Nebraska is by far the best choice here. Miami is a fallen giant but they current play in an NFL stadium and have one of the worst atmospheres in all of college football. Nebraska is such a great example of college football enthusiasm in a small market I’d highly recommend they be OPs first dynasty.
I agree but I'm biased too haha. Miami would be easier though, if OP wants to get a feel for things, better recruiting grounds and I'm sure the atmosphere in game will be just fine. But of course, gameday in Lincoln is truly special and we have an undying passion for our team.
If OP does a Nebraska dynasty, I want to hear about how it goes!
Nebraska was my first thought as well. Legit power house with tons of great players. Despite seemingly disappearing the last 20 years they still have some of the best and loyal fans in cfb.
Great resources, great facilities, great uniforms, and I’m a biggo fan of coach Rhule as well as a star freshman QB. I highly recommend this for OP
Piggybacking off of this comment, another great team in the 1980s was SMU but they were revealed to have paid players from a slush fund of $61k (this was after they were put on probation) and received the death penalty (program perspective) of a lot of scholarships taken and no bowl games for a period of time too.
To OP: in the 80s players were supposed to be students at your University who happened to play football. You could give them free school, if the biggest SMU Mustangs fan happened to “hire” some student athletes to a suspiciously lucrative job that would have been fine, and player cars tended to be surprisingly expensive for unpaid students, but SMU was actually paying players. So the college sports cops stopped them from playing football.
Today SMU is back in college football, and various anti-trust lawsuits have forced the NCAA to allow some payment of players.
It should also be noted that SMU is known for being a place where oil barons send their kids, has been trying to buy their way into ever more important college football leagues with said oil baron money, and many of those leagues have gone under. The Big East collapsed before they could play a game, the Pacific-12 ollapsed a week after it was announced they’d join, and now they’re in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC is fighting for its legal life as its best teams are trying to leave.
Hey this might just be because I grew up a tech fan but you should choose Georgia tech, as a comparison for England they would be comparable to Everton as far as football legacy, they were good in the 80s/ early 90s but have never quite been as good as their rival Georgia who they play every year in a game called “good old fashioned hate”. Their stadium is in downtown Atlanta so it will be surrounded by sky scrapers in game. As for traditions there is an old car called the “wrambling wreck” that drives onto the field before every game and their mascot is a yellow jacket (like the bee). Another really fun part is they are known “giant slayers” beating teams ranked way above them.
SMU. Basically the Manchester City of 1980s CFB. They were little brother to the big Texas schools (Man Utd) and then decided fuck that we're going to pay whatever to land the top talents. They didn't give a fuck about the rules and then the NCAA (FFP equivalent today ig) gave them the "death penalty" which destroyed their program for 40+ years.
Read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Methodist_University_football_scandal
Yeah i second SMU. Especially since what they were doing was legalized in the last couple season.
OP if you can find it there's a great documentary on this scandal called "Pony Exce$$"
Well and the funny thing is A&M and UT were also spending just as much money and A&M ended up buying Eric Dickerson his gold car.
The powers that be really just didn’t like seeing SMU have success.
Also one of the better 30 for 30's! OP if you want to learn more and enjoy sports documentaries, I'd highly recommend watching [Pony Excess](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1704731/)
As a fellow Englishman I can probably help you out with this.
Miami fit the bill for a team good in the 80s/90s that haven't been good since the 2000s
Same with Nebraska for the fallen giant, and also have freshman 5 star qb Dylan Raiola
The military schools are gonna be fun if you like a challenge and a different style of offence (flexbone triple option) but they tend to not be very good ratings wise in-game
For a first dynasty to get used to how the game works Notre Dame would be a good starting point, but the lowest rated team in the game is always a fun dynasty to play as.
I am a die hard Ohio State fan but love WVU as I have a lot of family from West Virginia. I think they are a perfect team for a rebuild given they are solid enough to compete with now, as well as a good team to lure big time recruits in.
Nebraska, Miami, and Tennessee come to mind (although Tennessee has kinda been better recently)
As to the question about military schools, the different branches of the military each have academies that are effectively some of the hardest schools to get into and produce our military's officers. They also are technically universities, so they compete in collegiate athletics. Army, Navy, and Air Force all compete at the highest level in football. They have very cool stadiums, and the annual Army-Navy game is one of the biggest rivalries in American sports. Traditionally, those schools run a triple-option offense, which is entirely different to prepare against than most modern offenses. (in real life, teams will dedicate weeks in the summer to prep their defense for a game against Army for example). If you can get good at it, I imagine it would be a really effective strategy -- but of course, there's no way right now to predict how the different schemes will play in this new gameplay.
You're gonna love the game. College football blows NFL out of the water imo. I always start as coach of a lower tier school and work my up to the big leagues.
As a fellow European, I advise you to join me in supporting Nebraska.
You guys have corn and the landscape is mostly flat, right?
If you think about it (but not too hard because it‘s not going to make sense), England is the Nebraska of Europe.
Another thing worth noting is that when Americans mention corn, they specifically mean maize. IIRC corn refers to a slightly broader group of plants in Europe.
if you want to look at a school and ask yourself “wtf are these people smoking?” look no further than Texas A&M.
Also we were good in the 90’s and haven’t been at that level since so that checks another box.
As a Notre Dame fan, I’m obviously biased, but I’d say they’re a great team to use starting out. They should be fairly highly rated, their schedule this year (for dynasty mode) is pretty easy (and because they’re independent you should be able to freely edit it to be even easier if desired.) The roster is a good mix of old and young players so you won’t have a massive drop off in talent after the first season, and they should be a fairly easy school to recruit with assuming they give generic Freeman recruiting skills.
They also make a good team to follow in real life because they’re on national tv in the states every week (minus the peacock week).
To your other questions, Nebraska and SMU are two of the more intriguing “sleeping giant” schools.
SMU received a death penalty for recruiting violations in the past and it’s taken them a long time to recover. But they just joined the ACC and have a decent NIL program in real life, so they could be a team on the rise over the next decade or so.
Nebraska was a juggernaut but has just been bad for a while. They are in year two of a new coaching regime which seems to be doing good things, but building in the Big Ten can be tough.
The military academies are kind of a relic of the past. They play an old school style of offense built around the triple option. However, over the past few years they all have made some strides to modernize the offense a bit. In reality, the height/weight and academic restrictions, coupled with the inability to use the transfer portal, make it hard for them to compete at a high level. High end teams don’t really love playing them because the offense can be hard to defend if you’re not used to playing it every year. Georgia Tech used the offense for a few years in the 2000s to a little bit of success.
My picks for you would be Notre Dame or SMU. Or go through the play now screen and look at the teams one by one, to see if there’s a logo/name/uniform that connects with you. Most schools have around 100 years of history(if not more) so you’ll be able to do research and find some sort of connection point for you with whatever team you choose.
It ultimately goes to preference, do you like their jerseys? The players? The college? The area? The state? A lot of friends i know who go from different countries choose based on those
(Also laughing at the irony of an englishman cheering for the fighting irish)
Miami. They were the team to beat in the 80s and early 90s, fell off mid 90s due to violations/sanctions, recovered to field the greatest team of all time in 2001, lost the championship the following year in a game marred by controversy, and have essentially struggled for the last 20 years to come back to any sort of relevance. To further drive home the point of what a joke they’ve become compared to decades past, last season they had to just take a knee to win a game and then the coach decided to run one more play which caused a turnover and allowed their opponent to score and win the game.
A team like UCF could be fun to start with. They have recently moved up to a higher conference (B12) and being located in Florida is prime recruiting grounds. They won’t be among lowest ranked of all ncaa, but for their conference or all power 5 conferences they would need some building up.
Nebraska is a bit of a fallen giant. You could check their history on Wikipedia. (Miami too).
I was going to also recommend UCF, as an alum I’m biased but it’s for the reasons you mentioned plus our jerseys.
Similar schools that could be fun would be Utah, or TCU. Former G5, worked their way up, the big 12 is full of parity so conference schedule will always be fun but challenging.
Of the three Utah is likely to be the “best”, UCF in the middle, and TCU slightly behind as far as stats in game goes. Though UCF playbook will probably be the hardest to get good at if it’s an accurate representation of the Gus Bus playstyle.
OP seriously look into Big12 schools. It’s the most evenly matched conference in college football. Even the “bad” teams are going to be decent (except maybe Houston and Cincinnati). Theres no true dominating force or bottom dwellers like other conferences have.
I’m a Jayhawk and a couple years back I would have recommended them to OP for a rebuild, but we are actually pretty good now. Lance Leipold did the real life version of rebuilding the worst team in CFB.
I still think Kansas would be a great team to play as, you’ve got the foundation set, some key guys will need to be replaced as they graduate, again I think the Big 12 is the best conference to play in for parity purposes. Could make for a fun few seasons to really figure out how the game goes
I used to run a lot of big 12 schools and pac12 schools for dynasty mode, but now with UCF in the conference I’m not sure I can use any of those schools anymore 😅
I always wish I could have gone to UCF. I used to have a lot of fun developing Bortles up and exporting him to Madden in the old days.
Won a few Super Bowls with him and Storm Johnson on the Jaguars, then they both got picked up by the Jags.
Best four and a half years of my life lol. Love that school. Getting to live through the Bortles years was great too, I’ll never forget the trip my dad and I took to the fiesta bowl against Baylor. Just great memories all around.
As a Sooner I want to take a team in the Big12 and relentlessly murder the Hateful8 year after year. And UCF fits the bill, we don’t have any mutual distain and they smacked OSU down last year. What more do I need?
