VINCE MAROTTA

Dry heat and football, that’s what Arizona does!

Oct 29, 2014, 4:20 PM | Updated: 4:42 pm

Remember the flag football scene in Wedding Crashers?

After Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson crash the wedding of Senator Cleary’s daughter, they score an invite back to the family compound in Maryland.

“Crabcakes and football! That’s what Maryland does,” one of the participants yells in celebration of a touchdown pass.

With the way things are going in the Grand Canyon State this fall, and with all due respect to the fine state of Maryland, Arizona needs it’s own similar motto.

The Arizona Cardinals are 6-1 and on top of the NFC West. If the season were to end today, Bruce Arians’ team would be the top seed in the NFC playoff picture.

The Arizona State Sun Devils are 6-1 and on top of the Pac-12 South, just a year after winning the division and hosting the conference championship game.

And down south in Tucson, the Arizona Wildcats are 6-1, have a win over national powerhouse Oregon and are 12th in the initial College Football Playoff ranking, which was released Tuesday.

There are a lot of victories getting racked up in this state. In terms of winning percentage among NFL and FBS college football teams, Arizona’s mark of .833 is far and away the highest for any state that qualifies with at least two teams within its borders.

Don’t believe me? I had some time and crunched the numbers. Don’t judge.

“Dry heat and football! That’s what Arizona does!”

Hey, I’m just spit-balling here.

Last week, I looked at winning percentage in cities that have at least one NFL franchise and one FBS college program.

This week, I broke it down by state.*

The Rankings

1. Arizona

Overall Record: 18-3

Winning Percentage: .833

NFL Franchise: Arizona Cardinals (6-1)

FBS Programs: Arizona State Sun Devils (6-1), Arizona Wildcats (6-1)

T2. Colorado

Overall Record: 20-10

Winning Percentage: .667

NFL Franchise: Denver Broncos (6-1)

FBS Programs: Air Force Falcons (5-2), Colorado Buffaloes (2-6), Colorado State Rams (7-1)

T2. Wisconsin

Overall Record: 10-5

Winning Percentage: .667

NFL Franchise: Green Bay Packers (5-3)

FBS Program: Wisconsin Badgers (5-2)

4. Pennsylvania

Overall Record: 22-15

Winning Percentage: .595

NFL Franchises: Philadelphia Eagles (5-2), Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3)

FBS Programs: Penn State Nittany Lions (4-3), Pitt Panthers (4-4), Temple Owls (4-3)

5. Michigan

Overall Record: 28-21

Winning Percentage: .571

NFL Franchise: Detroit Lions (6-2)

FBS Programs: Central Michigan Chippewas (5-4), Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-6), Michigan Wolverines (3-5), Michigan State Spartans (7-1), Western Michigan Broncos (5-3)

6. Minnesota

Overall Record: 9-7

Winning Percentage: .563

NFL Franchise: Minnesota Vikings (3-5)

FBS Program: Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-2)

7. Missouri

Overall Record: 12-10

Winning Percentage: .545

NFL Franchises: Kansas City Chiefs (4-3), St. Louis Rams (2-5)

FBS Program: Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-2)

8. Georgia

Overall Record: 21-18

Winning Percentage: .538

NFL Franchise: Atlanta Falcons (2-6)

FBS Programs: Georgia Bulldogs (6-1), Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-2), Georgia Southern Eagles (6-2), Georgia State Panthers (1-7)

9. Louisiana

Overall Record: 24-21

Winning Percentage: .533

NFL Franchise: New Orleans Saints (3-4)

FBS Programs: LSU Tigers (7-2), Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (5-3), Tulane Green Wave (2-5), Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (4-3), Lousiana Monroe Warhawks (3-4)

10. Maryland

Overall Record: 17-15

Winning Percentage: .531

NFL Franchises: Baltimore Ravens (5-3), Washington Redskins (3-5)

FBS Programs: Maryland Terrapins (5-3), Navy Midshipmen (4-4)

