Ranking college football's best national championship teams in BCS/Playoff era
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College football has been pretty good to us in the modern era.
Explosive offenses, dominant teams, and finally a playoff system to help determine the national championship on the field.
Which teams are the best to do it in the BCS and College Football Playoff era?
Ranking college football's best national champions of BCS/CFP era
10. 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes
Record: 14-1
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 2 Oregon, 42-20 (College Football Playoff)
Need to know: OSU went through three quarterbacks and weathered a loss at home to Virginia Tech. It recovered enough to rank No. 6 going into the Michigan game. But then J. T. Barrett — the Buckeyes' second quarterback — went down in that matchup with an injury. Third-stringer Cardale Jones stepped in, demolished Wisconsin, 59-0, in the Big Ten title game, beat Alabama in the first-ever CFP semifinal, and handled Oregon to cap off a season they'll never forget in Columbus.
9. 2008 Florida Gators
Record: 13-1
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 2 Oklahoma, 24-14 (BCS National Championship)
Need to know: A shocking loss at home to Ole Miss inspired one of the greatest speeches in college football history. Tim Tebow personally swore no player or team would work harder than he and Gators. He kept his word, winning 10 straight games and Florida's second national championship in three years. Oklahoma had scored an NCAA record 716 points that year (55 ppg), but managed just 14 against the Gators.
8. 2021 Georgia Bulldogs
Record: 14-1
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 1 Alabama, 33-18 (College Football Playoff)
Need to know: Nobody thought they would see a defense this dominant again, not since college football adapted to the pass-always, spread offensive style. But the Bulldogs smothered opponents, starting with Clemson, and running through the SEC regular season allowing under a TD on average every game. That average took a hit when Alabama dropped 41 in an SEC Championship victory. But Georgia re-grouped, routed Michigan in the semifinal, and got its revenge on the Tide for its first national championship since 1980.
7. 2013 Florida State Seminoles
Record: 14-0
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 2 Auburn, 34-31 (BCS National Championship)
Need to know: Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy leading the Seminoles to a program record 14 wins. The '13 team became the most dominant champion in college football history, winning games by a 39.5 point margin on average. FSU led the NCAA with 94 total touchdowns and allowed just 12.1 points per game.
6. 2020 Alabama Crimson Tide
Record: 13-0
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 3 Ohio State, 52-24 (College Football Playoff)
Need to know: Nothing about the 2020 season was normal, except for the Crimson Tide. A historically-great group of skill players propelled Bama to another national championship in dominating fashion. Mac Jones at QB, Heisman winner DeVonta Smith at WR, Najee Harris at RB shredded the SEC with an average of 48.5 points per game. That's still the most by a Bama team under Saban.
5. 2018 Clemson Tigers
Record: 15-0
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 1 Alabama, 44-16 (College Football Playoff)
Need to know: The first team to win 15 games since Penn did it back in 1897 had the best defense and the No. 3 offense in the nation. It allowed just 13.1 points per game, led the NCAA with 54 sacks, and averaged almost 45 points per game. To cap it off, the Tigers smothered top-ranked Alabama in the title game, handing Nick Saban his worst-ever defeat with the Crimson Tide.
4. 2004 USC Trojans
Record: 13-0
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 2 Oklahoma, 55-19 (BCS National Championship)
Need to know: "Leave No Doubt" was the Trojans' motto coming into '04. USC split a natty with LSU the year before, earning AP honors, but wanted to prove it on the field. That they did against an undefeated Oklahoma team in the Orange Bowl. Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush both won Pac-12 Offensive Player honors while Lendale White scrambled for over 1,100 yards and 15 TDs as the backup.
3. 2005 Texas Longhorns
Record: 13-0
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 1 USC, 41-38 (BCS National Championship)
Need to know: Everyone remembers Vince Young's game-winning TD run at the Rose Bowl as one of the greatest plays in college football history. That legendary play capped off what remains a legendary season not only in recent memory, but ever. Texas scored an NCAA record 652 points and under 40 points in just one game, a three-point win at Ohio State.
2. 2019 LSU Tigers
Record: 15-0
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 3 Clemson, 42-25 (College Football Playoff)
Need to know: It's not often you see a team run the table against a schedule this tough. Behind the passing brilliance of Joe Burrow, LSU beat a whopping seven teams ranked in the Top 10. Burrow threw a record 60 TD passes and led college football with 48.4 points per game.
1. 2001 Miami Hurricanes
Record: 12-0
Final ranking: No. 1
Last game: def. No. 4 Nebraska, 37-14 (BCS National Championship)
Need to know: Often ranked among the greatest teams in college football history — if not the greatest — the '01 Canes beat opponents by almost 33 points per game. It placed No. 1 in overall defense and No. 3 in total offense, producing an astonishing 17 first-round NFL Draft picks. A dominant, physical, imposing group, the Hurricanes boasted what still rates as the finest collection of raw talent ever on one team.
