Tag: college football history

Updated FBS all-time passing TD leaders after 2022 campaign

Sam Hartman and Clayton Tune climbed the all-time list after the 2022 campaign.

Scoring touchdowns is the name of the game and some quarterbacks did it better than others.

The single-season record currently sits at 62, held by former Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe. He set the record with the Hilltoppers in 2021, less than two seasons after LSU Tigers’ quarterback Joe Burrow broke Colt Brennan’s record of 58. Burrow threw 60 touchdown passes en route to winning Heisman Trophy.

It goes beyond one season for the career passing touchdown records. Which quarterbacks showed up consistently each season to rack up the points and give their team the opportunity to win? Plenty of names on the top 25 list are similar to our rundown of the career passing yards list. However, the order might look a bit different for some players.

Former Wake Forest quarterback and current Notre Dame signal-caller Sam Hartman climbed the list after the 2022 season. He was joined by former Houston Cougars gunslinger Clayton Tune, who also climbed the ranks.

We break down the top 25 passing touchdown leaders in FBS history. Ties are listed in alphabetical order.

Examining the last 40 Heisman winners and what history tells us

What do the winners of the Heisman Trophy since 1982 tell us?

The Heisman Trophy is down to four players as announced recently.

Caleb Williams (USC Trojans), Max Duggan (TCU Horned Frogs), C.J. Stroud (Ohio State Buckeyes), and Stetson Bennett (Georgia Bulldogs) were all given invites to the trophy presentation. Not all too shocking as these four quarterbacks play on teams that were in contention for the College Football Playoffs.

Looking back over the winners of this prestigious trophy since 1982, Trojans Wire tried to find trends that could help determine who the winner might be. Williams seems to be the favorite going into the ceremony later this week but I wouldn’t count those chickens just yet.

We broke down a six-pack of facts and opinions about the winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy since 1982:

When was the last time Michigan won a national championship in football?

The Wolverines are the winningest program in college football history, but they’re still searching for their first title in more than two decades.

Michigan’s current national championship drought spanning more than two decades is fairly hard to believe. The Wolverines are the winningest program in college football history and were one of the first schools to attain “blue blood” status in college football.

Michigan dominated nearly the entire first century of the sport, being awarded a share of the national title 16 times — of which it claims 11. However, since 1947, the Wolverines have only reached the sport’s mountaintop once.

That came in 1997 under former coach Lloyd Carr. With a team led by Heisman Trophy-winner Charles Woodson — the last defensive player to win the Heisman — Carr guided Michigan to a perfect record and Big Ten title in his third season in Ann Arbor.

This was in the final season of the Bowl Alliance — the predecessor to the BCS — and the Wolverines were contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl. They defeated Ryan Leaf and Washington State 21-16, finishing as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll.

However, Michigan had to share the national title with Nebraska, which was voted into the top spot of the Coaches Poll after crushing No. 3 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl the following day.

Michigan was one of the first college football powerhouses in the country, winning titles in 1901-04, 1918, 1923, 1932-33 and 1947-48 in addition to its most recent championship. But Carr never matched that 1997 season, despite a successful tenure, and none of the three coaches who followed him have come particularly close.

Current coach Jim Harbaugh has an impressive record in Ann Arbor, but his first Big Ten title came in 2021, as did his first appearance in the College Football Playoff.

[listicle id=1968178]

[vertical-gallery id=1957741]

Notre Dame football helmets through the years

Think Notre Dame has had the same iconic helmet forever? Think again.

Notre Dame’s iconic gold helmet is always listed among the most recognizable in all of college football.  It may seem that Notre Dame has been wearing those gold helmets forever but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been small tweaks or entire alternate helmets and uniforms worn over the years.

Did you think pride stickers were just an Ohio State thing?  They were once on Notre Dame’s helmet.

As was a shamrock for a few full seasons, not just for a Shamrock Series game.

Take a look back at the subtle changes the iconic Notre Dame helmet has had over the years and some of the alternative looks the Irish have gone with below and then tell us your favorites and least favorites in the comments section!

Ranking the top 10 college football programs by total wins

Although Texas hasn’t found much success on the field recently, they’re still within the top five in regards to total wins.

The Texas football program has a storied history. Continue reading “Ranking the top 10 college football programs by total wins”

Texas ranked among top teams that didn’t win a national title

ESPN recently ranked the greatest teams in college football history that weren’t able to finish the season with a national title.

Some of the greatest teams in college football history weren’t able to close out the season with a national title. As is the case with every sport, you sometimes need a little luck on your side.

ESPN recently ranked the 50 best teams to not win a national title. To create the rankings, Bill Connelly used his SP+ ratings from full play-by-play data going back to 2005, then created estimated versions for before 2005 using points scored and allowed. He then eliminated teams with more than one loss.

The 2008 squad for Texas led by head coach Mack Brown and quarterback Colt McCoy landed at No. 18 overall. It was a year of ‘what could have been’ that left an everlasting image of Michael Crabtree’s touchdown reception to lift Texas Tech over Texas in a crucial Big 12 matchup on the minds of many.

