Are the Nebraska Cornhuskers still a college football blue blood?

Are the Nebraska Cornhuskers still a college football blue blood?

Wait. What?

These are the kinds of silly debates that come up in the middle of summer when there are still six weeks until College Football kicks off. No games. No fall camp. No other college sports happening.

The original tweet came from On3, via Andy Staples. According to Staples, there are 9 CFB blue bloods: Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan, Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas, USC, and Penn State.

In the graphic, Staples also lists his "contenders," for blue blood status. That esteemed list includes, among others, Florida State, Tennessee, LSU, Nebraska, and Oregon.

OREGON? Yup. We'll come back to that in a minute.

I know these types of posts are textbook engagement farming. But I'll take the bait.

It's mid-July after all. Something has to get us through the next 40+ days.

What does it mean to be a "blue blood"?

The term "blue blood" is completely subjective. This debate would be settled easily if we could find a definition in Encyclopedia Britannica or something. We can't, so the debates rage on.

[Sidebar: Where does the term "blue blood" even come from? It originates from the Spanish phrase "sangre azul." The phrase emerged in medieval Spain, where the nobility claimed to have "blue blood" as opposed to the "red blood" of the commoners. This claim was partly due to the fair skin of the nobles, which made their veins appear more prominent and bluish. This distinction was also meant to emphasize the purity and superiority of their lineage, untainted by common ancestry or manual labor. Fun, right?]

Here are some of the hallmarks of college football blue bloods:

• Consistent winning tradition: Blue blood programs have a long history of winning seasons and championships.
• National championships: They have multiple national titles.
• Conference championships: Dominance in their respective conferences.
• Historic relevance: They have been relevant in the national conversation across multiple decades.
• Iconic coaches and players: They have produced numerous legendary coaches and players.
• Passionate fanbase and support: They have a large and passionate fan base.
• High-profile games and rivalries: They are involved in some of the most famous rivalries and games in college football history.

While this criteria is generally agreed upon, who makes the cut isn't. The subjective nature of the debate is what makes it fun. It's also what makes it frustrating and even mind-boggling at times.

Does Nebraska Cornhusker football make the blue blood cut?

Recency bias is a real thing. It seems to infect sports media more than any other population on the planet, doesn't it? It's like some people think college football started in 2010.

The problem with Staple's list is that it's given with no context and no actual data.

It begs the question, "Are the Nebraska Cornhuskers still a college football blue blood?"

You know my answer: absolutely, yes.

And it has nothing to do with being a fan of the Huskers. It has to do with facts.

Nebraska football is:

• 8th all-time in wins (917)
• 7th all-time in weeks ranked #1 (70)
• 2nd all-time in conference championships (46)
• 7th all-time in major bowl wins (13)
• 6th in national title (5) since the AP poll era (1936)

All that despite a really rough last seven years.

Kyle Umlang has created what I believe is the ultimate blue blood index, based on actual stats. Each stat in the index is given a score. The cumulative score gives teams their ranking.

Umlang's blue bloods? In order: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan, USC, Texas, and, yes, Nebraska.

Those happen to be my eight, too.

Has Nebraska football really been bad for 30 years?

But the argument I saw over and over on Twitter against Nebraska's blue blood status went something like this: "Nebraska hasn't been relevant in 30 years."

Thirty years ago was July 1994. Nebraska was about to embark on the greatest four-year run college football has ever seen, even to this day.

Once that run ended, for nearly two more decades, Nebraska was an above-average program that had the occasional hiccup season and a few solid wins.

Between 1998 (when Frank Solich took over for Tom Osborne) and 2016 (the last time Nebraska went to a bowl game), Nebraska went a combined 167-80, an average of 8.8 wins per year.

In those 19 seasons, Nebraska played for one national title and four conference titles, went 7-8 in bowl games, and only had 2 losing seasons.

Do you know Alabama's record during that same stretch?

161-67. And that includes their four title winning seasons! That's not remarkably better than Nebraska's record.

(Side note: If you give Alabama the wins that were vacated because of violations from 2005-2007, they were 182-67. But I tend not to like to give teams wins that were vacated.)

What about Penn State? They were on Staple's list, ahead of Nebraska.

How do they compare Nebraska since, say, 2000? Keisha McHargue did some of the work for us already:

I'll add that Penn State is 174-78 since 1994. Nebraska is 136-113. That's a sizeable difference. But for Penn State, their better record has resulted in one outright conference title and zero national titles. Nebraska, of course, has four conference titles and three national titles since 1994. [Is it ironic that Penn State went undefeated in 1994 but finished second, without a title, to Nebraska?]

Penn State has had many great seasons. They have had very few elite seasons (the same could be said for Michigan, to be honest). Penn State is close, but if Nebraska isn't a blue blood, then neither is Penn State.

The point? Nebraska has struggled for the past seven seasons. Not 30. Not 20. But in social media time, seven feels like an eternity.

Should Nebraska football lose its blue blood status?

Is a seven year slide a reason to revoke a school's blue blood status?

What if Nebraska rebounds this year and makes a bowl game? What if they do that again next year? What if they make it to the CFP in 3-4 years? Are the seven awful years forgiven?

Being a blue blood is determined over generations, not years or even decades. If Matt Rhule gets Nebraska back on track and they compete at a high level in the new world of college football, the past seven years will be mere footnotes 50 years from now.

Nebraska would have to have several more losing seasons in a row to have their blue blood status revoked.

Should Notre Dame lose it's blue blood status because they haven't won a national title since 1988? Nope.

Should Oklahoma have lost its blue blood status when it went 61-51-3 from 1990-1999 and was outscored by Nebraska 275-106 during that stretch? Nope.

College football media and fans can be too shortsighted and favor the new kids on the block. I know this because Staples put Georgia in and had Oregon on the cusp.

Oregon has 704 wins as a program and never won a national championship. The Ducks have had 4 unanimous All-Americans (the Huskers have had 22).

Oregon has only won 14 conference titles in their entire 130-year history.

Nebraska won 14 conference titles from 1971-1995.

Having lots of money and cool uniforms doesn't make you a blue blood or even a contender.

Georgia has had an incredible run over the past few seasons. But they are still behind Nebraska in total wins, weeks ranked #1, national titles, conference titles, bowl wins, Heisman winners, and more.

Before their recent stretch, Georgia was an above-average to solid college football program that ran in the shadows of Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee for decades.

Blue blood status should be determined across generations. But different generations won't see things the same way.

If you're under 20 years old, Nebraska isn't a blue blood. Not even close.

Only one thing will end this debate and put Nebraska back in the elite company where it belongs--for 20-somethings and the Andy Staples of the world.

In the words of @HuskerTapes: "It's time to start winning."