The 50 greatest college football teams throughout history

39. Best college football teams of all-time: 1973 Michigan

1973 could be argued to be one of the toughest seasons in the long history of college football. Going strictly on the Simple Rating System, which is a flawed system but one of the best we have in creating ratings, the ’73 season puts more teams in the top 100 list than any other season.

That said, we aren’t going by that list and that same number won’t be making the appropriate fraction for our top 50 list.

The Wolverines in 1973 make the list, finishing sixth in the AP poll for the season at 10-0-1, do get a spot on this list. In a weird situation, the Big Ten’s Rose Bowl berth was put to a vote among athletic directors. The Wolverines lost this vote despite tying the winners — Ohio State —10-10 in their last game of the season, likely thanks to starting quarterback Dennis Franklin breaking his collarbone in the fourth quarter.

This team should be more recognized than it is. They currently have the No. 15 all-time defense on the SRS scale and went undefeated during the season. The team wasn’t ever ranked higher than fourth in the AP poll, but deserved much better, especially when you consider they tied the No. 2 rated team in a head-to-head game.