Best-Ever Debate has 2020 Crimson Tide in Elite Company in College Football History

Being in the mix for best-ever team in college football only shows how special Alabama was in 2020

Author:
Christopher Walsh
Publish date:
Jan 28, 2021 4:05 PM EST

When LSU won the 2019 national championship there were immediate calls to proclaim the Tigers the best team in college football history.

Granted, a lot of them came out of Louisiana, but the offense was incredibly prolific, quarterback Joe Burrow ended up being the No. 1 player in the NFL Draft, and, yes, this was part of the argument, it beat Alabama.

LSU had outscored opponents 726-328, and not only became the second team during the modern football age to finish 15-0, but beat seven teams ranked in the top 10 as well.

Of course the first team to go 15-0, 2018 Clemson, put up a pretty good argument that it should be considered the best, but didn't help its cause when quarterback Trevor Lawrence lost to LSU in the 2019 title game and then to Ohio State in this year's playoff.

Perception is everything with these kinds of discussions.

Of course, when Alabama dismantled Notre Dame and Ohio State in the College Football Playoff, quarterback Mac Jones turned heads when he said he thought the 2020 Crimson Tide was the best team to ever play college football.

"We set this as a goal, to potentially be the greatest team to ever play," he said. "I think we made a valid statement in winning the national championship tonight.

“Who would have thought we would have won every game, all SEC schedule with everything going on."

Either way, this team belongs in elite company.

In 2019, ESPN ranked the top 150 teams in college football history, an ambitious project headed by legendary journalist Ivan Maisel, and polled 150 media members, athletic administrators and former players and coaches.

The top 10 was as follows:

1971 Nebraska (13-0)
2004 USC (13-0)
1972 USC (12-0)
1995 Nebraska (12-0)
2018 Clemson (15-0)
2005 Texas (13-0)
2001 Miami (12-0)
1979 Alabama (12-0)
1956 Oklahoma (10-0)
2009 Alabama (14-0)

It's a great list, and full of talking points for anyone.

When comparing them to this Alabama team, let's start scratching them off, one by one ...

• 1956 Oklahoma didn't face a ranked opponent.

• Clemson in 2018 barely beat Texas A&M (28-26) and Syracuse (27-23).

• USC was stripped of its 2004 title after being forced to vacate its two final wins from the 2004 season due to NCAA sanctions. Its claim to fame was Matt Leinart won the Heisman Trophy while Reggie Bush, who won it the next year, was fifth. The Trojans averaged 38.2 points per game while giving up 13.0. It had three games decided by less than a touchdown, plus it struggled to win at Oregon State, 28-20.

• Alabama fans can argue forever over which team under Paul W. "Bear" Bryant was his best, but the 1979 team stood out defensively. The Crimson Tide yielded 180.1 yards and 5.6 points per game, and seven total touchdowns. It notched five shutouts.

The undefeated 1992 and 2009 teams were pretty good as well.

But college football is now geared toward offenses. The days of defenses win championships is over.

That makes almost any comparison between eras nearly impossible, along with with the creation of the College Football Playoff.

Which brings us back to LSU. As good as Clemson was in 2018, most of its numbers were topped by the Tigers a year later.

We crunched the numbers last week, and found that there's not much debate about which national champion was better between 2019 LSU and 2020 Alabama.

Which really only leaves three teams in history to compare with the 2020 Crimson Tide.

1995 Nebraska

The Cornhuskers were a scary-good team. Led by quarterback Tommy Frazier the Cornhuskers won their regular-season games by an average of 38.7 points. It then blew apart Florida in the Fiesta Bowl for the national title, 62-24.

Specifically, it tallied 638 points (53.2 per game) while giving up 174 (14.5). It beat every opponent by at least 14 points, and set an NCAA record by rushing for 7.0 yards per attempt.

One reason why the team doesn't get a stronger mention for best ever was Tom Osborne's decision to only give running back Lawrence Phillips a six-game suspension, and not kick him off the team, after assaulting a women's basketball player.

Moreover, the Cornhuskers also only had one first-team All-American, Frazier.

2001 Miami

In terms of overall talent the Hurricanes set the standard. The 2001 team had 21 defensive players who were selected in the NFL draft, and 38 overall. Among them, 17 went in the first round.

That's a ton of talent. The 2002 draft had Bryant McKinnie, Jeremy Shockey, Phillip Buchanon, Ed Reed and Mike Rumph all selected in the first round. The 2003 draft had Andre Johnson, Jerome McDougle, Willis McGahee and William Joseph.

Among the small knocks on the 2001 team include that it barely squeaked out a 26-24 victory against No. 14 Virginia Tech, plus a lot of Miami fans consider the 1987 team to be even better, as it knocked off six ranked teams including No. 1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

That team included Michael Irvin, Russell Maryland, and Bennie and Brian Blades, while the coaching staff boasted Jimmy Johnson, Dave Wannstedt, Butch Davis and Dave Campo.