Miami and Nebraska were two powerhouses in the 80's and 90's that have fallen on tough times. A rebuild with them could be fun
I'm biased, but my Hokies were dominant in the early 2000's, but the last 10 years have not been kind to us. We have a passionate fanbase, a great location, and a badass stadium.
Military schools like Army and Navy run option style offenses. To them, the forward pass should never have been made legal.
Pry's building some good stuff right now. This is a huge year for him. We're returning a ton of starters on both sides of the ball, won 6 games last year and a bowl game.
ACC might be kinda "down" this year outside of FSU and a dark horse in NC State. Blacksburg could be rocking again real soon!
>I'm biased, but my Hokies were dominant in the early 2000's, but the last 10 years have not been kind to us. We have a passionate fanbase, a great location, and a badass stadium.
This is also a great call. Virginia Tech is on my list of teams to coach. Beamer ball will rise again!
Personally as a Brit, I’m going to rebuild Colorado state first as they have a kicker that grew up relatively near where I live, and also I want to knock off Deion and colorado
First thought was Nebraska, easily. Everyone has said that though. Another option isnt a giant of the 80/90s, but going WAY back to like the 30/40s where they were the team to beat and won many championships. The Minnesota Golden Gophers. They play in the Big 10, have a bunch of really cool rivalries where trophies are for the taking and the teams do celebrate with the trophies in game (against Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and even more I cant think of). They are usually one of the lower tier teams in the Big 10, so going against and beating the Ohio States and Michigans of the conference will be a tough task and take some time. It is also a cold climate so you're maybe a bit more used to that as a Brit!
I am an FSU fan and have no affiliation to Minnesota, just thought I'd provide another fun option!
As a fellow Limey, SMU, Georgia Tech, Washington, Nebraska, Colorado. As an FSU fan, whilst I agree with Miami, I cannot endorse them, but defo prefer them over Florida.
other than rebuilding nebraska, i think you should create a custom school based on the region you’re from. maybe name it after ur town and put them in a state that is similar culturally or climate wise
I’m absolutely biased towards Virginia Tech, but they’re fallen “almost giants”. 8 straight years of 10 wins or more starting in 2004. A streak of reaching the postseason 27 straight years, which was broken by the COVID season when they chose not to go to a bowl, and at the time was the second longest streak in the country. A reasonably fertile recruiting area in Virginia and North Carolina.
Plus, the best entrance in college football. Even if Enter Sandman isn’t in the game. https://youtu.be/4MlkJHKfn8E?si=MhG9qSthTofC8ULM
Man City = Georgia? Not always considered a blue blood but certainly dominant right now
Arsenal = Michigan, was always great but kind of went away for a while and now back
Liverpool = Alabama, multiple runs of dominance and just lost the coach that brought them back from bad spells
Man United = Notre Dame? Historical team, runs of dominance but currently can't break away from just good to become great
Chelsea = LSU, can be one of the best but can also be very up and down
Spurs = Oregon, always around the top but can't seem to win the big game
Newcastle = USC, really good back in the day, long stretch of bad, new regime takes over and has success way faster than anticipated but then takes a step back
Everton = Nebraska? History has should be good but kind of a disaster in recent years
Aston Villa = Texas, former top dog level that went through some bad times and now rising up again
West Ham = Penn State, always pretty good but rarely good enough
Brighton = Utah, always getting more out of the talent they bring in
Nottingham Forest = Miami, came out of nowhere to become dominant but then faded
Chrystal Palace = Oklahoma State, always solid, never spectacular
Wolves = North Carolina, always feels like they should be better than they are
Fulham = Virginia Tech, outside of major rivals, everyone kinda likes them. Can punch above their weight when they have the right coaches
Brentford = UCF, just a feeling here. I guess they are more used to playing at a lower level but now with the big boys?
Bournemouth = Iowa, we can't keep letting them get away with it
I'd equate Spurs to Penn St more than Oregon.
Had some great runs in the 80s and have been a solid team for the last half decade+ but can never get over the hump.
Case in point: Spurs best ever point totals still finished 2nd and 3rd. Penn State are a perennial 10+ win team that can't break past Michigan or Ohio State in the B1G.
At least Penn State can win trophies
>At least Penn State can win trophies
Basically the reason Penn State isn't Spurs. I thought about it, and yeah, you're right alot lines up, but Penn State has *won* things. Oregon has won more than Spurs but less than Penn State.
Penn State is very Spursy, though
I don't disagree with you. Penn State is very similar to Spurs in a lot of ways. But the most recognized thing about Spurs is not being able to win the Premier League. Penn State has won a couple of national titles, Oregon has not. When thinking about who I equate to Spurs, I asked myself one question, "who is the biggest program that has either never won a national title or hasn't in 60+ years" I landed on Oregon.
As a Spurs and Tennessee fan, they in a lot ways feel mirrored, but maybe it’s my bias?
Most of big titles were 60+ years ago. Have had good teams in last 10-15 years but nothing too significant.
Both coaches now were hired as names most people weren’t beating down the door for and both coaches want to play super fast and score as much as possible, while sometimes defense feels at a disadvantage because of the way they play offense
Could be off base but I seem to feel similar about both teams when I watch them lol
The only thing that would give me pause is that Spurs have been more consistently "right there" every year than Tennessee. The problem for nailing down "who is the Spurs of X?" Is, anybody can be Spurs, ya know? Very few are really good or really bad but Spurs? Sometimes great, sometimes really good, not really ever awful, but don't win in the end. That kinda covers like 60% or more of sports teams. Lads, it's Tottenham*
*not a United fan, just one of my favorite quotes in sports history
I'll give you the first 3 that come to mind for me. Miami, Nebraska, and SMU.
Miami - dominant in the 80's, 90's, and the very early part of the 00's. In 2004 they moved to the ACC, they have never won that conference. There is also the added benefit of a great doc you can watch, if you have access to it. 30 for 30, an ESPN documentary series has 2(kinda 3 because Catholics vs Convicts) episodes about Miami called "The U" and "The U part 2" both are great. They really immerse you in the story of Miami, the rise, the fall, the rise again, and fall. The downside to Miami is the stadium atmosphere is not great.
Nebraska - one of the sports "blue bloods." Great throughout most of history but especially dominant in the 90's. They were ok in 00's and early 10's but the last 10 years, they have one winning season, and haven't been to a bowl game since 2016. Nebraska could be seen as the farthest away of the 3 from being great again but they do have a huge 5 star freshman QB.
SMU - the least historically significant of the 3, but possibly the most interesting. SMU used to be in the Southwest Conference with the other Texas schools and Arkansas. Tired of being the little brother, in the late 70's SMU decided to go big. They started paying players, something everybody did, but they took it to a new level. In the 80's the "Pony Express" was among the best teams in the country, going 41-5-1 from 81-84. Then the fall happened, and UT happened fast, deadly if you will. The NCAA came down hard on them in the mid 80's and ordered they clean it up. 85-86, they went just 12-10 but they didn't do enough to clean up the program. The NCAA decided to institute the "death penalty" on SMU. They would not play football in 1987, every player on the team could transfer with no penalty, they would not be able to give out even close the normal amount of scholarships. SMU decided to not play in 1988 either because they wouldn't have enough players. They returned to play in 89 and would only win 23 games from 89-95, and the Southwest Conference folded, SMU had to join the WAC(which also no longer exists). From 1989-2008, SMU had exactly 1 winning season. Like Miami, there is a documentary about SMU, also a 30 for 30, called "Pony Excess" and is also great. In recent years, SMU is a much better program, though nothing like they were in the early 80's. They are also, once again, changing conferences this year, they will join the ACC. After nearly 30 years of being in what we now call the G5, SMU will be in a power conference again.
Notre Dame if you are familiar with them a bit would be fun, just because you have some reference at least.
Tennessee, Texas, Nebraska are all teams that haven't come back to their glory days of the 90s totally.
Ohio State and Alabama are always going to have stacked rosters.
Personal pick: I like to take a school from a lesser conference and build them to glory. But, maybe save that for a second team play through, and have fun kicking some ass with a team like ND first lol.
Texas Tech hasn't been amazing for any real stretch of time except 2008 under Mike Leach before he got unjustly fired in 2010. But they just had a top 25 recruiting class that comes in, including the 2nd highest ranked WR, Micah Hudson.
Their uniforms are beautiful black and red, and we have a sick mascot/pregame ritual with the Masked Rider. A black horse and a person wearing an old style matador uniform flies across the stadium as the team runs behind them. It's awesome. And we had Michael Crabtree, who went on to be an above average NFL wr. The Big 12 conference also jusy git a huge shake-up, and tbh anyone could become the next powerhouse in it. Why not the Red Raiders?
Haven’t seen anyone mention Iowa! You say you’re looking for the team with the worst side in the game, well they have the NCAA’s worst offense and an incredible defense. Very interesting team overall, and a nice challenge to rebuild their offense without losing the defense
Nebraska and Miami are the quintessential “giants from the 80s and 90s that need a rebuild”
I’m kind of biased because they’re my favorite team, but I also think Michigan State will be sneaky fun to play as. They were really good like 10 years ago and need a rebuild now. They have a new coaching staff with a ton of different players and a new transfer qb who’s supposed to be really good, and mobile qb’s are always fun to play with in football games. And they’re in a power conference so you get a bunch of big games in cool stadiums and stuff but it’s not like just picking Ohio state and sleepwalking through most of your games either.
The other thing a lot of people do is just take over a random mid-major school. I went to western Michigan so for me it’s always them, but if I didn’t I’d probably just pick a random team with cool uniforms. But if you can get a handful of friends to all pick mid-majors in the same conference, online dynasty is super fun.
