[washingtonismoney]

WIM, does your analysis include or exclude the bowl games for the respective seasons?

I didn't say the 2001 team was the best ever, I said it gets no run in such a discussion because of the hideous way it ended.  I fully admit that Stanford's roster of late is more talented than anything we've seen in the last 3 decades.  But relatively speaking, that Stanford team was damn good and the closest to playing for a national championship than any other team in my memory.  They were closer than 2010 (even though the loss to Oregon was much closer than final score) and even last year (but Stanford should have beaten both Utah and SC - and who knows, maybe just getting one of those Ws puts Stanford in the title game).

Anyway, just one fan's opinion.

Closeness to the national title game isn't a great metric. N.D. made the national title game and they were, at best, the...sixth or seventh best team that year? Getting to the national title game is one part actual quality and three parts luck.

Even without considering the bowl game, I think it's pretty clear the 2001 team was well below the 2009-13 era: only 8.45 ppg as a margin of victory. It was a fine team, but if it's well below the 2009-13 standard, it's certainly well off the all-time standard by extension.

[washingtonismoney]

WIM, does your analysis include or exclude the bowl games for the respective seasons?

I didn't say the 2001 team was the best ever, I said it gets no run in such a discussion because of the hideous way it ended.  I fully admit that Stanford's roster of late is more talented than anything we've seen in the last 3 decades.  But relatively speaking, that Stanford team was damn good and the closest to playing for a national championship than any other team in my memory.  They were closer than 2010 (even though the loss to Oregon was much closer than final score) and even last year (but Stanford should have beaten both Utah and SC - and who knows, maybe just getting one of those Ws puts Stanford in the title game).

Anyway, just one fan's opinion.

Closeness to the national title game isn't a great metric. N.D. made the national title game and they were, at best, the...sixth or seventh best team that year? Getting to the national title game is one part actual quality and three parts luck.

Even without considering the bowl game, I think it's pretty clear the 2001 team was well below the 2009-13 era: only 8.45 ppg as a margin of victory. It was a fine team, but if it's well below the 2009-13 standard, it's certainly well off the all-time standard by extension.