The Zeitgeist List

Where every program stands

A computed 14-tier ranking of all 138 FBS programs — from Dynasty down to Regional Program. It weighs how good a team is, what it has actually won, and its talent, with recent years counting most. Not how they're playing this week — what the program is.

Dynasty

Alabama

A program clearing 2 titles in 3 years or 3 in 7 — the sport's active dynasty.

Programs ranked

138

Every FBS team, one computed ladder, updated as results land.

Biggest riser

South Carolina

Up 7 tiers since 1936 — the era's clearest climb.

Rewind

As of 2014 · drag through the years to see the board move.

Dynasty1

Alabama84.6

Blue Blood5

Ohio State80.3

Florida State77.1

USC68.6

Florida66.5

LSU66.2

Power Program33

Oregon72.4

Oklahoma68.5

Auburn59.6

Georgia59.3

Texas59.3

Wisconsin57.8

Stanford57.2

TCU55.7

Miami54.7

Boise State54.4

Nebraska54.2

Michigan State53.9

Clemson53.1

Notre Dame52.7

Michigan51.5

Penn State51.0

South Carolina50.4

Virginia Tech49.8

Oklahoma State49.0

Texas A&M48.2

Missouri47.7

West Virginia46.9

Georgia Tech46.0

Utah45.7

Kansas State45.6

Louisville45.4

Arkansas45.1

Tennessee45.1

Iowa44.9

Arizona State44.6

Baylor44.1

UCLA43.4

BYU42.0

National Program24

Pittsburgh38.6

Cincinnati38.4

Mississippi State37.7

Washington37.5

Ole Miss37.0

UCF36.9

Arizona36.0

Oregon State35.9

North Carolina34.8

Texas Tech34.7

Northern Illinois33.8

Houston32.5

NC State32.4

California30.7

Boston College30.6

Marshall30.4

Rutgers28.9

Virginia28.7

Northwestern27.8

Maryland27.7

Fresno State27.5

Minnesota27.3

Nevada26.7

Syracuse26.2

Regional Program65

Georgia Southern26.4

San Diego State26.2

East Carolina25.9

South Florida25.5

UConn25.2

Utah State25.0

Illinois24.5

Louisiana Tech24.3

Navy24.1

Toledo23.9

App State23.7

Old Dominion22.7

Vanderbilt22.3

Air Force22.1

Purdue22.0

Kentucky21.0

Duke20.9

Colorado20.6

Temple20.4

Colorado State20.3

Tulsa20.3

Central Michigan18.9

Arkansas State18.8

UTSA18.8

Southern Miss18.5

Wake Forest18.5

Western Kentucky18.3

Iowa State18.1

Rice17.8

Washington State17.6

Western Michigan17.6

Memphis17.5

Hawai'i17.0

Bowling Green16.8

Troy16.7

South Alabama16.6

Louisiana16.6

SMU16.3

Kansas16.2

Indiana16.1

Texas State14.9

Ball State14.5

Ohio14.2

Kent State13.3

Buffalo13.1

Middle Tennessee12.5

Florida International11.9

Florida Atlantic11.6

Miami (OH)11.5

Wyoming11.2

San José State10.6

Massachusetts9.7

Georgia State9.6

UTEP9.5

New Mexico9.3

UAB8.9

UL Monroe8.7

Army8.6

North Texas8.6

Tulane6.2

UNLV6.1

Akron5.5

Idaho3.5

Eastern Michigan2.3

New Mexico State1.5

A program is held to Dynasty or Blue Blood only with real titles behind it — so a #1-by-score team without recent hardware sits in Blue Blood, and elite-but-title-less programs land in Power Program (they carry the history on a heritage badge, not the tier). Dashed outline = held below its score by the titles gate. Full method at /about-model/.