 2019, he finished with a .914 save percentage and 2.46 goals-against average.
In-season trade addition Cam Fowler is playing in his first postseason since 2017, and he’s making up for lost time, leading the Blues with eight points (one goal, seven assists) through four games. Fowler’s career-high postseason point total was 10 in 16 games in the 2015 playoffs.
Arda’s three stars from Tuesday night
Ullmark recorded his first career playoff shutout, becoming the second goalie in Senators franchise history (with Craig Anderson) to secure a shutout in a potential elimination game.
Two goals, including the overtime winner, to cap a three-point night to send the Hurricanes to the second round with a 5-4 win. The Canes scored three goals in four minutes in the second to tie the game after going down 3-0 early. This was Aho’s 10th career postseason power-play goal, which ties Eric Staal for the franchise record.
Tkachuk and Stutzle are the first Senators teammates to have three points when facing elimination in franchise history. They’ll get another chance at it Thursday at home.
Tuesday’s scores
Ottawa Senators 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 0
TOR leads 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday
Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark faced questions heading into this postseason, as his playoff career performances had not been up to par with his regular-season success. On this night at least, he was stellar. Ullmark stopped all 29 shots the Maple Leafs directed at him, and the Senators got goals from Thomas Chabot and Dylan Cozens, with empty-netters by Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk capping the evening. Full recap.
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Dylan Cozens doubles lead for Senators in Game 5
Dylan Cozens’ goal in the third period gives the Senators some breathing room in Game 5 vs. the Maple Leafs.
Carolina Hurricanes 5, New Jersey Devils 4 (2OT)
CAR wins 4-1, plays winner of WSH-MTL
It was a wild one Tuesday night in Raleigh, with eight goals between the two teams through two periods. The goalies shut it down for 40 minutes thereafter, with the teams going scoreless in the third period and first overtime. It wasn’t until 4:17 of the second OT when Sebastian Aho scored the game- and series-winning goal. Full recap.
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Sebastian Aho slots in a goal for Hurricanes
Sebastian Aho answers with the Hurricanes’ fourth goal of the second period to tie the game 4-4 vs. the Devils.
Vegas Golden Knights 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (OT)
VGK leads 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday
The teams traded a pair of goals early on the same Minnesota power play — William Karlsson scoring short-handed and Kirill Kaprizov notching the power-play tally — and Mark Stone capped off the first period with a goal at 13:24. The score would remain 2-1 Knights until 3:31 of the third, when Matt Boldy tied things the game at two. The Knights needed just 4:05 of the first OT period to score the game-winner off the stick of Brett Howden. Full recap.
1:09
Brett Howden nets OT winner for Golden Knights to seal Game 5
Brett Howden’s close-range snap shot finds the back of the net to win it in overtime for the Golden Knights and claim a 3-2 series lead vs. the Wild.
Edmonton Oilers 3, Los Angeles Kings 1
EDM leads 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday
After wins in the first two games of the series, the Kings are now looking up at the Oilers — the team that has beaten them the past three postseasons. The Kings were on the board first via an Andrei Kuzmenko power-play goal in the second, but Evander Kane would tie things up less than three minutes later. The eventual game-winner came off the stick of Mattias Janmark 7:12 into the third, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-net goal to put the game further out of reach. Full recap.
0:40
Mattias Janmark puts the Oilers ahead in the 3rd
Mattias Janmark scores off the rebound to give the Oilers the lead in the third period vs. the Kings.
Will the Presidents’ Trophy curse claim a new victim this year?
For the past 11 NHL seasons, the winner of the trophy — awarded to the team with the most regular-season points — has failed to win the Stanley Cup. In fact, none of the last 11 Presidents’ Trophy winners have even played in the Stanley Cup Final.
All told, of the 38 seasons when the trophy has been awarded, just eight of its victors have also lifted the Stanley Cup. With the Winnipeg Jets‘ series against the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs knotted at two games apiece, could the curse be looming large again?
Here’s a look at the eight squads the Jets will be hoping to emulate that defied the curse:
Chicago Blackhawks, 2012-13
The most recent team to take home both the Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup, the Blackhawks earned the regular-season crown in a campaign that didn’t start until January due to lockout. Patrick Kane would go on to earn Conn Smythe Trophy honors after a postseason in which he posted nine goals (tied for second on the team) and 10 assists (third on the team).
Detroit Red Wings, 2007-08
Winning the Central Division by an impressive 24-point margin, the Red Wings bolstered the best goals-against record in the league and raced to an impressive 115-point regular season. Henrik Zetterberg, the team’s top goal scorer in the regular season, won the Conn Smythe after a 27-point postseason.
Detroit Red Wings, 2001-02
Not to be outdone by their franchise counterparts six years later, the Red Wings turned in a regular season that not only saw them win the Central Division by 18 points, but top the overall league standings by a 15-point margin as well. The Conn Smythe went to Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidström, capping off the third of his three Stanley Cup triumphs in Detroit.
Colorado Avalanche, 2000-01
Combined with the Red Wings’ subsequent title, Colorado’s Stanley Cup win marks the only time in league history teams won both the Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup in back-to-back years. Goalkeeper Patrick Roy was awarded his third Conn Smythe — a record that still stands today.
Dallas Stars, 1998-99
Dallas led the league in goals allowed, a trend that continued into the postseason. In just one of the Stars’ 12 postseason wins did the team concede more than two goals. Centers powered the squad’s offense — Mike Modano’s 81 regular-season points led the team by a sizable margin, while Joe Nieuwendyk earned the Conn Smythe.
New York Rangers, 1993-94
After the regular season saw the Rangers beat local rivals the New Jersey Devils to both the Atlantic Division crown and the Presidents’ Trophy, New York’s postseason didn’t lack for rivalry thrills either.
The Rangers met New Jersey in the Eastern Conference finals, coming away victorious in a seven-game series that featured three games decided by double overtime. New York’s subsequent Stanley Cup Final series with the Vancouver Canucks would go seven games as well, with Conn Smythe winner Brian Leetch scoring the opener in the decisive final game.
Calgary Flames, 1988-89
The 1988-89 NHL season was all about Calgary and the Montreal Canadiens, who posted 117- and 115-point regular seasons respectively — no other team in the league amassed more than 92. Fittingly, the two squads met in the Stanley Cup Final, where the President Cup champion Flames bested Montreal again, topping the Canadiens in six games. Defenseman Al MacInnis racked up 24 postseason assists en route to Conn Smythe honors.
Edmonton Oilers, 1986-87
Led by Wayne Gretzky at his peak, Edmonton raced to a 106-point regular season as Gretzky led the NHL in goals, assists and plus/minus as he earned his eighth Hart Trophy. Unsurprisingly, Gretzky was a driving force in the Oilers’ postseason march as well — he totaled 29 assists as Edmonton won its third Stanley Cup in what would end up being a run of four Cups in five years for the franchise.
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