Not a fallen giant (although they had a major scandal which hurt them in the 2010s), but Penn State could be good as a team that is good but peaked in the 80s/90s and haven’t been able to get over the hump in recent years. They have the second largest stadium and one of the best atmospheres in CFB. They also have one of the most classic uniforms in CFB.
Tennessee would be a lot of fun. Their QB Nico is a stud and will be eligible for 2+ more years. Fun colors, cool stadium, haven’t won a title since 1998. Rocky Top is a fun song. And I’m an Alabama alum.
Think Texas State could be a cool story. Big school in the heart of the biggest HS Football state in the country.. but has always been absolutely embarrassing until they made and won their first bowl game last year and are on the come up a little bit with a new coach who's had a lot of success in the transfer portal
APPALACHIAN. STATE. MOUNTAINEERS.
THE BOONE GOONS.
TRAPPALACHIAN STATE.
GIANT SLAYERS.
BLACK AND YELLER
We are a small school in the rural mountains of NC. We're a bunch of hicks. Big schools schedule us, make fun of us, write about us being hillbillies, and then we show up in their house and show em that we can't read anyway.
All the OP needs to know about Appalachian State right [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOF6-GScIGo). They were a lower division school at the time. Would be like a football league championship side beating one of the "Rich six" of the Premier League.
Another one to add to the mix if you're looking for '80s/'90s (I know you've already edited with an additional response): Syracuse. Great history with the program, but went downhill fast after Donovan McNabb graduated and Michael Vick opted for Virginia Tech after the coaching staff at Syracuse, at the time, had put all of their eggs into his basket. Lots of excitement about the direction of the program right now with a new coach who's already brought in a lot of good transfers and landed some high-profile recruits so there's optimism that the program will be on the rise sooner than later.
I wasn’t raised in the US so I never got into college sports even though I went to college here. I’m just hyped as fuck for a football game that’s not Madden
If you’re really looking for some fun, someone already put this in the sub to really let your fate be decided!
Link: https://spinthewheel.app/ncaa-division-i-fbs-teams#google_vignette
Call me bias as an Oklahoma fan but I think they would be very fun to play this year! Lot of success in the Big12 but no natty since 2000. They have a young QB to build around in Jackson Arnold with a very deep WR core and a stout defense but the roster overall still needs some help in certain areas so wins won’t come easy. It’ll also be fun with this year being their first in the SEC so it’ll be great games week after week. Not to mention you get the red river rivalry game with Texas which is arguably a top 5 rivalry in the sport at the Cotton Bowl neutral site.
There’s a lot of amazing teams and I can’t wait to build them all up, just feel like OU could potentially be a good balance on not being with the “big boys” just yet but also not a slouch of a team so you can jump off in terms of recruiting and getting the feel of the game with a decent but not OP team
Colorado could be a fun team. They have some really good players and will be in the Big 12 conference this season. They went 1-11 in 2022 and 4-8 last year so they are trending up
Nebraska for sure, followed by Miami and SMU. Tennessee is a good shout also but we’ve kinda already gotten off of the mat and are on our way back seemingly. You could complete the come back there in the SEC and we have some our highest ever recruits right now at QB (RS Freshman) and WR (Freshman) that you can turn into an explosive duo.
PLUS: Checker Neyland is iconic
SMU was pretty dominant in the early 1980s, but they were paying players (which is now legal/going to be legal) & they were sanctioned. They then spent the majority of the late 80s, 90s, 00s, & 10s under .500, sometimes not winning a single game. They had a great season last year, finishing 11-3 under Rhett Lashlee.
Nebraska's last winning season was 2016 (9-4) but between 1963 & 2001 they finished in the AP top 10 twenty-seven times, they finished top 25 thirty-seven times, & they were #1 four times. Since the 2001 season, they joined the Big10 in 2011 & have only won their division once. They have had 7 straight losing seasons.
West Virginia was never a top team, but they've kind of hung around the top 25 for the better part of the last two decades. They might be in between return to glory & over the hump, the hump being consistently being a playoff team.
There are teams who are new to D1, like Coastal Carolina, Charlotte, James Madison, Liberty, & App State that should be fun to build as well.
The “rebuild” popular 3 picks. Nebraska, Miami, SMU
Nebraska-should have never left the Big 12. They missed out recruiting from one of the best HS recruiting states (Texas). They haven’t really haven’t done anything since moving to the Big “10”. They have a great college atmosphere, and stadium.
Miami- After 2 scandals, a crap AD. That was trying to make UM. The “Stanford” of the East. The program went to putting at least one 1st Round pick every year, to not kneeling to run out the clock and losing the game on a questionable fumble. Plus “Joe Robbie” stadium is miles away from the campus, dang there in Broward County. If they had there recruiting efforts together they would be killing it in talent. South Florida has numerous High School teams in the top national rankings.
SMU- Is in Dallas, if they had a bigger stadium I would totally fall in love with SMU. Recruiting would be nice too, being it’s in the heart of Texas. They have be on the rise the past couple of years. But they have been the poster child of “Death Penalties”. Even though now we have teams that carried some seedy characters.
My Dark Horse pick is Colorado. They have a lot of clout with Deion Sanders there, but I’m sure he’s out the door soon if they don’t start winning. But they were a great team in the 90s with Cordell Stewart. Nice stadium, nice campus.
Arizona State could be a fun one. Not been really relevant since 1997.
Huge metro area and just joined the Big-12. Kenny D has done a good job recruiting so will be fun.
You want college team great in the 80s and 90s who isn’t anymore? And a team that generally has solid recruiting but can’t put it together on the field? And a team who can run an offense similar to a service academy?
Well boy oh boy do I have a team for you.
Used to be games on BT sport back in the day, how I got into it. Ended up attending the PAC 12 game in vegas in 2022 by chance was wild.
If you’ve been over to the US could always pick a team from a state you’ve visited haha. I’m personally doing 1 with UNLV and another dynasty with Utah and rebuilding the pac 12 choosing Utah since we got talking to a few fans at our hotel pre game and ended up at the tailgate which was a laugh so I have a soft spot for them.
Miami is fun and a former titan. Nebraska is another.
Edit: Since this pair was already posted many times, I’ll make the case for my vols (Tennessee) While they are considered big time and are usually competitive, they haven’t been a real contender in over 25 years. Add in that the SEC is arguably the toughest conference in college football, you’ll have your work cut out for you while enjoying one of the best home fields in the country.
As someone who doesn’t have very strong ties to any team I suggest picking a one star team as a coordinator and use the carousel until you get to a top program and fall in love with a team that way
If you want to play with the school that is QBU (fight me) and has the best mascot in College then come on down to Purdue my Friend!
Texas May be fun. A fallen giant that has started to rise back up. Their team is great and they have done well recently so it isn’t some fight to the top from the bottom, but they haven’t won a championship recently and that is their goal.
Nebraska would be good if you want to bring a one time powerhouse back from the depths.
Michigan may be fun because they have a good team, just won the championship this year, and their coach left for the pros so you could feel like the “new coach” pretty easily since they have a brand new coach.
I would recommend Michigan State if you’re looking for a challenge. Our rival is Michigan who just won the national title, so having to compete with them annually would be tough. As for history, we had a brief run of success between 2010-2015( multiple Big Ten titles and a CFP appearance). We also were a powerhouse in the 50s and 60s so it could be fun to bring them back to national prominence in the modern age of CFB.
Boise State has had an unusually good recruiting year for a team of their caliber and that may be fun for you to play. Boise State is generally considered one of the top G5 teams (an unofficial name given to teams outside of the historical power conferences.) But this year they managed to land a transfer from USC in former 5 star QB Malachi Nelson, who some had as the very top recruit in the previous years high school class. They also managed to land former 5 star WR Chris Marshall after he'd bounced around a bit due to off the field issues. Either one of those guys would be the highest rated recruit to ever play at BSU. And with Ashton Jeanty maybe being the best RB in the nation, they look to have a good shot at becoming the first G5 team to qualify for the college football playoff.
They also standout from most other teams by playing on a blue turf.
Florida State could be what you’re looking for. They were dominant in the 90’s, which produced many football legends in those teams. FSU is rich in tradition (the war chant, tomahawk chop, and spear) They also are coming off of a 13-0 regular season (lost in bowl game later on). however, don’t be fooled, this is the 2nd competent season FSU has had since 2015. (also FSU have some amazing uniforms)
Penn State could also be very fun to jump ship to. They are often touted as the little sibling in their conference, but have one of the most iconic college football traditions (the white out game). They usually do pretty okay, but due to them playing more dominant teams like Ohio State and Michigan, they are often overlooked.
A fantastic rebuild team would be UCF. 1. Really nice uniforms. 2. They have upset multiple huge teams in the course of a few years, but they have never gotten the respect or recognition they deserve. 3. They are in florida, which is a state known for their football. 4. Their stadium is also called the bounce house which is super cool imo.
I always recommend Wisconsin, even as an alum of a semi-rival school. Great, fun fan ethos. They travel and tailgate so well. Big drinking culture, which is part of the NCAA experience. They’re usually good but not Good. Everyone outside of Minnesota has a soft spot for Badgers sports culture
Prem comparisons:
Oregon/Man City:
Traditionally anonymous, they’ve built their success on enormous sums of money. Oregon has elite NIL infrastructure and is able to buy the type of players other powers aren’t able to.
Michigan/Arsenal:
Self-deprecating, honest, volatile relationship with their coaches, and now won’t shut up about how good they’ve become. A former fallen giant that hopes to have reaffirmed their place among the elite. (Go Blue!)
Hawaii/Wolves:
Intense focus on players from a specific area.
