By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
On Monday Night, the USC Trojans came back to beat Texas A&M in the CFSL National Championship. This is the second straight season that USC has ended alone on top, putting the Trojans in great company in CFSL history.
Only two teams before this run by USC have ever won back-to-back National Championships. The first was Notre Dame in Seasons 12 and 13. The second was Kentucky in Seasons 18 and 19. Oklahoma State went to three straight National Championship Games between Seasons 15-17 but failed to win back-to-back titles thanks to Kentucky’s in over them in Season 16.
These three programs have often been called the three dynasties in CFSL history. It is not hard to argue that USC is now the fourth.
After USC’s win, I became interested in how the Trojans would compare to these three great teams. It is hard to do a direct comparison since each dynasty survived for different lengths, but for our purposes, we will look at three seasons for each program (four in Kentucky’s case, since they won three titles in four seasons) and break down exactly how those went.
| Stat | Notre Dame | Oklahoma State | Kentucky | USC |
| Seasons of the Dynasty | 11, 12, 13 | 15, 16, 17 | 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 | 19, 20, 21 |
| Record | 25-3 (.893) | 32-4 (.889) | 37-9 (.804) | 25-10 (.714) |
| National Championships | 2 (Seasons 12 &13) | 2 (Seasons 15 & 17) | 3 (Seasons 16, 18, and 19) | 2 (Seasons 20 & 21) |
| When Their Off-Year Ended* | Lost in the First Round to Boise State | Lost in the National Championship to Kentucky | Lost in the Second Round to Oklahoma State | Lost in Semifinals to Florida |
| Point Differential | +315 | +918 | +768 | +190 |
Before we get to compare, it is worth noting that Point Differential is a stat that is going to show favoritism to the older teams. This is because of two major reasons.
The first is the invention of the mercy rule. The CFSL’s Mercy Rule started in the fourth week of Season 16. This means that all of Notre Dame’s run and parts of Oklahoma State’s and Kentucky’s came before that invention. This may not seem like much to those who weren’t around back then, but to prove its impact here is an example: Oklahoma State beat Texas A&M 94-10 in Season 15. It was much easier to rack up huge point differentials back when games didn’t end with mercies.
The second reason that it is a biased stat, is there is far more parity in the league now than there was back then. This is something you have heard many times before, I am sure. Just ask anyone who was around during the steroid era and they will tell you.
However, I decided to include the stat because it is interesting to compare eras based on this stat. The best teams in the steroid era murdered just about every opponent they played. This is not the case anymore. But I will not be using it as a comparison (and nor should you) of these four teams.
Now, on to the fun part. USC’s record is the weakest of the four teams, something that is also impacted by the new-found parity in the league. However, it is worth noting that the Trojans had the second-best “off-year” of the group, losing in the game before the National Championship in Season 19.
Everyone will have their own opinion on this, but for right now, I think USC has the fourth-best dynasty in league history. However, unlike the other three, USC has a chance to improve on its greatness. No team has ever won three straight titles in league history. If the Trojans managed to pull that off in Season 22, it would be hard to argue that they aren’t the best dynasty the league has ever seen. Good luck to the Trojans as they chase history.
