College Football 150 National Championship All-Time Season Rankings. Where Does 2022 Georgia Rank?

pete fiutak

Tue, Feb 7, 2023, 9:37 AM·105 min read

Which college football national champions had the best seasons? How do their runs rank? We highlight the greatest of all-time with the 150 Greatest National Championship Season rankings.

150 Greatest College Football National Champions

150 Greatest College Football National Champions
CFN 2022 Final Rankings | No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4
No. 5 | No. 6 | No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 10 | 11-25 | 26-50
51-75 | 76-100 | 101-125 | 126-150 | Just Missed
CFN Season Formula Criteria | @ColFootballNews

Is 2020 Alabama the greatest team of all-time? Is it 2019 LSU, or 1894 Yale, or …? That’s a matter of opinion. However, what’s easier to do is ask this question.

Where’s 2022 Georgia after its dominant national title win over TCU?

Which national champion came up with the greatest season in the history of college football?

How are you possibly supposed to rank close over 150 years of the best of the best college football teams?

How do you sell the idea that some Ivy League team from the 1800s was among the greatest of all-time based on an opinion? That’s not fair.

That old school team would lose to the 2022 Georgia backups by 295 points.

On talent and ability, trying to rank and contrast today’s college football teams to anything from 100ish years ago is like comparing apples to … Jupiter. It’s a totally different game now.

And then there’s the problem of just how fatally flawed the system for determining a champion used to be. It’s not like anyone could watch three screens of games in 1869 – or 1969. National champions from back in the day – and even as recently as the mid-1990s – were crowned on a guess.

So with all of that in mind, we’ve ranked the 150 greatest national champions of all-time based on how good their seasons were. The CFN Season Formula is about straight numbers, wins, losses, point totals and strengths of schedules to measure just how strong a campaign really was. It’s not an opinion of how good the teams might have been.

It’s a simple theory. The more wins, and the more big wins, the higher the ranking. The more games a team played, the more chances for losses, wearing down, injuries, or bad days. It’s why some of the highest-ranked teams on this list are from the modern day – the more recent champions played more games.

If you won a national championship playing a schedule of cupcakes and high school teams – looking at you, 1895 Penn – this formula exposes that.

The ground rules.

1. There are more than 150 college football national champions. Over the last 153 years – even though there have only been 152 college football seasons, but whatever – there were plenty of split titles.

Because there was no true national championship game up until the BCS was formed in 1998, crowning a champion was often a popularity contest. Only the top 150 according to the CFN Season Formula make the list.

2. Only the main methods for each era are counted. Sorry, 2017 UCF, and sorry to a few of the Alabama “national champions” that the school continues to brag about. These are based off of the top selection organizations in each era …

1869 to 1879: National Championship Foundation (NCF)
1880 to 1935: NCF & Helms Athletic Foundation
1936 to 1949: Associated Press (AP)
1950 to 1981: AP & United Press International (UPI)
1982 to 1997: AP (and 2003) & USA Today (Coaches Poll)
1998 to 2013: Bowl Championship System
2014 to 2022: College Football Playoff

FIRST TEAMS OUT …

154. 1911 Penn State (8-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 14.0344
Key Season Score Element: 5 Bad Wins (wins over teams with three wins or fewer, or not at the highest level at the time) in 9 games
Best Win: Penn State 5, at Cornell 0
Worst Game: Penn State 0, at Navy 0

1911 was a weird college football season. Navy ended up unbeaten, but it finished with three ties. One was against Penn State, and one was against Princeton – both of the split national champions. Penn State had the better year than Princeton with a few more big wins, and with a defense that allowed just 15 points.

153. 1910 Pitt (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 14.0700
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 282-0
Best Win: Pitt 17, Georgetown 0
Worst Game: Pitt 19, Westminster 0

Seven of the nine wins came against teams that weren’t officially in the college football mix and/or finished with fewer than three wins. It was the year when the forward pass became a bigger part of the game, but it didn’t matter to a Pitt D that didn’t allow a point.