11. Indiana

Overall Record: 20-18

Winning Percentage: .526

NFL Franchise: Indianapolis Colts (5-3)

FBS Programs: Ball State Cardinals (3-5), Indiana Hoosiers (3-4), Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1), Purdue Boilermakers (3-5)

12. Massachusetts

Overall Record: 13-12

Winning Percentage: .520

NFL Franchise: New England Patriots (6-2)

FBS Programs: Boston College Eagles (5-3), UMass Minutemen (2-7)

13. Illinois

Overall Record: 16-15

Winning Percentage: .516

NFL Franchise: Chicago Bears (3-5)

FBS Programs: Illinois Fighting Illini (4-4), Northwestern Wildcats (3-4), Northern Illinois Huskies (6-2)

14. California

Overall Record: 39-37

Winning Percentage: .513

NFL Franchises: Oakland Raiders (0-7), San Diego Chargers (5-3), San Francisco 49ers (4-3)

FBS Programs: Cal Golden Bears (4-4), Fresno State Bulldogs (3-5), San Diego State Aztecs (4-3), San Jose State Spartans (3-4), Stanford Cardinal (5-3), UCLA Bruins (6-2), USC Trojans (5-3)

15. Texas

Overall Record: 53-51

Winning Percentage: .510

NFL Franchises: Dallas Cowboys (6-2), Houston Texans (4-3)

FBS Programs: Baylor Bears (6-1), Houston Cougars (4-3), North Texas Mean Green (2-6), Rice Owls (4-3), SMU Mustangs (0-7), TCU Horned Frogs (6-1), Texas Longhorns (3-5), Texas A&M Aggies (5-3), Texas State Bobcats (4-3), Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-5), UTSA Roadrunners (2-6), UTEP Miners (4-3)

16. North Carolina

Overall Record: 27-26

Winning Percentage: .509

NFL Franchise: Carolina Panthers (3-4-1)

FBS Programs: Appalachian State Mountaineers (2-5), Duke Blue Devils (6-1), East Carolina Pirates (6-1), North Carolina State Wolfpack (4-4), North Carolina Tar Heels (2-6), Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-6)

17. Ohio

Overall Record: 39-39

Winning Percentage: .500

NFL Franchises: Cincinnati Bengals (4-2-1), Cleveland Browns (4-3)

FBS Programs: Akron Zips (4-4), Bowling Green Falcons (5-3), Cincinnati Bearcats (4-3), Kent State Golden Flashes (1-7), Miami RedHawks (2-7), Ohio Bobcats (4-5), Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1), Toledo Rockets (5-3)

18. Washington

Overall Record: 11-12

Winning Percentage: .478

NFL Franchise: Seattle Seahawks (4-3)

FBS Programs: Washington Huskies (5-3), Washington State Cougars (2-6)

19. Florida

Overall Record: 35-39

Winning Percentage: .473

NFL Franchises: Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7), Miami Dolphins (4-3), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-6)

FBS Programs: Florida Gators (3-3), Florida Atlantic Owls (3-5), Florida International Panthers (3-5), Florida State Seminoles (7-0), Miami Hurricanes (5-3), South Florida Bulls (3-5), UCF Knights (5-2)

20. New York

Overall Record: 13-18

Winning Percentage: .419

NFL Franchise: Buffalo Bills (5-3)

FBS Programs: Army Black Knights (2-5), Buffalo Bulls (3-5), Syracuse Orange (3-5)

21. Tennessee

Overall Record: 16-23

Winning Percentage: .410

NFL Franchise: Tennessee Titans (2-6)

FBS Programs: Memphis Tigers (4-3), Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (5-3), Tennessee Volunteers (3-5), Vanderbilt Commodores (2-6)

22. New Jersey

Overall Record: 9-14

Winning Percentage: .391

NFL Franchises: New York Giants (3-4), New York Jets (1-7)

FBS Program: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-3)

*-Determined by location of team’s home stadium

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Dry heat and football, that’s what Arizona does!