Explaining Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State program dominance. Biggest factors?

Why talk about Alabama or OSU? Those programs have been around the top 10 for many decades with some minor transitional blips in between. Their popularity and structural advantages are well known. Hiring a very good coach like Saban or Meyer will be sufficient to make them elite. The same holds for Texas or the big FL schools or USC. 

The one you should talk about is Clemson. Because Clemson is a bit of an outlier here. The reality here is that they went from being a team with Wisconsin level talent to a team with OSU/Bama type without a readily apparent explanation. In 2011 people would have thought it a bizarre notion that Clemson could outmuscle a Big Ten or SEC team. They were just one of the above average ACC schools that took football more seriously than basketball.

You got to have a lot of people look the other way on a lot of things. No one can ask questions.

Everyone from the very top of the school administration, professors, coaches, bag men, PED peddlers, press members, etc. all have to be on the same page.

The goal is to win at these institutions and that is it.

College football isn't any more or less dominated than it has been in the past, Florida state had a higher winning percentage in the 90's than Bama does.

they are d-i-r-t-y.  money is king.  they have no fear of repercussions.  long-time friend had son playing football at UGA confirmed it, in case all of the other reports and articles didn't help.

Your questions 2,3 and 4 are applicable. 

Alabama, Clemson, and OSU are not the only programs that cheat, assuming (as we all do, as I am confident of) that all three are cheating extensively. Clemson, if anything, has cheated less thoroughly than other major programs; this year is the first that they're really recruiting with the best. 

Programs like Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas, Texas A&M? They cheat too, of course. FSU has put together great, top 5 recruiting classes, players from whom are still on their roster. They're not clean, either.

But FSU and Ole Miss are not good at all. Texas has gone through a period of extended mediocrity despite robust recruiting classes. A&M can't get ahead, and Auburn is a roller coaster.

Bama, Clemson, and OSU have great recruiting AND great coaching. For as much as we dislike our rivals, Urban's performance on tv this fall has hammered home how good he is at what he does. Saban is brilliant. Dabo has assembled a terrific staff. 

They are programs that offer consistent, great coaching. They don't have to change everything about their systems every year. They are tactically advanced and they know how to develop players. This helps them recruit, as well--players who are weighing competing under-the-table offers from those schools against schools like Texas know that if they go to Bama or Clemson or OSU they will have a great chance of winning titles and playing in the NFL. They don't have to cheat more than other schools, just level the playing field, and they will attract more talent.

Yes, they cheat. But so do other programs, almost certainly just as much as them. What sets those schools apart is the coaching and the program efficiency. Take away the cheating and they'd still be top end, because much of what is built is legitimate. 

Have you buddies ever heard of the Patriots?

As John Wooden said, "Winning breeds winning" and those top programs have created a culture where winning is expected. Program under Harbaugh has made strides since RR and Hoke, but we are not there yet.

Note Wooden was also a notoriously dirty recruiter, so that, too.

Some teams capitalized as the game became more national and with the rise of the CFP. It almost reset the blue blood conversation IMO. Since college football became national, a few teams rose to the top and unfortunately, Michigan was not one of them. 

Superior coaches. Tressel and Urban are some of the best ever to do it. To think we didn't have comparable players to OSU even though they beat us every year is foolish. 

Same with Oklahoma. And don't blame "bagmen" when we've had higher ranked classes than both Clemson and OU since Harbaugh has been here. 

It's Nick Saban, what more needs to be said? The guy does anything to win and has assembled a dynasty that will probably never be matched. 

Clemson and Dabo finally hit their stride when he hired Chad Morris and Brent Venebales and had Deshaun Watson was QB. Morris and Venebales are some of the best coordinators in the game. 

I'm not sure how great of a coach Orgeron is but he was smart enough to realize he had to revamp his offense with Joe Brady and Steve Esminger. 

I’d say it’s an interesting combination of things:

Ohio is a high school football powerhouse state. Lots of good high school programs, lots of players. They grow up OSU fans. 

Players have dreams, and one dream is to win championships and play in the NFL. Teams that win championships regularly attract more players at all levels, and the players get more national exposure. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Thus they build a very high caliber pipeline. Alabama and Clemson are close to the Florida pipeline, and of course, under the table gifts don’t hurt them.

The playoff system tends to build into a few schools having a pipeline that’s constantly at a very high player level. I freaking hate the playoff system, and think it’s ruined a lot of what was great about college football, but that’s just me and I realize most folks don’t agree with my hot take on it.

High profile teams have money, money buys good coaching. And coaches like Ryan Day are walking into programs that already have top players. He’d have to be a pretty poor coach to not succeed there, at least for a while.

Lots of schools have lower academic standards than a school like Michigan. There are players Michigan simply can’t take for academic reasons.

The answer is easy.  They have better players and have consistently recruited at a high level for a sustained period of time.  All of those programs that you mention have also had superior Quarterbacks then Michigan has had.  Its simple better qb, better athletes, better players=Winning more.

Yes

I feel like some of our fans have amnesia or something and just completely forget that we had two top ten classes just a few years ago. 

It's more than just bagmen.  I agree with the poster the Ole Miss program would be competitive as well.  I think there is an institutional element to the cheating.  I think the entire state is behind O$U's program.  Witness:  The Powell Police Department altering arrest records to prevent them from being part of FOIA. Or the one player who punched a woman at a night club with no disciplinary action by the police.  Ohio State football is a billion dollar franchise.  The protection of that program is paramount.  Another lesser example is the Michigan State Athletic dept's influence over Ingham County Police and Prosecutor's to bury all those incidents of rape. 

We don't know the Alabama influence because the power is so vast.  The entire institutional structure is in on it because it's in their interest to do so.  

It's a combination of money and power. These kids can have any of the money they want, and they can get away with pretty much anything and they're protected.