152. 1923 Michigan (8-0)

All-Time Season Score: 14.1300
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 150-12
Best Win: Michigan 10, Minnesota 0
Worst Game: Michigan 26, Quantico Marines 6

It’s a soft national championship considering there was only one amazing win – over Minnesota in the regular season finale – and a whole slew of mediocre victories over bad Case, Ohio State, and Michigan State teams. The D pitched a shutout in five of the eight games and allowed more than three points once … against Quantico Marines.

151. 1910 Harvard (8-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 14.1944
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 155-5
Best Win: Harvard 12, Brown 0
Worst Game: Harvard 0, Yale 0

There were a few great wins, but they were offset by a whole lot of teams that fall into the Bad Win category. Five of the eight victories were bad, and there was a tie against Yale on the road in the season finale. The D gave up just five points all year, coming in a 27-5 win over a strong Cornell squad.

150 Greatest College Football National Champions: Top 150

150 Greatest College Football National Champions

150. 1942 Ohio State (9-1)

All-Time Season Score: 14.3800
Key Season Score Element: 114 points allowed the most by anyone in the bottom 25 (but scored 337 points)
Best Win: Ohio State 41, Iowa Pre-Flight 12
Worst Game: Wisconsin 17, Ohio State 7

The Buckeyes suffered a loss to a strong Wisconsin team in Madison, but they still managed to win the national title thanks to three terrific wins over Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa Pre-Flight teams that all finished 7-3.

149. 1923 Illinois (8-0)

All-Time Season Score: 14.4100
Key Season Score Element: Allowed just 20 points
Best Win: Illinois 7, Chicago 0
Worst Game: Illinois 9, at Ohio State 0

There weren’t too many problems, partly because there weren’t too many good teams on the slate. However, there were two big wins to get it done – Illinois handed Chicago its only loss of the season, and the 9-6 win at Iowa was terrific. The offense wasn’t anything special, but it was an unbeaten season with no points allowed in the last five games.

148. 1913 Harvard (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 14.7900
Key Season Score Element: 5 Bad Wins
Best Win: Harvard 3, at Princeton 0
Worst Game: Harvard 14, Bates 0

Where are the great wins? It was an unbeaten season, but five of the nine victories came against teams with losing records or weren’t at the higher level. Only Princeton provided a problem, and that was the lone road game. Overall, it’s about a weak a national championship resumé as it gets.

147. 1947 Notre Dame (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 14.8900
Key Season Score Element: 6 Bad Wins in 9 games
Best Win: Notre Dame 38, at USC 7
Worst Game: Notre Dame 26, at Northwestern 19

The Irish won the national title on brand name. Yes, going 9-0 was great, but there weren’t any amazing wins of note other than a decent one over USC on the road and one over an okay Army. The 1947 Irish beat six teams with losing records.

146. 1919 Texas A&M (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 15.000
Key Season Score Element: 10 wins the most by anyone lower than 137
Best Win: Texas A&M 7, Texas 0
Worst Game: Texas A&M 7, Southwestern 0

A&M managed to take the national championship by outscoring teams 275-0. It helped that the schedule was loaded with layups – seven of the ten victories were Bad Wins – but a 10-0 win over Baylor on the road and 7-0 victory over an okay Texas was enough.

145. 1933 Michigan (7-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 15.0675
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Michigan 13, Ohio State 0
Worst Game: Michigan 0, Minnesota 0

The Wolverine defense was the star, allowing just 18 points on the year, giving up six points in three games. There were a few tight battles against mediocre teams – 10-6 over Iowa and 7-6 over Illinois – and a key tie against a nasty Minnesota squad that finished 4-0-4. It was the end of a terrific four year run – the 1934 team went 1-7.

144. 1954 UCLA (UPI) (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 15.2700
Key Season Score Element: 327 point differential
Best Win: UCLA 12, Maryland 7
Worst Game: UCLA 21, Washington 20

Ohio State won the AP side of the national championship, and UCLA was named the champion by UPI. The Buckeyes had the much better year and was the more deserving champ over a Bruin team that beat a fat load of no one. The offense cranked up 72 on Stanford and followed it up with a 61-0 win over Oregon State, but the tight 12-7 win over Maryland was the only victory over a team that didn’t finish with four losses or more.

