Ranking the top 50 college football programs of all time

Nov 26, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Curtis Samuel (4) celebrates after scoring the game winning touchdown against the Michigan Wolverines in the second overtime at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won the game 30-27 in double overtime.Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports /

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Nov 4, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Boise State Broncos mascot Buster Bronco interacts with fans during second half action against the San Jose State Spartans at Albertsons Stadium. Boise State defeats San Jose State 45-31. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports /

Shocked that Boise State made the list? You shouldn’t be. The past two decades of Boise State football have catapulted the Broncos from relative obscurity to No. 46 in these rankings.

Chris Petersen is to thank for the recent success of the program and even though he left for Washington, the man who succeeded him, Bryan Harsin, is 31-8 in three years and narrowly missed a New Year’s Six bowl this season.

However, Petersen remains the best coach the program ever had. He went 92-12 in his eight years as head coach and led the Broncos to national relevancy, beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in 2006.

Boise State is 11-5 in bowl games since 1999 — that’s an impressive stat for a program that has only been playing with the big boys for two decades.

Check out this raglan sleeve BSU t-shirt.

During that span, the program has seen more success than most major conference schools. The Broncos are 208-57 since 1996 with a win percentage of 78. If they were to keep that pace in FBS play for the foreseeable future, they’d have the highest winning percentage of any team — Michigan and Notre Dame are next with a 73 percent win rate.

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