Is the gap between the flagship public university and the other public universities quiet large in most states?

From what I've heard each American state generally has one really good public university with some States having really top-notch schools (U Mich Ann Arbor, UW mad etc) and this will be the University where students with top grades from High School go into.

Edit: clarification seems like there's generally 2 flagship public university one more tech orientated like GA Tech