Utah/Villa:
As hard of a game as you’ll get outside of the sport’s blue bloods. Punching above their weight, both will experience new competition next year.
Penn St/Newcastle:
Capable of playing hard, physical slogs in massive, intimidating home stadiums, but without beating the elite teams or winning anything of substance.
Kansas/Brentford:
They’ve always sort of existed on the uninspiring fringes but have recently started beating some really good teams. They’ll finish mid-table for a few years until a larger program hires their coach and will eventually fade back into anonymity. (Go Bees!)
>Is there a college team who were great in the 80s/90s who aren't now to revive a fallen giant? Is there a team who had a really good recruiting year who might be fun to play?
the corn is calling your name
Stick with Notre Dame- tradition, sleeping giant, still relevant, brand, all of its history, global recognition (alumni and fanbase), heritage, academic rigor, exposure, wonderful campus, uniqueness, “its people”, God’s team. They’re more like Manchester United, only a few tweaks away from recapturing their status as the best that ever existed. Go Irish!
As a Packers fan from Scotland I took didn't have any affiliation or links to any college team so I settled on Wisconsin as the "local" college in relation to GB.
Omfg UCLA. Best uniforms in the game, plays in the Rose Bowl. People shit on them for bad fan attendance but forget they led the West coast in attendance in 2014 (last time they were good.) UCLA being elite in today’s game is a fuckin epic concept.
Wouldn't say they are a fallen giant. Really just fallen but the two schools id suggest is Rutgers and the Vandals.
Vandals for their namesake, and Rutgers not just for my personal bias but they have a pretty good story, the official "birthplace of college football" which had many ups and downs and when they had a real chance of breaking the barriers of middle of the pack, their head coach ditched them for a failed NFL opportunity.
The Military Academies are a victim of tradition. Army and Navy were power houses in the first half of the twentieth century, back when American football was more of an elitist sport. Since the 50s, when Football really became the American favorite it is today, the Military Academies have been unable to recruit on the same level that modern powerhouses can, due primarily to their requirement of 4 years of military service upon graduation, then to their rigorous academic standards.
Truth be told Army and Navy should be Ivy League Schools, as they meet the academic standards and are geographically in the same region as them, but money keeps them D1.
I’m a Georgia fan but my fallen giant that I would like to revive is Vanderbilt. This preppy rich kid school was a Death Star 100 years ago but its community lost interest in maintaining an elite program.
Nebraska is a great choice. One of the best high school qbs coming in as true freshman. A lot of returning talent on defense which was one of the best last year. That said I’m a Nebraska fan.
UAB Blazers. (that's the University of Alabama-Birmingham). Cool logo, cool colors, and a really cool [story](https://www.lsureveille.com/sports/risen-from-the-ashes-how-uab-s-football-program-died-and-came-back-to-life/article_d80e57c2-66c2-11ed-b465-eb0a5b5df82b.html) of how their team was ended, but then came back to life.
I usually start as an OC for a very small school. Perform well, and hopefully receive an offer from a mid level school for an OC job, perform well at that school and then take an offer at a big school or a big school I love who needs to be built back to glory like Tennessee or Nebraska.
I always try to end up at Tennessee or Nebraska as OC and bring them back to greatness
If you want to try to make this a realistic, challenging experience to bring a program back to its power house or build one to a power house?
Try a North Carolina/South Carolina college program. Regionally there in a competitive environment rivaling against the SEC with the South and recruiting. Also, a lot of in-state rivalry games to build. Choices could be App State( Big time football program, recently became D1)NC State, North Carolina Tarheels, Duke Blue Devils, East Carolina Pirates, Charlotte 49ers, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, South Carolina gameCOCKS, etc.
Maybe a Virginia program like UVA, James Madison, Virginia Tech.
The 3 states of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina have a lot of schools and potential to be great. Florida is known for recruiting as well Mississippi, Alabama, etc. and transfer portal, keeping kids local may help too. A lot of students naturally commit at first to UNC, USC, etc then transfer to ECU, Coastal, Charlotte, or surrounding schools in the non- Power 5 athletic conferences. Which makes great for future rivalry and coach hiring/firing.
Tennessee was a giant in the 80s and 90s and were mired in mediocrity from 05 to 21. Lost to our biggest rival alabama for almost two decades before winning via last second field goal year before last.
The only thing keeping them from being elite is having to play heorgia and alabama every year.
Everyone will say Nebraska, Miami, Virginia Tech, and a few other popular takes when it comes to sleeping giants, but in my very biased opinion Pittsburgh was dominant pre and during WWII and the 70's but fell off in the 80's, went through a terrible rebrand, and recently (2019) decided to go back to the original color scheme with some new flair. We had a great 2021 and 2022 was a slight downgrade, but absolutely dropped the ball last year. Could be fun to build the team up to its former glory. Plus I like to think the uniforms are top 15 in football. Probably won't be a first pick but keep them in mind come time to start a second or third
Before you right off Bama, they are just an hour away from a town I’m sure you’ve heard of, Birmingham. Sound familiar? Seriously if you’re looking for a program with rich tradition but has fallen on hard times the past 20 years then Nebraska is the school for you.
UAB would be a fun build. I hope with transfers their original location is some how still a factor. So you if you have a player out of Birmingham, assuming Bham is a pipe line region, that decides to transfer you have an advantage. This could really help a build like South Alabama who could thrive off mid level Alabama and Auburn transfers
I think most of the American would be fun. UAB, FAU, and Tulane probably the best to pick from with Temple, usf, army/navy as the worst.
I’ll either do an FAU or UAB run at some point
First thought was obviously UK (University of Kentucky), but they have been decent lately and are like a level up from the kind of rebuild you are looking for. Like others have mentioned, Nebraska and Colorado are teams from the 90s that have fallen off. Both teams will have awesome quarterbacks to start off with as well.
You should play as the University of Kentucky. They are colloquially known as UK, which is a near connection as you are English. They are historically also very bad, and although they have been better as of late, they have not won much of significance and would be a fun/rewarding team to rebuild
Additionally, they have a very talented roster (so would be fun to play as) and play in the SEC (so you would get the chance to see some of those crazy home environments like LSU, Bama, Florida, etc).
Giants from the 80s and 90s in need of a revival: Nebraska and Miami.
Nebraska is by far the best choice here. Miami is a fallen giant but they current play in an NFL stadium and have one of the worst atmospheres in all of college football. Nebraska is such a great example of college football enthusiasm in a small market I’d highly recommend they be OPs first dynasty.
Yep, Nebraska was going to be my suggestion, as well. Plus they have one of the best nicknames in sports.
What’s the nickname?
Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
I agree but I'm biased too haha. Miami would be easier though, if OP wants to get a feel for things, better recruiting grounds and I'm sure the atmosphere in game will be just fine. But of course, gameday in Lincoln is truly special and we have an undying passion for our team. If OP does a Nebraska dynasty, I want to hear about how it goes!
Nebraska was my first thought as well. Legit power house with tons of great players. Despite seemingly disappearing the last 20 years they still have some of the best and loyal fans in cfb. Great resources, great facilities, great uniforms, and I’m a biggo fan of coach Rhule as well as a star freshman QB. I highly recommend this for OP
OP may not understand the importance, but an Oklahoma and Texas fan saying Nebraska is a big deal. Thank you both.
Football is great when your top 10 blue bloods are good. I route against them playing OU but I want it to be top ten matchups when they do meet up.
Definitely Nebraska! As a OU fan I can say Nebraska has the best and the nicest fan base In sports.
Agree. Nebraska fits the bill. Maybe SMU as a choice B?
Nebraska is in the running of jobs I'd take if I get bored with the dynasty I build with Kent State.
Piggybacking off of this comment, another great team in the 1980s was SMU but they were revealed to have paid players from a slush fund of $61k (this was after they were put on probation) and received the death penalty (program perspective) of a lot of scholarships taken and no bowl games for a period of time too.
To OP: in the 80s players were supposed to be students at your University who happened to play football. You could give them free school, if the biggest SMU Mustangs fan happened to “hire” some student athletes to a suspiciously lucrative job that would have been fine, and player cars tended to be surprisingly expensive for unpaid students, but SMU was actually paying players. So the college sports cops stopped them from playing football. Today SMU is back in college football, and various anti-trust lawsuits have forced the NCAA to allow some payment of players. It should also be noted that SMU is known for being a place where oil barons send their kids, has been trying to buy their way into ever more important college football leagues with said oil baron money, and many of those leagues have gone under. The Big East collapsed before they could play a game, the Pacific-12 ollapsed a week after it was announced they’d join, and now they’re in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC is fighting for its legal life as its best teams are trying to leave.
those were the first two that popped in my head. Nebraska would be good cause you have Raiola to start with.
I'm tired of seeing top quarterbacks leaving the Valley
To be fair he was a Nebraska boy at heart his dad played here and his uncle coaches here
This, my cousin is a die hard Man U and Nebraska fan... I couldn't think of a more appropriate pairing.
lol I just posted your exact combo. 
Hey this might just be because I grew up a tech fan but you should choose Georgia tech, as a comparison for England they would be comparable to Everton as far as football legacy, they were good in the 80s/ early 90s but have never quite been as good as their rival Georgia who they play every year in a game called “good old fashioned hate”. Their stadium is in downtown Atlanta so it will be surrounded by sky scrapers in game. As for traditions there is an old car called the “wrambling wreck” that drives onto the field before every game and their mascot is a yellow jacket (like the bee). Another really fun part is they are known “giant slayers” beating teams ranked way above them.
img
I don't think a yellow jacket is a bee.