143. 1952 Michigan State (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 15.2800
Key Season Score Element: 0 Elite Wins
Best Win: Michigan State 21, Notre Dame 3
Worst Game: Michigan State 17, at Oregon State 14

Michigan State had way too tough a time against a miserable Oregon State team, but it also rolled by strong Syracuse, Penn State and Notre Dame squads. The only two close games were on the road – the weird game against the Beavers on the road, and a 14-7 close call at Purdue. The defense was fantastic, allowing 14 points or fewer in every game.

142. 1965 Alabama (AP) (9-1-1)

All-Time Season Score: 15.3536
Key Season Score Element: The lowest ranked team in top 150 with one loss and one tie
Best Win: Alabama 39, Nebraska 28 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: at Georgia 18, Alabama 17

Michigan State went 10-1 and won the UPI national championship – and had a better season than the AP champ. Bama tied 7-7 against a fantastic Tennessee team, and opened the season with a loss on the road to Georgia, but closed strong with a blowout win over Auburn and handed Nebraska its only loss in the Orange Bowl.

141. 1956 Oklahoma (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 15.4000
Key Season Score Element: 7 Bad Wins
Best Win: Oklahoma 27, at Colorado 19
Worst Game: Oklahoma 34, at Kansas 12

The Sooners were deep in the midst of their epic 56-game winning streak under Bud Wilkinson, but … they didn’t beat anyone in 1956. The win at Colorado was fine, but nine of the ten victories came against teams that finished with losing records. To make it worse, OU beat seven teams that won three games or fewer.

140. 1946 Notre Dame (8-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 15.4144
Key Season Score Element: 24 points allowed
Best Win: Notre Dame 0, Army 0
Worst Game: Notre Dame 28, Navy 0

Of course the 0-0 all-timer against Army wasn’t a win, but it might as well have been one considering the Irish ended up as the national champion. The Elite Win on the road against Illinois to start the season was the biggest key considering the rest of the slate was really, really soft. Shhhhhh … Army played a much, much better schedule. The D came up with six shutouts in nine games.

139. 1915 Cornell (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 15.6200
Key Season Score Element: 50 points allowed
Best Win: Cornell 10, at Harvard 0
Worst Game: Cornell 13, Gettysburg 0

Cornell played a whole lot of nothing for most of the season – five of the nine wins were against bad teams – but it managed to hand Harvard its only loss in a 10-0 road win, and it came up with a nice 40-21 win over a strong Washington & Lee team. Every game was a blowout – no one came closer than ten points.

138. 1926 Stanford (10-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 15.9045
Key Season Score Element: 8 Bad Wins
Best Win: Stanford 13, at USC 12
Worst Game: Stanford 7, Olympic Club 3

It was a split national championship season with Stanford winning one part, and Alabama taking another – Bama had the better year. The two teams handed each other their only blemish in a 7-7 Rose Bowl tie, but Stanford was also able to get by a strong USC team on the road and a good Washington squad. The problem? It was cupcake city with six wins over teams that weren’t officially recognized by the higher end of the college football world.

137. 1935 Minnesota (8-0)

All-Time Season Score: 15.9800
Key Season Score Element: 148 point differential
Best Win: Minnesota 12, at Nebraska 7
Worst Game: Minnesota 26, North Dakota State 6

There just aren’t a whole slew of great wins. Only Northwestern scored more than seven points on the Gopher D – a 21-13 Minnesota win – that allowed just 46 total points, but there were only four wins over teams that finished with winning records.

136. 1919 Harvard (9-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 16.300
Key Season Score Element: 5 Bad Wins
Best Win: Harvard 7, Oregon 6 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Harvard 10, at Princeton 10

Harvard beat a whole slew of bad teams – the high Bad Win score was a problem – but the defense allowed just 19 points, going the first six games without getting scored on. The one road game before the Rose Bowl win over Oregon was at Princeton, and that was the lone blemish in a 10-10 tie.

