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Michigan Football ranked as the 5th-greatest program of all time

By Christopher Mangum

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 26: Donovan Peoples-Jones #9 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates his second half touchdown catch with Shea Patterson #2 in front of head coach Jim Harbaugh while playing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan Stadium on October 26, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 45-14. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 26: Donovan Peoples-Jones #9 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates his second half touchdown catch with Shea Patterson #2 in front of head coach Jim Harbaugh while playing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan Stadium on October 26, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 45-14. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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College Football News published their top-25 greatest college football programs of all time and Michigan Football appeared fifth on the list.

College Football News recently published its list of the top-25 greatest college football programs of all time. Some of the biggest names in the sport appeared on this list, but the majority appeared after the Wolverines.

Here is what the list’s top-10 looks like. For the complete 25-team list, visit CollegeFootballNews.com.

AP College Football Poll: 1936 to 2021 Final All-Time Rankings:

1 Oklahoma 1136

2 Alabama 1129

3 Ohio State 1119

4 Notre Dame 1028

5 Michigan 1016

6 USC 837

7 Nebraska 798

8 Texas 797

9 Penn State 702

10 Tennessee 68

"“The AP college football rankings have been the most consistent and reliable since 1936. No other ranking system provides a better historical snapshot of the last 90+ seasons. They just keep on marching along.” – College Football News."

Michigan’s top-five ranking (all-time) is not surprising to most. After all, Michigan football has won more games, Big Ten titles, etc., than any other program in college football.

Even with the Wolverines’ all-time success, they likely would have landed lower on this list if Harbaugh had not led them to a 12-2 season in 2021. Michigan’s ability to replicate success is why they are on this list, and if the Wolverines want to stay in this conversation, they must continue to win moving forward.

While programs such as Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State all deserve to be in the top-5 on this list, my only critique would exclude Notre Dame. In all of their years of existence, the Fighting Irish have still not joined a conference and continue to play weaker schedules than most of their Power-5 counterparts. Until Notre Dame joins a conference, it should not be considered one of the greatest programs of all time.

Next. Top 10 Michigan football bowl wins. dark

Subjective as it may be, this list is a friendly reminder to Michigan fans that they cheer for one of the most outstanding college football programs of all time and that it is great to be a Michigan Wolverine.

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