are private u's making a real comeback? (programs, conference, realignment)

[edsg25]

for a long period of time, it seemed that college football was completely dominated by public universities. the two most consistent private schools were Notre Dame and USC, although for period of time, Miami was a powerhouse.

but today, when you look at everybody's top 10, you find the likes of TCU, Baylor, USC, and Notre Dame with Stanford included in the top 25.

is this a trend…..have the private programs actually made a real comeback in the last few years?

[NJ2MDdude]

Private universities generally have generous/loyal donors and large endowments. Many of them have positioned themselves well to survive conference realignment shakeups. Their problem though (except for Notre Dame/USC), is that they have small fan bases spread out through out the country.