1971 Nebraska

A big reason why the 1971 Cornhuskers get the nod from so many for possibly being the best ever was that the final Associated Press poll had Oklahoma second and Colorado third, two teams that Nebraska beat — which before the College Football Playoff was otherwise unheard of.

Oklahoma blew out Auburn in the Sugar Bowl and Colorado only had to get past No. 15 Houston in the Bluebonnet Bowl to move up from No. 7. Meanwhile, Nebraska manhandled No. 2 Alabama in the Orange Bowl 38-6 just before Paul "Bear" Bryant enjoyed his second dynasty (of note, the Crimson Tide had just adopted the wishbone and added its first black players).

When they played the Sooners the No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown was dubbed a "Game of the Century" (the first since Notre Dame in Michigan State in 1966, which ended in a tie). Even though the Sooners statistically had a better offense, Nebraska pulled out a 35-31 victory, thanks in part to a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown by Johnny Rogers.

The Sports Illustrated headline was "Irresistible Oklahoma Meets Immovable Nebraska."

Nebraska averaged what was then a school-record 437.7 yards on offense, including a Big Eight-leading 179.3 yards passing, and ranked third nationally in scoring, averaging 39.1 points per game.

The defense was even better. the Cornhuskers ranked second in the nation in rushing defense (85.9 yards per game), third in scoring defense (8.2 points) and fifth in total defense (202.9) during the regular season.

The Cornhuskers held 10 of their 13 opponents to seven points or fewer, but they also only played three ranked opponents.

Nebraska had four consensus All-Americans, three on defense and future Heisman Trophy winner Rogers, and two players who won the Outland Trophy. It had three first-round selections in the subsequent NFL draft, who were joined by Rogers a year later.

However, this will demonstrate how much the game has changed over the past 50 years:

Quarterback Jerry Tagge completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 2,178 yards, with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions and a passer rating of 149.2.

While those don't numbers don't look like much, and are nowhere close to what Jones did while playing a conference-only regular-season schedule, he still led the Big Eight in all of those categories. The passer rating topped the nation.

Jones completed 77.4 percent, for 4,500 yards, with 41 touchdowns and four picks. His 203.1 rating set the NCAA single-season record after Burrow was the first player in history to top 200 last year.

Here are some things that work in Alabama's favor:

• Alabama's three-headed offensive monster of DeVonta Smith, Jones and Najee Harris finished 1-3-5 for the Heisman Trophy.

• It had two All-Americans sidelined by injuries.

• Alabama outscored opponents 48.46-19.38, although one only opponents finished within two touchdowns of the Crimson Tide, Florida in the SEC Championship Game (the fifth straight week against an SEC opponent).

• The Crimson Tide had four players selected in the top 15 picks in the previous NFL draft, all on offense.

• Alabama did it during the coronavirus pandemic, and, as Jones noted, playing a 10-game SEC schedule plus the SEC Championship Game, during a time in which there's no doubt its the toughest conference in college football.

• In the process, the Crimson Tide won nearly every award imaginable, and as part of the most remarkable dynasty in college football history — when even a regular-season win against Alabama usually results in fans storming the field.

Regardless of where you come down on the debate, Jones definitely had a point. It's one that looks like will only strengthen with time.

Draft Talk Just Beginning

Our own Joey Blackwell touched upon Mel Kiper Jr. projecting that Alabama could have six first-round selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, which would tie the all-time record. The Crimson Tide has at least eight, if not nine players with the potential to land in the first 32 picks, so it's going to be something watch.

• SI's NFL Draft Bible is projecting five first-round selections, but even its latest mock draft demonstrated this group's potential to make history. Jones was listed as the final pick in the second round, and his draft stock is clearly on the rise. It also had running back Najee Harris and offensive lineman Landon Dickerson listed as being on the bubble for the first round. Dickerson's status will only go up if the reports on his recovery from knee surgery are favorable.

• Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network only had three Crimson Tide players in the first round of his latest mock: DeVonta Smith, Patrick Surtain II and Jaylen Waddle. That he didn't include Jones or any of the linemen, including Alex Leatherwood and Christian Barmore, could change as teams always covet players in the trenches, plus there aren't that many top-end prospects on the defensive side this year.

• Don't read anything into Smith declining to be weighed or measured at the Senior Bowl. The concerns about his size have long passed, and you really can't blame the wide receiver for opting for the opportunity to drink a few more shakes. "It's different," Smith told the NFL Network about watching the Senior Bowl practices from the sideline. "Just me wanting to be out there. Just seeing these guys come out here and compete. Me being the competitor I am, I want to do the same thing."