Breakdown of the CFN Season Formula criteria

135. 1922 Princeton (8-0)

All-Time Season Score: 16.4300
Key Season Score Element: 4 Quality Wins
Best Win: Princeton 21, at Chicago 18
Worst Game: Princeton 22, Swarthmore 13

This wasn’t a totally dominant team like a bunch of the monsters of the 1920s, but it still managed to get through a season unbeaten against a decent slate. It handed Chicago its only loss of the season – and on the road – and pushed past good Harvard and Yale squads.

134. 1914 Army (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 16.6500
Key Season Score Element: 20 points allowed
Best Win: Army 20, Notre Dame 7
Worst Game: Army 13, Springfield 6

Army won the two games it absolutely had to, getting by Notre Dame and closing out with a win over a decent Navy team in Philadelphia. Along the way, Colgate and Rutgers were solid, but there were two seasons. Four of the wins were fantastic, and five of them came against teams that weren’t a part of the official college football world.

133. 1908 LSU (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 16.8200
Key Season Score Element: 8 Bad Wins
Best Win: LSU 10, at Auburn 2
Worst Game: LSU 41, Young Men’s Gymnastic Club of New Orleans 0

The next time you want to complain about some SEC team scheduling a cupcake, try this for your 1908 national champion. LSU started out the season beating the Young Men’s Gymnastic Club of New Orleans 41-0, and followed it up by whacking around Jackson Barracks of New Orleans 81-5. However, LSU also handed Auburn its only loss of the season, and outscored teams 443-11.

132. 1922 Cal (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 16.8900
Key Season Score Element: 2.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Cal 12, USC 0
Worst Game: Cal 25, Olympic Athletic Club 0

There’s a whole bunch of fluff – whacking around the Mare Island Marines by 80, and beating up the local Olympic Athletic Club by 25. However, when it was time to step up, Cal did, handing USC its only loss of the year in a midseason shutout in LA, and giving Washington its only loss with a 45-7 thumping in Seattle.

131. 1957 Ohio State (UPI) (9-1)

All-Time Season Score: 16.9000
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Ohio State 17, Iowa 13
Worst Game: TCU 18, Ohio State 14

Auburn and Ohio State split the national title. Auburn won the AP, Ohio State won the UPI … but Auburn went unbeaten and had the better year. Ohio State lost the season opener to TCU at home. There was a good win over a strong Iowa team – the Hawkeyes’ only loss – and things finished off with a 10-7 win over a mediocre Oregon squad.

130. 1951 Tennessee (10-1)

All-Time Season Score: 17.1091
Key Season Score Element: 0 Elite Wins
Best Win: Tennessee 46, at Ole Miss 21
Worst Game: Maryland 28, Tennessee 13 (Sugar Bowl)

This one stinks. Remember, the national championship used to be decided before the bowl season. Maryland – who got a few historical national title nods, but not from the ones that mattered at the time – beat the Vols in the Sugar Bowl to finish an unbeaten 10-0, but both the AP and UPI named Tennessee the national champ before that happened. Worst of all, there were a whole slew of okay victories over winning teams, but none over anyone who finished with fewer than three losses and a tie.

129. 1922 Cornell (8-0)

All-Time Season Score: 15.1200
Key Season Score Element: 312 point differential
Best Win: Cornell 9, at Penn 0
Worst Game: Cornell 48, Albright 14

Cornell played half of its games against teams that weren’t even part of the official college football world, but it still managed to come up with four excellent wins to get on the list. Only a strong Penn team was able to come closer than ten points, but a lower-level Albright team was the only team able to score more than seven.

128. 1926 Alabama (9-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 17.1700
Key Season Score Element: 27 points allowed
Best Win: Alabama 19, at Vanderbilt 7
Worst Game: Alabama 2, Sewanee 0

Bama was able to pull off a fantastic road win over a Vanderbilt team that didn’t lose to anyone else, and it tied Stanford 7-7 in the Rose Bowl – but it was enough to rank higher in a split national title year. There was a strange 2-0 win over an awful Sewanee team, and there were way too many wins over teams that finished with three wins or fewer, but again, the season ranks higher than a 10-0-1 Stanford’s.

