It looks like being college football royalty is a weirdly inclusive group.
Stewart Mandel of FOX Sports released the updated version of his "Kings" of college football list, where he split all major college football teams into these ranked tiers: Kings, Barons, Knights, and Peasants.
Those included in the King list:
Alabama
Clemson
Florida
Florida State
LSU
Miami
Michigan
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Penn State
Texas
USC
Notable teams that missed out that got put on the tier below: Auburn, Georgia, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
The problem with this list is how much benefit of the doubt some former college football powers are getting over others. Why is Miami, who hasn't done anything of note in almost 15 years, in over a team like Auburn? Why is Nebraska awkwardly penalized for having a rough stretch recently when Texas and Penn State aren't?
I agree with the Clemson inclusion, but that's also a fast promotion for a team that went 20 years between 10 win seasons. Obviously it takes a program longer to decline, but putting that quick ascent next to some of these near 20-year stagnant periods for other programs just looks weird.
You can view the full tier rankings here.