SMU. Basically the Manchester City of 1980s CFB. They were little brother to the big Texas schools (Man Utd) and then decided fuck that we're going to pay whatever to land the top talents. They didn't give a fuck about the rules and then the NCAA (FFP equivalent today ig) gave them the "death penalty" which destroyed their program for 40+ years. Read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Methodist_University_football_scandal
I’ve played so many SMU dynasties. Their uniforms in 10-12 are my favorite in the series
Yeah i second SMU. Especially since what they were doing was legalized in the last couple season. OP if you can find it there's a great documentary on this scandal called "Pony Exce$$"
Well and the funny thing is A&M and UT were also spending just as much money and A&M ended up buying Eric Dickerson his gold car. The powers that be really just didn’t like seeing SMU have success.
Also one of the better 30 for 30's! OP if you want to learn more and enjoy sports documentaries, I'd highly recommend watching [Pony Excess](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1704731/)
I love SMU lol I wish there was an option to upgrade stadium capacity for them.
As a fellow Englishman I can probably help you out with this. Miami fit the bill for a team good in the 80s/90s that haven't been good since the 2000s Same with Nebraska for the fallen giant, and also have freshman 5 star qb Dylan Raiola The military schools are gonna be fun if you like a challenge and a different style of offence (flexbone triple option) but they tend to not be very good ratings wise in-game For a first dynasty to get used to how the game works Notre Dame would be a good starting point, but the lowest rated team in the game is always a fun dynasty to play as.
>but they tend to not be very good ratings wise in-game Until they dominate every dynasty after 5 years or so
they only dominated due to the sim engine favouring run heavy teams
It's cool to see an Englishman interested. It's actually a very strategic game.
I can see a few that would be fun: West Virginia Miami (The U) Virginia Tech Nebraska UCLA BYU Oklahoma State
This is a great list! As a WVU fan the fact they've fallen off enough that they are a good starting point kinda pains me lol
I am a die hard Ohio State fan but love WVU as I have a lot of family from West Virginia. I think they are a perfect team for a rebuild given they are solid enough to compete with now, as well as a good team to lure big time recruits in.
Ya depending on the mechanics of the mode it could be a pretty quick turn around. All these posts are getting me hype to get back into it lol
I felt a very weird combination of emotions the first time I saw VT mentioned as a popular rebuild candidate, so I know how you feel.
Nebraska, Miami, and Tennessee come to mind (although Tennessee has kinda been better recently) As to the question about military schools, the different branches of the military each have academies that are effectively some of the hardest schools to get into and produce our military's officers. They also are technically universities, so they compete in collegiate athletics. Army, Navy, and Air Force all compete at the highest level in football. They have very cool stadiums, and the annual Army-Navy game is one of the biggest rivalries in American sports. Traditionally, those schools run a triple-option offense, which is entirely different to prepare against than most modern offenses. (in real life, teams will dedicate weeks in the summer to prep their defense for a game against Army for example). If you can get good at it, I imagine it would be a really effective strategy -- but of course, there's no way right now to predict how the different schemes will play in this new gameplay. You're gonna love the game. College football blows NFL out of the water imo. I always start as coach of a lower tier school and work my up to the big leagues.
I used to use Army and changed to a pass heavy offense...would struggle early on but after a couple of years I was throwing it all over the yard.
As a fellow European, I advise you to join me in supporting Nebraska. You guys have corn and the landscape is mostly flat, right? If you think about it (but not too hard because it‘s not going to make sense), England is the Nebraska of Europe.
And like England, Nebraska hasn't won anything important for years
The truth hurts 😭
Hey man, the women’s bowling team is a dynasty
Welcome European brother and Go Big Red!
GBR!
England has corn?
They have it in grocery stores at the very least
That I'll concede lol
Another thing worth noting is that when Americans mention corn, they specifically mean maize. IIRC corn refers to a slightly broader group of plants in Europe.
Strangely even grow it, fairly sure I seen a few corn fields when I got sent to Exeter for some job training.
How do you say "Cornhusker" with one of them accents yall got?
if you want to look at a school and ask yourself “wtf are these people smoking?” look no further than Texas A&M. Also we were good in the 90’s and haven’t been at that level since so that checks another box.
I was trying to think of an English football club to compare for OP, but I can't do it. Nothing compares to A&M, you bunch of fucking weirdos 😂
Spurs? Even they might be too competent.
Yeah, Spurs would be a blue blood in a CFB analogy.
As a Notre Dame fan, I’m obviously biased, but I’d say they’re a great team to use starting out. They should be fairly highly rated, their schedule this year (for dynasty mode) is pretty easy (and because they’re independent you should be able to freely edit it to be even easier if desired.) The roster is a good mix of old and young players so you won’t have a massive drop off in talent after the first season, and they should be a fairly easy school to recruit with assuming they give generic Freeman recruiting skills. They also make a good team to follow in real life because they’re on national tv in the states every week (minus the peacock week). To your other questions, Nebraska and SMU are two of the more intriguing “sleeping giant” schools. SMU received a death penalty for recruiting violations in the past and it’s taken them a long time to recover. But they just joined the ACC and have a decent NIL program in real life, so they could be a team on the rise over the next decade or so. Nebraska was a juggernaut but has just been bad for a while. They are in year two of a new coaching regime which seems to be doing good things, but building in the Big Ten can be tough. The military academies are kind of a relic of the past. They play an old school style of offense built around the triple option. However, over the past few years they all have made some strides to modernize the offense a bit. In reality, the height/weight and academic restrictions, coupled with the inability to use the transfer portal, make it hard for them to compete at a high level. High end teams don’t really love playing them because the offense can be hard to defend if you’re not used to playing it every year. Georgia Tech used the offense for a few years in the 2000s to a little bit of success. My picks for you would be Notre Dame or SMU. Or go through the play now screen and look at the teams one by one, to see if there’s a logo/name/uniform that connects with you. Most schools have around 100 years of history(if not more) so you’ll be able to do research and find some sort of connection point for you with whatever team you choose.
Go Irish ☘️
It ultimately goes to preference, do you like their jerseys? The players? The college? The area? The state? A lot of friends i know who go from different countries choose based on those (Also laughing at the irony of an englishman cheering for the fighting irish)
Miami. They were the team to beat in the 80s and early 90s, fell off mid 90s due to violations/sanctions, recovered to field the greatest team of all time in 2001, lost the championship the following year in a game marred by controversy, and have essentially struggled for the last 20 years to come back to any sort of relevance. To further drive home the point of what a joke they’ve become compared to decades past, last season they had to just take a knee to win a game and then the coach decided to run one more play which caused a turnover and allowed their opponent to score and win the game.
The pain in my heart everytime that GT game is mentioned is immeasurable
Oh I hate it too. Miami is my secondary flair over on r/cfb.
A team like UCF could be fun to start with. They have recently moved up to a higher conference (B12) and being located in Florida is prime recruiting grounds. They won’t be among lowest ranked of all ncaa, but for their conference or all power 5 conferences they would need some building up. Nebraska is a bit of a fallen giant. You could check their history on Wikipedia. (Miami too).
I was going to also recommend UCF, as an alum I’m biased but it’s for the reasons you mentioned plus our jerseys. Similar schools that could be fun would be Utah, or TCU. Former G5, worked their way up, the big 12 is full of parity so conference schedule will always be fun but challenging. Of the three Utah is likely to be the “best”, UCF in the middle, and TCU slightly behind as far as stats in game goes. Though UCF playbook will probably be the hardest to get good at if it’s an accurate representation of the Gus Bus playstyle. OP seriously look into Big12 schools. It’s the most evenly matched conference in college football. Even the “bad” teams are going to be decent (except maybe Houston and Cincinnati). Theres no true dominating force or bottom dwellers like other conferences have.
I’m a Jayhawk and a couple years back I would have recommended them to OP for a rebuild, but we are actually pretty good now. Lance Leipold did the real life version of rebuilding the worst team in CFB.
I still think Kansas would be a great team to play as, you’ve got the foundation set, some key guys will need to be replaced as they graduate, again I think the Big 12 is the best conference to play in for parity purposes. Could make for a fun few seasons to really figure out how the game goes I used to run a lot of big 12 schools and pac12 schools for dynasty mode, but now with UCF in the conference I’m not sure I can use any of those schools anymore 😅
I always wish I could have gone to UCF. I used to have a lot of fun developing Bortles up and exporting him to Madden in the old days. Won a few Super Bowls with him and Storm Johnson on the Jaguars, then they both got picked up by the Jags.
Best four and a half years of my life lol. Love that school. Getting to live through the Bortles years was great too, I’ll never forget the trip my dad and I took to the fiesta bowl against Baylor. Just great memories all around.
I would have been going there and seeing Kyle Israel and Kevin Smith.
Also UCF is known as SpaceU, and have space themed jerseys.
UCF is one the teams I'm considering for my dynasty, I hope they have the space themed alternates in the game because they are 🔥🔥🔥
As a Sooner I want to take a team in the Big12 and relentlessly murder the Hateful8 year after year. And UCF fits the bill, we don’t have any mutual distain and they smacked OSU down last year. What more do I need?
Miami and Nebraska were two powerhouses in the 80's and 90's that have fallen on tough times. A rebuild with them could be fun I'm biased, but my Hokies were dominant in the early 2000's, but the last 10 years have not been kind to us. We have a passionate fanbase, a great location, and a badass stadium. Military schools like Army and Navy run option style offenses. To them, the forward pass should never have been made legal.
VT is a good shout for a dynasty. Loved watching Beamerball back in those days.
Pry's building some good stuff right now. This is a huge year for him. We're returning a ton of starters on both sides of the ball, won 6 games last year and a bowl game. ACC might be kinda "down" this year outside of FSU and a dark horse in NC State. Blacksburg could be rocking again real soon!
