Sports Illustrated validates Oklahoma football standing as one of very best all-time

Few in the know would question -- and even if they did, the numbers would belie any such assessment -- that Oklahoma football belongs among the elite programs in the history of college football

In case you missed it, Sports Illustrated recently published a ranking of the best of the best college football teams of all-time. The article subhead describes the 10 teams that made the list as "the schools that have dominated college football past and present."

Also, as longtime Sooner football supporters would suspect, Oklahoma is included in the ranking

Twelve different measurement criteria were used as factors within the evaluation and subsequent ranking. These included winning percentage, national championships, conference championships, bowl games, bowl wins, total record, All-Americans, Heisman Trophy winners, NFL Draft picks, first-round NFL Draft picks, Weeks at No. 1 in Associated Press poll and total top-25 AP appearances.

Without any further suspense, Oklahoma was ranked No. 3 all-time behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 USC. Ohio State was No. 4 behind the Sooners and Notre Dame was No. 5. The rest of the top-10 was 6. Michigan, 7. Texas, 8. Georgia, 9. Nebraska and 10. LSU, all highly recognized and successful college football brands.

Here is what FanNation, a sports website affiliated with Sports Illustrated, had to say about Oklahoma in this all-time top-10 ranking:

"OU is (tied with Notre Dame) with seven Heisman Trophy winners in addition to a record 50 conference championships, while posting the third most weeks in the AP poll (898) and fourth most in NFL Draft selections (414), and is fifth in win percentage, and sixth in all-time wins and All-Americans."