127. 1953 Maryland (10-1)

All-Time Season Score: 17.2591
Key Season Score Element: 38 points allowed
Best Win: Maryland 39, at Ole Miss 0
Worst Game: Oklahoma 7, Maryland 0 (Orange Bowl)

Maryland was hosed in 1951, and got its payback in 1953. The 1951 team went unbeaten and beat Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl, but didn’t get named the national champion in the polls that mattered. The 1953 team went unbeaten in the regular season with a dominant run – no one came closer than 14 points – but after being named the national champ, it lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

126. 1964 Alabama (10-1)

All-Time Season Score: 17.2791
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Alabama 24, at Georgia Tech 7
Worst Game: Texas 21, Alabama 17 (Orange Bowl)

Arkansas, Michigan and Notre Dame were all named national champions by recognized outfits, but the two that mattered at the time – AP and UPI – gave Bama the nod. Texas beat the Tide in the Orange Bowl, but the Longhorns lost to Arkansas earlier in the year. The Hogs went 11-0. It didn’t matter – Bama beat five teams with winning records, and stood out from the pack, at least before the bowl season.

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: Top 125

150 Greatest National Champions: Top 125

125. 1967 USC (10-1)

All-Time Season Score: 17.3691
Key Season Score Element: 2.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: USC 14, Indiana 3 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: at Oregon State 3, USC 0

USC came up with a clunker of a performance against Oregon State on the road – losing 3-0 – but it was able to beat Notre Dame in South Bend, and that meant everything. Combine that with a win over Texas and a victory over a strong UCLA team, and that was enough to get the national title call. The season was strengthened by a Rose Bowl win over Indiana.

124. 1950 Oklahoma 1950 (10-1)

All-Time Season Score: 17.4491
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Oklahoma 14, Texas 13
Worst Game: Kentucky 13, Oklahoma 7 (Sugar Bowl)

Welcome to the days before bowl games mattered. Tennessee beat Kentucky in the last game of the regular season, and Kentucky finished 11-1 after beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. The Vols also beat a great Texas team in the Cotton Bowl, and took down strong Alabama and Duke teams, but … Oklahoma went 10-0 in the regular season, and Tennessee lost early to Mississippi State.

123. 1896 Lafayette (11-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 17.5083
Key Season Score Element: 7 Bad Wins
Best Win: Lafayette 6, at Penn 4
Worst Game: Lafayette 0, Princeton 0

It was a split national title season between Lafayette and Princeton – the two tied 0-0, and Princeton ended up having the better overall season. However, Lafayette came up with a brilliant win over a Penn team that finished 14-1, but there were a whole lot of awful wins including three over a West Virginia program that wasn’t recognized yet.

122. 1916 Pitt (8-0)

All-Time Season Score: 17.5500
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Pitt 31, Penn State 0
Worst Game: Pitt 20, Navy 19

Five of the eight wins came against teams that finished with winning records, including dominant performances against strong Penn State and Washington & Jefferson teams. The 20-19 road game at Navy was scary – they were the most points allowed by the program in six years.

121. 1983 Miami (11-1)

All-Time Season Score: 17.6867
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Miami 31, Nebraska 30 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: at Florida 28, Miami 3

This was the season that launched a dynasty. The Hurricanes overcame a clunker of a loss to Florida to open the season by rolling through the rest of the slate. The defense allowed just 78 points over a ten game regular season run before pulling off a historic win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for the national title.

120. 1957 Auburn (AP) (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 17.7900
Key Season Score Element: 28 points allowed
Best Win: Auburn 7, at Tennessee 0
Worst Game: Auburn 6, Georgia 0

Ohio State won the UPI title, but Auburn took home the AP – and had the stronger overall season. The Buckeyes lost a game and Auburn didn’t, thanks to a defense that allowed seven points in four separate games, and nothing else. The O wasn’t anything special, but that D made up for it.