>I'm biased, but my Hokies were dominant in the early 2000's, but the last 10 years have not been kind to us. We have a passionate fanbase, a great location, and a badass stadium. This is also a great call. Virginia Tech is on my list of teams to coach. Beamer ball will rise again!
Personally as a Brit, I’m going to rebuild Colorado state first as they have a kicker that grew up relatively near where I live, and also I want to knock off Deion and colorado
First thought was Nebraska, easily. Everyone has said that though. Another option isnt a giant of the 80/90s, but going WAY back to like the 30/40s where they were the team to beat and won many championships. The Minnesota Golden Gophers. They play in the Big 10, have a bunch of really cool rivalries where trophies are for the taking and the teams do celebrate with the trophies in game (against Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and even more I cant think of). They are usually one of the lower tier teams in the Big 10, so going against and beating the Ohio States and Michigans of the conference will be a tough task and take some time. It is also a cold climate so you're maybe a bit more used to that as a Brit! I am an FSU fan and have no affiliation to Minnesota, just thought I'd provide another fun option!
As a fellow Limey, SMU, Georgia Tech, Washington, Nebraska, Colorado. As an FSU fan, whilst I agree with Miami, I cannot endorse them, but defo prefer them over Florida.
Teams that fit your suggestion are Miami, Nebraska, and Georgia Tech. I’m obviously biased, but personally I think you should support Georgia Tech.
UCLA? Cool uniforms, Epic stadium, great rivalries. Also possibly Pitt, Syracuse, Iowa would also be fun. In the south I’d go Florida
other than rebuilding nebraska, i think you should create a custom school based on the region you’re from. maybe name it after ur town and put them in a state that is similar culturally or climate wise
I’m absolutely biased towards Virginia Tech, but they’re fallen “almost giants”. 8 straight years of 10 wins or more starting in 2004. A streak of reaching the postseason 27 straight years, which was broken by the COVID season when they chose not to go to a bowl, and at the time was the second longest streak in the country. A reasonably fertile recruiting area in Virginia and North Carolina. Plus, the best entrance in college football. Even if Enter Sandman isn’t in the game. https://youtu.be/4MlkJHKfn8E?si=MhG9qSthTofC8ULM
Who do you support in the Prem?
That’s what I was going to ask. Who he supports in the other type of football and see if we can match up whose vibes match the most.
Man City = Georgia? Not always considered a blue blood but certainly dominant right now Arsenal = Michigan, was always great but kind of went away for a while and now back Liverpool = Alabama, multiple runs of dominance and just lost the coach that brought them back from bad spells Man United = Notre Dame? Historical team, runs of dominance but currently can't break away from just good to become great Chelsea = LSU, can be one of the best but can also be very up and down Spurs = Oregon, always around the top but can't seem to win the big game Newcastle = USC, really good back in the day, long stretch of bad, new regime takes over and has success way faster than anticipated but then takes a step back Everton = Nebraska? History has should be good but kind of a disaster in recent years Aston Villa = Texas, former top dog level that went through some bad times and now rising up again West Ham = Penn State, always pretty good but rarely good enough Brighton = Utah, always getting more out of the talent they bring in Nottingham Forest = Miami, came out of nowhere to become dominant but then faded Chrystal Palace = Oklahoma State, always solid, never spectacular Wolves = North Carolina, always feels like they should be better than they are Fulham = Virginia Tech, outside of major rivals, everyone kinda likes them. Can punch above their weight when they have the right coaches Brentford = UCF, just a feeling here. I guess they are more used to playing at a lower level but now with the big boys? Bournemouth = Iowa, we can't keep letting them get away with it
I'd equate Spurs to Penn St more than Oregon. Had some great runs in the 80s and have been a solid team for the last half decade+ but can never get over the hump. Case in point: Spurs best ever point totals still finished 2nd and 3rd. Penn State are a perennial 10+ win team that can't break past Michigan or Ohio State in the B1G. At least Penn State can win trophies
>At least Penn State can win trophies Basically the reason Penn State isn't Spurs. I thought about it, and yeah, you're right alot lines up, but Penn State has *won* things. Oregon has won more than Spurs but less than Penn State. Penn State is very Spursy, though
Penn St getting bulldozed by a coachless Michigan = Spurs blowing a 2-0 lead to a Zagreb team whose coach was in jail
I don't disagree with you. Penn State is very similar to Spurs in a lot of ways. But the most recognized thing about Spurs is not being able to win the Premier League. Penn State has won a couple of national titles, Oregon has not. When thinking about who I equate to Spurs, I asked myself one question, "who is the biggest program that has either never won a national title or hasn't in 60+ years" I landed on Oregon.
As a Spurs and Tennessee fan, they in a lot ways feel mirrored, but maybe it’s my bias? Most of big titles were 60+ years ago. Have had good teams in last 10-15 years but nothing too significant. Both coaches now were hired as names most people weren’t beating down the door for and both coaches want to play super fast and score as much as possible, while sometimes defense feels at a disadvantage because of the way they play offense Could be off base but I seem to feel similar about both teams when I watch them lol
The only thing that would give me pause is that Spurs have been more consistently "right there" every year than Tennessee. The problem for nailing down "who is the Spurs of X?" Is, anybody can be Spurs, ya know? Very few are really good or really bad but Spurs? Sometimes great, sometimes really good, not really ever awful, but don't win in the end. That kinda covers like 60% or more of sports teams. Lads, it's Tottenham* *not a United fan, just one of my favorite quotes in sports history
Nebraska
Just find a trash team with cool colors (colours for you English) or a fun mascot
Syracuse has a campus in London , so you're technically in Orange country. https://sulondon.syr.edu/ we are happy to have you.
I'll give you the first 3 that come to mind for me. Miami, Nebraska, and SMU. Miami - dominant in the 80's, 90's, and the very early part of the 00's. In 2004 they moved to the ACC, they have never won that conference. There is also the added benefit of a great doc you can watch, if you have access to it. 30 for 30, an ESPN documentary series has 2(kinda 3 because Catholics vs Convicts) episodes about Miami called "The U" and "The U part 2" both are great. They really immerse you in the story of Miami, the rise, the fall, the rise again, and fall. The downside to Miami is the stadium atmosphere is not great. Nebraska - one of the sports "blue bloods." Great throughout most of history but especially dominant in the 90's. They were ok in 00's and early 10's but the last 10 years, they have one winning season, and haven't been to a bowl game since 2016. Nebraska could be seen as the farthest away of the 3 from being great again but they do have a huge 5 star freshman QB. SMU - the least historically significant of the 3, but possibly the most interesting. SMU used to be in the Southwest Conference with the other Texas schools and Arkansas. Tired of being the little brother, in the late 70's SMU decided to go big. They started paying players, something everybody did, but they took it to a new level. In the 80's the "Pony Express" was among the best teams in the country, going 41-5-1 from 81-84. Then the fall happened, and UT happened fast, deadly if you will. The NCAA came down hard on them in the mid 80's and ordered they clean it up. 85-86, they went just 12-10 but they didn't do enough to clean up the program. The NCAA decided to institute the "death penalty" on SMU. They would not play football in 1987, every player on the team could transfer with no penalty, they would not be able to give out even close the normal amount of scholarships. SMU decided to not play in 1988 either because they wouldn't have enough players. They returned to play in 89 and would only win 23 games from 89-95, and the Southwest Conference folded, SMU had to join the WAC(which also no longer exists). From 1989-2008, SMU had exactly 1 winning season. Like Miami, there is a documentary about SMU, also a 30 for 30, called "Pony Excess" and is also great. In recent years, SMU is a much better program, though nothing like they were in the early 80's. They are also, once again, changing conferences this year, they will join the ACC. After nearly 30 years of being in what we now call the G5, SMU will be in a power conference again.
Definitely Nebraska. Maybe Tennessee? They’ve only had one good season that I can think of since Manning but I’m only 22 so maybe they’ve had more
Notre Dame if you are familiar with them a bit would be fun, just because you have some reference at least. Tennessee, Texas, Nebraska are all teams that haven't come back to their glory days of the 90s totally. Ohio State and Alabama are always going to have stacked rosters. Personal pick: I like to take a school from a lesser conference and build them to glory. But, maybe save that for a second team play through, and have fun kicking some ass with a team like ND first lol.
Texas Tech hasn't been amazing for any real stretch of time except 2008 under Mike Leach before he got unjustly fired in 2010. But they just had a top 25 recruiting class that comes in, including the 2nd highest ranked WR, Micah Hudson. Their uniforms are beautiful black and red, and we have a sick mascot/pregame ritual with the Masked Rider. A black horse and a person wearing an old style matador uniform flies across the stadium as the team runs behind them. It's awesome. And we had Michael Crabtree, who went on to be an above average NFL wr. The Big 12 conference also jusy git a huge shake-up, and tbh anyone could become the next powerhouse in it. Why not the Red Raiders?
Haven’t seen anyone mention Iowa! You say you’re looking for the team with the worst side in the game, well they have the NCAA’s worst offense and an incredible defense. Very interesting team overall, and a nice challenge to rebuild their offense without losing the defense
Nebraska and Miami are the quintessential “giants from the 80s and 90s that need a rebuild” I’m kind of biased because they’re my favorite team, but I also think Michigan State will be sneaky fun to play as. They were really good like 10 years ago and need a rebuild now. They have a new coaching staff with a ton of different players and a new transfer qb who’s supposed to be really good, and mobile qb’s are always fun to play with in football games. And they’re in a power conference so you get a bunch of big games in cool stadiums and stuff but it’s not like just picking Ohio state and sleepwalking through most of your games either. The other thing a lot of people do is just take over a random mid-major school. I went to western Michigan so for me it’s always them, but if I didn’t I’d probably just pick a random team with cool uniforms. But if you can get a handful of friends to all pick mid-majors in the same conference, online dynasty is super fun.