Here’s what ESPN had to say about this particular Longhorns squad:

Florida beat Oklahoma in the 2008 national title game. Both teams were totally deserving of their places in the title game — yes, OU lost to Texas, but they also destroyed the Texas Tech team that ended up knocking off the Horns, so that’s always been a wash to me — but it didn’t change the fact that the 2008 season produced more than two deserving teams.

Aside from losing an all-time classic to Tech, the Horns were outstanding, beating three consecutive top-11 teams midseason (OU, Missouri, Oklahoma State), then taking down Ohio State by four in the Fiesta Bowl to finish 12-1.

This season is a touchy subject for many Texas fans, but there’s no doubt the Longhorns were deserving of reaching the national title game. In October of 2008, Texas defeated the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. After Texas dropped a close road game to Texas Tech a few weeks later, it created a three-way tie (Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma) in the Big 12 South.

Despite Texas closing out the season by defeating Texas A&M 49-9, Oklahoma moved past Texas in the BCS rankings. The three-way tie was then resolved by the fifth tie-breaker and the Sooners ultimately advanced to the Big 12 Championship instead of Texas.

Primary playmakers for Texas throughout the 2008 season were Jordan Shipley, Colt McCoy, Earl Thomas, Quan Cosby, Blake Gideon, Sergio Kindle, Roddrick Muckelroy, and Brian Orakpo.

Texas atop ranking of SportsCenter’s all-time college football moments

Texas and quarterback Vince Young provided one of the most iconic moments in college football history.

College football oftentimes provides miracles, heartbreaks and everything in between. Continue reading “Texas atop ranking of SportsCenter’s all-time college football moments”

Notre Dame: Top Ten Most-Viewed Stories of May

What were the stories you all read the most over the last month? Find out here.

We’re a couple days late to the party but it’s worth recapping the month of May here at Fighting Irish Wire as we share with you what our ten most-viewed stories of the month were.

First off a big thank you to a few people for making us reach unexpectedly high numbers during a month that again saw no live college sports.

Mike Chen has been doing a great job with recruiting news and keeping an eye on what a lot of the nation is saying about everything related to Notre Dame football.

Geoffrey Clark continues to grow and take more chances which has resulted in his best work to date with us.

Jeff Feyerer remains a constant to bounce ideas off of and a key part of talking sense into some of my weaker thoughts.

And you.  Seriously, as cheesy and corny as it may sound a huge thank you goes to you all for reading our site regularly and continuing to help it grow during an incredibly challenging time in an amount of ways that only continues to grow.  Thank you.

Here is your list of the top ten most viewed stories at Fighting Irish Wire in May:

10.  Greg Bryant’s death still stings four years later

9.  Confidence Picks for the 2020 Notre Dame Football Season

8.  Notre Dame’s best teams to not win a national championship

7.  Where Notre Dame ranks in pair of new pre-season polls

6.  No Stanford or USC for Notre Dame this fall?

5.  Notre Dame makes scholarship offer to son of former Fighting Irish star

4.  Top 10 College Football Helmets

3.  Rivals: Brian Kelly a great hire, Notre Dame to join super-conference?

2.  Notre Dame to limit attendance for 2020 home football games

Most Viewed Story of May:  The eight football opponents Notre Dame has never beat

You guys really like lists as 40% of that list consists of a list in some capacity.  We’ll take note of that as we get going in June.  Let’s make it a great month.

 

Former Longhorn Emmanuel Acho Talks Financial Incentives In 2009 Title Game

Former Texas Longhorn Emmanuel Acho claims that they had extra incentives to intercept Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy in the title game.

Following the Louisiana State Tigers’ National Championship Game former wide receiver and current Cleveland Browns player Odell Beckham Jr gave cash to players on the team. This sparked a lot of heat including reports that the NCAA and Southeastern Conference is looking into the matter. A clip was shown that OBJ did indeed hand players money which is a violation of NCAA rules.

Former Texas Longhorn and current ESPN analyst Emmanuel Acho stated that the 2009 team was offered money to perform in the National Championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

“We went to the national championship game in 2009 and … it was public to the team, for every interception the defensive back got, they were going to get $1,000. For every pick y’all got against Alabama in the national championship game, you’re going to get $1,000.’ Now, the difference is we just didn’t do it publicly on the field.”-excerpt from 247 Sports.

Acho went to Twitter to clarify his comments on ESPN regarding the claims that Texas players would be rewarded financially for their performance in the title game.

 

Former Texas Longhorn ranked No. 7 on College Football’s top 150 players

ESPN announced the top 150 college players of all time, former Texas running back Earl Campbell landed in the top ten.

During halftime of the College Football Playoff National Championship, a former Longhorn legend was honored as one of the top college football players of all time.

ESPN released the rankings of the Top 11 of 150 best players, former Texas running back Earl Campbell was listed as the seventh-greatest player in history.

Campbell showcased a dominant senior season with the Longhorns in 1977. After rushing for 1,744 yards and 18 touchdowns, Campbell won Texas’ first Heisman Trophy in a landslide vote.

The former Longhorn legend finished his four-year career with 4,443 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns. In the 1978 NFL Draft, the Houston Oilers selected Campbell with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

In 1991, Campbell was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.