Oklahoma State, Boise State Represent Two of the Winningest Recent Programs

Want to know how I now know that only Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, Wisconsin and Oklahoma have better records than Oklahoma State since the start of the 2015 season? Mike Gundy drinking a vodka-less smoothie from a straw last Saturday made me look it up. Why? Well, when you run headlong into a GIF like this, it forces you to find a stat to go with it. Welcome to Blogging 101.

After I saw that I started hunting for recent records to see if I could find the goods on Gundy and Co. The good folks over at Team Rankings delivered. To get what you’re looking for, you obviously have to limit the timeframe (don’t want to take this all the way back to 1910!) but 3+ years is not an insignificant period.

Here are all of the college football teams that have won at least 75 percent of their games since the first college football game of 2015.

Now not all of these are created equal. Alabama and Clemson have played in loads of postseason games and still have a better record than OSU, which has only played in exhibitions after the regular season. But still. You’ll notice the teams the list does not include: LSU, TCU, USC, Washington, Michigan, FSU, Notre Dame, Florida, Auburn and Penn State.

I know I go to this well often, but Oklahoma State’s position within the CFB power players is kind of remarkable.

You’ll also notice another team that is on the list which will visit Boone Pickens Stadium this weekend. Sure, there are caveats with Boise State, too, just like there are with OSU. But the reality here is that two of the most consistent programs of both the past three years and the past 10-15 will converge in Stillwater, USA on Saturday. That’s an exciting, engaging thing, and I think everyone is kind of feeling it.

“I’m trying to think of who all has come in here,” said Gundy on Monday. “(Arizona) was good with Nick Foles. He’s a Super Bowl winning quarterback. He was a good player. This team (Boise) is every bit as good as they were. We played Georgia here. Stafford is another NFL starter. That automatically makes you a good team, and I think this young man is going to play in the NFL.

“Obviously it’s not my job to evaluate, but they’re a good football team. They’re just a really good team. Non-conference opponents in preseason, people try to estimate how good they are. You play on the road and win by 40 or however many, then you play at home and you win by 50 … your team is going be pretty good. If you’re just an average team, it’s not easy to win by 50, so they’re a really good football team.”

Two good football teams — and maybe more importantly, two terrific football programs — clashing in a top-25 matchup on national television. Sounds pretty great to me. Winner gets to stay on the 75-percent list.