Dennis Dodd

These are other great college football dynasties to go along with the Pete Carroll story...

Alabama, 1961-66, 1971-79: The two-time defending champions went 11-0 in 1966 and finished <em>No. 3</em> in the final polls. Bear's second run included national championships in 1973, 1978 and 1979. Bama is spending $4 million a year on Nick Saban in hopes of getting back to those days.

Army 1944-50: Doc Blanchard, Glenn Davis, Red Blaik and consecutive national championships in 1944-45. There were three in a row if you count the Helms Athletic Foundation giving Army its No. 1 ranking in 1946, which we don't.

Florida State 1987-2000: Fourteen consecutive years with a top four finish in the AP poll. From upset kings to ACC kings, FSU ruled the country in that span, at least as far as the Florida panhandle. Bowden is hoping for national title No. 3 before Jimbo Fisher takes over.

Miami , 1983-2002: The Canes changed everything from fashion to end-zone celebrations to the game itself.  It's hard to argue with five national championships under four different coaches. This dynasty lasted so long that a member of the 1987 title team, Randy Shannon, is now the coach.

Nebraska, 1970-1999: Nebraska started dominating college football with Bob Devaney's back-to-back championships in 1970-71. Tom Osborne went on to win 84 percent of his games from 1973-97. That included three national championships and 13 conference titles.

Notre Dame, 1919-30, 1943-49: Knute Rockne won 105 games in 13 years establishing the Fighting Irish -- and college football -- as a national passion. Frank Leahy won 86 percent of his games including four national championships in two different coaching terms.

Oklahoma, 1948-58, 1971-85: Bud Wilkinson was the mastermind behind what might be the most unbreakable record in the game, 47-consecutive victories. The second run includes Barry Switzer's three national championships in 1974, 1975 and 1985. Bob Stoops has a nice little run going himself with a championship and five Big 12 titles this decade.

USC, 1967-1979, 2002-present:  John McKay and John Robinson combined to win seven Rose Bowls and four national championships in the first dominant 13-year run. Pete Carroll came within 19 seconds of becoming the first coach to win three consecutive national championships in 2005.

I purposefully waited until the coaching series was over to go back and dissect the numbers. When picking the 

coaches in each category, I didn't want to be influenced.

Anyway, here is how it breaks down ...

• The big winners were the SEC and Big 10. Surprise! Eighteen of the 66 coaches chosen came from the SEC (27.2 percent). The Big Ten had 13 picks (19.7 percent). Only three of the coaches came from non-BCS leagues (two from Conference USA and one from the WAC).

• Another surprise (not). Nine of the 66 coaches came from schools in Florida.

• The Big 12 and Pac-10 each led with three coaches on the dream staff. Norm Chow (UCLA, offensive coordinator), Pat Ruel (offensive line, USC) and Pete Carroll (head coach, USC) came from the Pac-10. In the Big 12, there were Cale Gundy (running backs, Oklahoma), Bruce Walker (tight ends, Missouri) and Brian Cabral (linebackers, Colorado). The Big Ten and SEC each had two "bests".

• USC and Florida tied for the most coaches on the list, each with five. That means that more than half the staffs at those schools are among the best in the country. That would make sense since the schools have combined to finish No. 1 in t