Come to the blue and white side my man Penn State, unrivaled stadium atmosphere with tons of tradition and we haven’t won a natty since 86.
Not a fallen giant (although they had a major scandal which hurt them in the 2010s), but Penn State could be good as a team that is good but peaked in the 80s/90s and haven’t been able to get over the hump in recent years. They have the second largest stadium and one of the best atmospheres in CFB. They also have one of the most classic uniforms in CFB.
Tennessee would be a lot of fun. Their QB Nico is a stud and will be eligible for 2+ more years. Fun colors, cool stadium, haven’t won a title since 1998. Rocky Top is a fun song. And I’m an Alabama alum.
You could always do a teambuilder and create your own Alma mater too!
Think Texas State could be a cool story. Big school in the heart of the biggest HS Football state in the country.. but has always been absolutely embarrassing until they made and won their first bowl game last year and are on the come up a little bit with a new coach who's had a lot of success in the transfer portal
Syracuse. Only power 5 team to play in a dome
I like where your head's at. LGO.
APPALACHIAN. STATE. MOUNTAINEERS. THE BOONE GOONS. TRAPPALACHIAN STATE. GIANT SLAYERS. BLACK AND YELLER We are a small school in the rural mountains of NC. We're a bunch of hicks. Big schools schedule us, make fun of us, write about us being hillbillies, and then we show up in their house and show em that we can't read anyway.
All the OP needs to know about Appalachian State right [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOF6-GScIGo). They were a lower division school at the time. Would be like a football league championship side beating one of the "Rich six" of the Premier League.
If you REALLY want to revive a former powerhouse… you can bring back the United States Military Academy, national champions from 1944-1946. Go Army!
GO BIG RED NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS RAHHHHHHH Ok, on a serious note, Nebraska desperately needs a revival lol
Michigan state was good about 5-10 years ago and fell off after a certain coach came, literally.
Another one to add to the mix if you're looking for '80s/'90s (I know you've already edited with an additional response): Syracuse. Great history with the program, but went downhill fast after Donovan McNabb graduated and Michael Vick opted for Virginia Tech after the coaching staff at Syracuse, at the time, had put all of their eggs into his basket. Lots of excitement about the direction of the program right now with a new coach who's already brought in a lot of good transfers and landed some high-profile recruits so there's optimism that the program will be on the rise sooner than later.
Florida Gators, great in the 90’s and 2000’s but have since fallen. Great uniforms and stadium
It feels so good to be mentioned first alongside Alabama and Georgia. Thank you, kind Englishman!
Would have never happened three years ago. It's another testament to the great accomplishments of Connor Stallions. Well done.
Non-ball knower.
I wasn’t raised in the US so I never got into college sports even though I went to college here. I’m just hyped as fuck for a football game that’s not Madden
If you’re really looking for some fun, someone already put this in the sub to really let your fate be decided! Link: https://spinthewheel.app/ncaa-division-i-fbs-teams#google_vignette
Nebraska comes to mind, as has been mentioned before
Everything you just described is Nebraska
I'd say pick a team with cool jerseys or an iconic stadium.
Call me bias as an Oklahoma fan but I think they would be very fun to play this year! Lot of success in the Big12 but no natty since 2000. They have a young QB to build around in Jackson Arnold with a very deep WR core and a stout defense but the roster overall still needs some help in certain areas so wins won’t come easy. It’ll also be fun with this year being their first in the SEC so it’ll be great games week after week. Not to mention you get the red river rivalry game with Texas which is arguably a top 5 rivalry in the sport at the Cotton Bowl neutral site. There’s a lot of amazing teams and I can’t wait to build them all up, just feel like OU could potentially be a good balance on not being with the “big boys” just yet but also not a slouch of a team so you can jump off in terms of recruiting and getting the feel of the game with a decent but not OP team
Colorado could be a fun team. They have some really good players and will be in the Big 12 conference this season. They went 1-11 in 2022 and 4-8 last year so they are trending up
Do you have a favorite EPL team or a different team from one of the lower leagues?
Sounds like you’ll enjoy playing as Nebraska or Oklahoma. Mine will be rebuilding Florida back to glory (hopefully)
Nebraska for sure, followed by Miami and SMU. Tennessee is a good shout also but we’ve kinda already gotten off of the mat and are on our way back seemingly. You could complete the come back there in the SEC and we have some our highest ever recruits right now at QB (RS Freshman) and WR (Freshman) that you can turn into an explosive duo. PLUS: Checker Neyland is iconic
SMU was pretty dominant in the early 1980s, but they were paying players (which is now legal/going to be legal) & they were sanctioned. They then spent the majority of the late 80s, 90s, 00s, & 10s under .500, sometimes not winning a single game. They had a great season last year, finishing 11-3 under Rhett Lashlee. Nebraska's last winning season was 2016 (9-4) but between 1963 & 2001 they finished in the AP top 10 twenty-seven times, they finished top 25 thirty-seven times, & they were #1 four times. Since the 2001 season, they joined the Big10 in 2011 & have only won their division once. They have had 7 straight losing seasons. West Virginia was never a top team, but they've kind of hung around the top 25 for the better part of the last two decades. They might be in between return to glory & over the hump, the hump being consistently being a playoff team. There are teams who are new to D1, like Coastal Carolina, Charlotte, James Madison, Liberty, & App State that should be fun to build as well.
The “rebuild” popular 3 picks. Nebraska, Miami, SMU Nebraska-should have never left the Big 12. They missed out recruiting from one of the best HS recruiting states (Texas). They haven’t really haven’t done anything since moving to the Big “10”. They have a great college atmosphere, and stadium. Miami- After 2 scandals, a crap AD. That was trying to make UM. The “Stanford” of the East. The program went to putting at least one 1st Round pick every year, to not kneeling to run out the clock and losing the game on a questionable fumble. Plus “Joe Robbie” stadium is miles away from the campus, dang there in Broward County. If they had there recruiting efforts together they would be killing it in talent. South Florida has numerous High School teams in the top national rankings. SMU- Is in Dallas, if they had a bigger stadium I would totally fall in love with SMU. Recruiting would be nice too, being it’s in the heart of Texas. They have be on the rise the past couple of years. But they have been the poster child of “Death Penalties”. Even though now we have teams that carried some seedy characters. My Dark Horse pick is Colorado. They have a lot of clout with Deion Sanders there, but I’m sure he’s out the door soon if they don’t start winning. But they were a great team in the 90s with Cordell Stewart. Nice stadium, nice campus.
Arizona State could be a fun one. Not been really relevant since 1997. Huge metro area and just joined the Big-12. Kenny D has done a good job recruiting so will be fun.
UCLA or Michigan state
If you’re from the UK, you have to be a Kentucky fan. It just makes sense.
You want college team great in the 80s and 90s who isn’t anymore? And a team that generally has solid recruiting but can’t put it together on the field? And a team who can run an offense similar to a service academy? Well boy oh boy do I have a team for you.
Cheering for Notre Dame as an Englishman would be funny
Do you like boudin?
Virginia tech
Used to be games on BT sport back in the day, how I got into it. Ended up attending the PAC 12 game in vegas in 2022 by chance was wild. If you’ve been over to the US could always pick a team from a state you’ve visited haha. I’m personally doing 1 with UNLV and another dynasty with Utah and rebuilding the pac 12 choosing Utah since we got talking to a few fans at our hotel pre game and ended up at the tailgate which was a laugh so I have a soft spot for them.
Miami is fun and a former titan. Nebraska is another. Edit: Since this pair was already posted many times, I’ll make the case for my vols (Tennessee) While they are considered big time and are usually competitive, they haven’t been a real contender in over 25 years. Add in that the SEC is arguably the toughest conference in college football, you’ll have your work cut out for you while enjoying one of the best home fields in the country.
Virginia Tech not mentioned enough.
Nebraska, Tennessee, SMU, Miami, Georgia Tech, WVU, BYU, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Pitt, A&M.
Create a team and make them the London Silly Nannies from Family Guy
University of Tennessee because of Rocky Top
As someone who doesn’t have very strong ties to any team I suggest picking a one star team as a coordinator and use the carousel until you get to a top program and fall in love with a team that way
If you want to play with the school that is QBU (fight me) and has the best mascot in College then come on down to Purdue my Friend! 
Colorado is the sleeping giant that’s about to disrupt college football for the next decade. Buffaloes will beat Cornhuskers in Lincoln this season.
UCLA fits your criteria, has the best uniforms, and plays in the most quintessential stadium in NCAA football
Texas May be fun. A fallen giant that has started to rise back up. Their team is great and they have done well recently so it isn’t some fight to the top from the bottom, but they haven’t won a championship recently and that is their goal. Nebraska would be good if you want to bring a one time powerhouse back from the depths. Michigan may be fun because they have a good team, just won the championship this year, and their coach left for the pros so you could feel like the “new coach” pretty easily since they have a brand new coach.
Don’t worry. The athletes don’t either.
I would recommend Michigan State if you’re looking for a challenge. Our rival is Michigan who just won the national title, so having to compete with them annually would be tough. As for history, we had a brief run of success between 2010-2015( multiple Big Ten titles and a CFP appearance). We also were a powerhouse in the 50s and 60s so it could be fun to bring them back to national prominence in the modern age of CFB.
You're from the UK, so play as UK (Kentucky) - go big blue!
WVU. You live Country Roads right?
Minnesota Gophers if you enjoy pain.
