College football programs from smaller conferences have made cloudbursts onto the national scene, as runs by schools like Tulane (1998), Utah (2004 and 2008) and Boise State (2006 and 2009) captured the country's imagination. But the underdogs in college football have struggled to find the same lore and allure as a sport like college basketball, in part because the system hasn’t allowed them to play at the highest level.
While those stories have been compelling and endearing, those schools from small leagues fell short of truly getting an opportunity to compete for the national title.