On the eve of college football's 150-year anniversary season, Linfield College has been placed on a list of elite programs by ESPN.
 
The sports network's Stats and Information staff combed through a set of criteria to select college football's all-time top 50 programs. Linfield landed a spot on the list at No. 35. The Wildcats are one of only four NCAA Division III programs to make the cut.
 
The accompanying story, which appeared on ESPN.com, noted Linfield's stellar football reputation which centers around its renowned streak of 63 consecutive winning seasons, as well as the program's four national championships, legendary Hall of Fame coach Ad Rutschman, and "Streak Street," the aptly named fan fest which occurs prior to football home games each fall.
 
Based on ESPN's own criteria, Division I bluebloods Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC comprise the top five teams. In addition to Linfield, perennial powers Mount Union, St. John's (Minn.) and Wisconsin-Whitewater represented Division III. No Division II or NAIA programs made the list.
 
Below is the specific criteria used to compile the list of college football's all-time best programs:
 
Dominance, 20% - number of national championships
Peak strength, 20% - winning percentage for best 50 seasons in program history
Since integration, 30% - winning percentage over the past 50 seasons (1969-2018)
Early modern, 20% -- winning percentage over the middle 50 seasons (1919-1968). Mostly pre-integration and included some games against non-college teams
Pre-modern, 10% -- winning percentage over the first 50 seasons (1869-1918) *mostly pre-standardization of current rules and many games against non-college teams
Adjustments
National championships below the FBS level count at 50%
National championships before the poll era (1936) count at 50%
Winning percentages when a team was not in Division I are reduced by 10%
 
The Top 50 college football programs of all-time, as chosen by ESPN:
1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Ohio State
4. Oklahoma
5. USC
6. Michigan
7. Yale
8. Nebraska
9. Texas
10. North Dakota
11. Princeton
12. Penn State
13. Harvard
14. Tennessee
15. LSU
16. Mount Union
17. Miami
18. St. Johns' (Minn.)
19. Florida State
20. Auburn
21. Florida
22. Georgia
23. Boise State
24. Clemson
25. Grambling
26. Pennsylvania
27. Wittenberg
28. Michigan State
29. Minnesota
30. Washington
31. Wisconsin-Whitewater
32. Texas A&M
33. Pittsburgh
34. Appalachian State
35. Linfield
36. Georgia Tech
37. Dartmouth
38. Virginia Tech
39. Army
40. Miami (Ohio)
41. Central Michigan
42. Colorado
43. Stanford
44. Arkansas
45. Pittsburg State
46. Arizona State
47. West Virginia
48. Georgia Southern
49. Utah
50. Wisconsin
 
Linfield, which enters this fall ranked No. 12 the D3football.com Top 25 poll, opens its 105th college football season on Sept. 14 against Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.