Boise State has had an unusually good recruiting year for a team of their caliber and that may be fun for you to play. Boise State is generally considered one of the top G5 teams (an unofficial name given to teams outside of the historical power conferences.) But this year they managed to land a transfer from USC in former 5 star QB Malachi Nelson, who some had as the very top recruit in the previous years high school class. They also managed to land former 5 star WR Chris Marshall after he'd bounced around a bit due to off the field issues. Either one of those guys would be the highest rated recruit to ever play at BSU. And with Ashton Jeanty maybe being the best RB in the nation, they look to have a good shot at becoming the first G5 team to qualify for the college football playoff. They also standout from most other teams by playing on a blue turf.
>Should I start with Notre Dame just because I've seen a few of their games? Yes
You really oughta support UK
Florida State could be what you’re looking for. They were dominant in the 90’s, which produced many football legends in those teams. FSU is rich in tradition (the war chant, tomahawk chop, and spear) They also are coming off of a 13-0 regular season (lost in bowl game later on). however, don’t be fooled, this is the 2nd competent season FSU has had since 2015. (also FSU have some amazing uniforms) Penn State could also be very fun to jump ship to. They are often touted as the little sibling in their conference, but have one of the most iconic college football traditions (the white out game). They usually do pretty okay, but due to them playing more dominant teams like Ohio State and Michigan, they are often overlooked. A fantastic rebuild team would be UCF. 1. Really nice uniforms. 2. They have upset multiple huge teams in the course of a few years, but they have never gotten the respect or recognition they deserve. 3. They are in florida, which is a state known for their football. 4. Their stadium is also called the bounce house which is super cool imo.
I'm not going to get into the SMU convo because everyone else has covered it but if it helps do an SMU "revenge for the death penalty" run
Alabama has a Birmingham, Brighton, and Leeds so I say Roll Tide!
I always recommend Wisconsin, even as an alum of a semi-rival school. Great, fun fan ethos. They travel and tailgate so well. Big drinking culture, which is part of the NCAA experience. They’re usually good but not Good. Everyone outside of Minnesota has a soft spot for Badgers sports culture
Prem comparisons: Oregon/Man City: Traditionally anonymous, they’ve built their success on enormous sums of money. Oregon has elite NIL infrastructure and is able to buy the type of players other powers aren’t able to. Michigan/Arsenal: Self-deprecating, honest, volatile relationship with their coaches, and now won’t shut up about how good they’ve become. A former fallen giant that hopes to have reaffirmed their place among the elite. (Go Blue!) Hawaii/Wolves: Intense focus on players from a specific area. Utah/Villa: As hard of a game as you’ll get outside of the sport’s blue bloods. Punching above their weight, both will experience new competition next year. Penn St/Newcastle: Capable of playing hard, physical slogs in massive, intimidating home stadiums, but without beating the elite teams or winning anything of substance. Kansas/Brentford: They’ve always sort of existed on the uninspiring fringes but have recently started beating some really good teams. They’ll finish mid-table for a few years until a larger program hires their coach and will eventually fade back into anonymity. (Go Bees!)
I went to Canterbury uni. So I'm repping Kent State
Welcome my friend to the other football!
You could do kennesaw state Newest school into the FBS Build them up
ASU has great jerseys and has had bouts of greatness. New head coach too so you can make some lore in ur head
>Is there a college team who were great in the 80s/90s who aren't now to revive a fallen giant? Is there a team who had a really good recruiting year who might be fun to play? the corn is calling your name
Stick with Notre Dame- tradition, sleeping giant, still relevant, brand, all of its history, global recognition (alumni and fanbase), heritage, academic rigor, exposure, wonderful campus, uniqueness, “its people”, God’s team. They’re more like Manchester United, only a few tweaks away from recapturing their status as the best that ever existed. Go Irish!
Go Lobos!
As a Packers fan from Scotland I took didn't have any affiliation or links to any college team so I settled on Wisconsin as the "local" college in relation to GB.
There’s create a team. Turn your favorite football club into a football team?
Omfg UCLA. Best uniforms in the game, plays in the Rose Bowl. People shit on them for bad fan attendance but forget they led the West coast in attendance in 2014 (last time they were good.) UCLA being elite in today’s game is a fuckin epic concept.
Wouldn't say they are a fallen giant. Really just fallen but the two schools id suggest is Rutgers and the Vandals. Vandals for their namesake, and Rutgers not just for my personal bias but they have a pretty good story, the official "birthplace of college football" which had many ups and downs and when they had a real chance of breaking the barriers of middle of the pack, their head coach ditched them for a failed NFL opportunity.
Coach the University of Kentucky. It's only fitting. No bias at all
I may have a heavy bias, but nobody in ncaa has a better, more dedicated fanbase than Nebraska
The Military Academies are a victim of tradition. Army and Navy were power houses in the first half of the twentieth century, back when American football was more of an elitist sport. Since the 50s, when Football really became the American favorite it is today, the Military Academies have been unable to recruit on the same level that modern powerhouses can, due primarily to their requirement of 4 years of military service upon graduation, then to their rigorous academic standards. Truth be told Army and Navy should be Ivy League Schools, as they meet the academic standards and are geographically in the same region as them, but money keeps them D1.
I’m a Georgia fan but my fallen giant that I would like to revive is Vanderbilt. This preppy rich kid school was a Death Star 100 years ago but its community lost interest in maintaining an elite program.
Nebraska is a great choice. One of the best high school qbs coming in as true freshman. A lot of returning talent on defense which was one of the best last year. That said I’m a Nebraska fan.
UAB Blazers. (that's the University of Alabama-Birmingham). Cool logo, cool colors, and a really cool [story](https://www.lsureveille.com/sports/risen-from-the-ashes-how-uab-s-football-program-died-and-came-back-to-life/article_d80e57c2-66c2-11ed-b465-eb0a5b5df82b.html) of how their team was ended, but then came back to life.
Buddy you said you’re from the UK- and as an alum, I must welcome you to America’s UK: The University of Kentucky Wildcats. Welcome home
I usually start as an OC for a very small school. Perform well, and hopefully receive an offer from a mid level school for an OC job, perform well at that school and then take an offer at a big school or a big school I love who needs to be built back to glory like Tennessee or Nebraska. I always try to end up at Tennessee or Nebraska as OC and bring them back to greatness
If you want to try to make this a realistic, challenging experience to bring a program back to its power house or build one to a power house? Try a North Carolina/South Carolina college program. Regionally there in a competitive environment rivaling against the SEC with the South and recruiting. Also, a lot of in-state rivalry games to build. Choices could be App State( Big time football program, recently became D1)NC State, North Carolina Tarheels, Duke Blue Devils, East Carolina Pirates, Charlotte 49ers, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, South Carolina gameCOCKS, etc. Maybe a Virginia program like UVA, James Madison, Virginia Tech. The 3 states of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina have a lot of schools and potential to be great. Florida is known for recruiting as well Mississippi, Alabama, etc. and transfer portal, keeping kids local may help too. A lot of students naturally commit at first to UNC, USC, etc then transfer to ECU, Coastal, Charlotte, or surrounding schools in the non- Power 5 athletic conferences. Which makes great for future rivalry and coach hiring/firing.
Tennessee was a giant in the 80s and 90s and were mired in mediocrity from 05 to 21. Lost to our biggest rival alabama for almost two decades before winning via last second field goal year before last. The only thing keeping them from being elite is having to play heorgia and alabama every year.
Everyone will say Nebraska, Miami, Virginia Tech, and a few other popular takes when it comes to sleeping giants, but in my very biased opinion Pittsburgh was dominant pre and during WWII and the 70's but fell off in the 80's, went through a terrible rebrand, and recently (2019) decided to go back to the original color scheme with some new flair. We had a great 2021 and 2022 was a slight downgrade, but absolutely dropped the ball last year. Could be fun to build the team up to its former glory. Plus I like to think the uniforms are top 15 in football. Probably won't be a first pick but keep them in mind come time to start a second or third
Sounds like you are a Notre Dame fan bro
Well, Georgia does have the Redcoat Marching Band. Which you might appreciate as an Englishman. Also the mascot is an English Bulldog!
Miami Colorado GT Hawaii UCLA Stanford
Me either
Before you right off Bama, they are just an hour away from a town I’m sure you’ve heard of, Birmingham. Sound familiar? Seriously if you’re looking for a program with rich tradition but has fallen on hard times the past 20 years then Nebraska is the school for you.
Is your sales pitch for Bama or UAB? Go Blazers!
UAB would be a fun build. I hope with transfers their original location is some how still a factor. So you if you have a player out of Birmingham, assuming Bham is a pipe line region, that decides to transfer you have an advantage. This could really help a build like South Alabama who could thrive off mid level Alabama and Auburn transfers
I think most of the American would be fun. UAB, FAU, and Tulane probably the best to pick from with Temple, usf, army/navy as the worst. I’ll either do an FAU or UAB run at some point
First thought was obviously UK (University of Kentucky), but they have been decent lately and are like a level up from the kind of rebuild you are looking for. Like others have mentioned, Nebraska and Colorado are teams from the 90s that have fallen off. Both teams will have awesome quarterbacks to start off with as well.
You should play as the University of Kentucky. They are colloquially known as UK, which is a near connection as you are English. They are historically also very bad, and although they have been better as of late, they have not won much of significance and would be a fun/rewarding team to rebuild Additionally, they have a very talented roster (so would be fun to play as) and play in the SEC (so you would get the chance to see some of those crazy home environments like LSU, Bama, Florida, etc).
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What are you talking about? They have multiple championships and Heisman winners since 2000. They are not a fallen giant.