Oklahoma State’s athletic director asked whether the Cowboy program now has done enough to be recognized as a blue blood in major-college football. The Google AI Overview definition: In American college sports, the term “blue blood” refers to the most successful and prestigious programs in Division I basketball and football. These programs are considered to be among the elite, either historically or in the present.
“Either historically or in the present.” That’s the bump on which I stumble when attempting to define a currently relevant Oklahoma State and a faded power like Nebraska. With six head coaches since Tom Osborne retired, the Huskers haven’t won a conference title since 1999 and haven’t played in a bowl game since 2016 — when Mason Rudolph and James Washington were OSU juniors.
Through the lens of history, yes, Nebraska is a blue blood. The 1971 and 1995 Huskers were among the greatest teams ever. Nebraska won five national titles.
Over the nine seasons, however, the Huskers are 38-56 overall and 28-51. Would a 17-year-old recruit regard Nebraska as a blue blood? Probably not. Weiberg’s blue blood topic change wasn’t centered on maybe/maybe not schools like Notre Dame (no national title since 1988), Florida (the 2008 national champ but now with 11 seasons of at least four losses since 2010) and Southern Cal (with a 114-57 record since Pete Carroll left for the NFL).
Weiberg wanted to talk about OSU’s position in the national picture. “The in.