Try Notre Dame as the answer for that one. From CFN Which five BCS powers are the most nationally respected teams? (a lot of people across the country like to see win?) Which five BCS powers are the most vilified teams? (a lot of people across the country like to see lose?) – JM A: There’s a difference between respect and love. There are plenty of teams that fans respect, but don’t like, and vice versa. Basically, from what I’ve been able to gather after years of reader interaction is that everyone has one team they’re in love with, and then they have a secondary team, always in a different conference, that they root for. For the most part, Notre Dame, the New York Yankees of college football, is both the most loved and hated team. There’s almost no middle ground when it comes to the Irish. Michigan also occupies a spot in both categories. It’d be an interesting poll question for the fans, but my guess is that the top five most respected teams on a national scale will always correspond to how good the teams are at the time combined with a historical aspect. When it comes to fans’ respect, right now I’d say it’s probably 1. USC, 2. Michigan, 3. Ohio State, 4. Texas, 5. Florida. LSU and Oklahoma should probably be in there somewhere. When it comes to the most hated, it’s probably 1. Notre Dame, 2. Michigan, 3. USC, 4. Oklahoma, 5. Miami. The five most loved on a national scale (basically, these are the teams many fans grew up rooting for) would probably be 1. Notre Dame, 2. Michigan, 3. USC, 4. Florida State, 5. Penn State, Ohio State or Nebraska.
Notre Dame's fan base is so extensive that it can not even be approached by any other teams. That is a function of its longevity, its successful history, its national media exposure, it's independent status, its Catholic background and the fact that it plays from coast to coast. Nobody else can boast those factors. That sort of uniqueness will always produce animosity and hatred among others. Others are jealous of the NBC contract but name one other school who could pull that off. Nobody.
The thing about the NBC contract is that all the big teams have something equivalent at the very least from a $$$ standpoint through their conference. The don't quite get the exposure the Irish do though, for instance Texas opens with Ark State and if you are a UT fan you have to do the PPV to view that game, where as all the ND games will be available on TV, although ABC and CBS games are sometimes regional and you can get caught having to do Gameplan for ABC, I forget what alternative there is for regional CBS games. Terry
As for Tennessee, there are several PPV outfits that ESPN Gameplan picks up. I only missed recording 1 game last year.
Not saying they do... Just that Tennessee and other SEC universities, when not being shown on CBS have other options like PPV and PPV through Gameplan. Videoseat is one of the PPVs that comes to mind but there are several. Usually when it is a PPV through Gameplan, it is aired without commercials.