119. 1954 Ohio State (AP) (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 17.9900
Key Season Score Element: The D allowed 7 points or fewer in seven games.
Best Win: Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 14
Worst Game: Ohio State 21, at Northwestern 7

UCLA won the UPI national title, but Ohio State’s 1954 season was far, far stronger. The blowout win over Wisconsin was outstanding, and taking down USC 20-7 in the Rose Bowl helped. But there weren’t a whole slew of amazing victories – there were plenty of good ones.

118. 1955 Oklahoma (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 17.9200
Key Season Score Element: 325 point differential
Best Win: Oklahoma 20, Maryland 6 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: Oklahoma 13, at North Carolina 6

The Sooners got past a bad performance against a lousy North Carolina team in the opener to roll through the season with ease. They won each of their last nine games by double-digits, and didn’t allow a point in the final four regular season games. It all closed out with a win over an unbeaten Maryland team in the Orange Bowl.

117. 1882 Yale (8-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.0100
Key Season Score Element: Allowed 1 point
Best Win: Yale 1, at Harvard 0
Worst Game: Yale 11, Columbia 0

Yale outscored all eight opponents by a combined score of 52-1, allowing the one point to Princeton in a 2-1 victory in the season finale. Along the way, it handed Harvard its only loss of the season, came up with five victories over teams that finished with winning records, and beat Rutgers twice in back-to-back weeks.

116. 1940 Minnesota (8-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.0800
Key Season Score Element: 4.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Minnesota 7, Michigan 6
Worst Game: Minnesota 13, at Ohio State 7

Most of the amazing Minnesota teams of the era put up great records by battering teams without a pulse. Not this one. The Gophers handed Michigan its only loss of the year, and they got by terrific Washington, Nebraska, and Northwestern teams that all lost just one other game. The 154 points, though, were low compared to most national champs on the list.

115. 1938 TCU (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.0900
Key Season Score Element: 60 points allowed
Best Win: TCU 15, Carnegie Tech 7 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: TCU 21, Arkansas 14

TCU had a rough day against a miserable Arkansas team early on, but it didn’t give up more than a touchdown against anyone else. Outside of that, there weren’t any issues against anyone else until the Sugar Bowl win over Carnegie Tech, and that turned out to be the only victory of true note.

114. 1970 Texas (UPI) (10-1)

All-Time Season Score: 18.3991
Key Season Score Element: 423 points scored
Best Win: Texas 42, Arkansas 7
Worst Game: Notre Dame 24, Texas 11 (Cotton Bowl)

And here’s the flaw in college football’s national championship system. Texas might be able to claim a national title thanks to UPI, but Nebraska went 11-0, got the AP title, and had a much stronger season. However, the bowl games were still not quite part of the national title mix for UPI. Even so, the Longhorns got this high up thanks to five wins over teams that finished with winning record, and with a a solid point differential of 2.74.

Breakdown of the CFN Season Formula criteria

113. 1906 Princeton (9-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 18.4100
Key Season Score Element: 9 points allowed
Best Win: Princeton 6, Washington & Jefferson 0
Worst Game: Princeton 0, Yale 0

This one isn’t fair. Yale had the far better season overall and finished with the same record as Princeton – 9-0-1, with the two schools playing to a 0-0 tie. However, the stronger national champion determining outlets for the time picked the Princeton, who pulled off shutouts in eight of the ten games. It was able to come up with a big win over a strong Washington & Jefferson team, and handed Cornell its only loss of the year. However, there were only nine wins, and four fell under the Bad Win category.

112. 1920 Cal (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.4600
Key Season Score Element: 496 point differential
Best Win: Cal 28, Ohio State 0 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Cal 17, Oregon State 7

Cal got its groove on early – it liked to destroy teams in light scrimmages – beating St. Mary’s 127-0 and roughing up the Mare Island Marines 88-0. There were real wins along the way, too, handing Washington State its only loss in a 49-0 whacking, and giving Ohio State its lone defeat with a shutout in the Rose Bowl. The D allowed just 14 points on the year.

111. 1974 USC (UPI) (10-1-1)

All-Time Season Score: 18.5850
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: USC 18, Ohio State 17 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Arkansas 22, USC 7

1974 USC makes the list on a glitch. Oklahoma went unbeaten and had a much better season, but it wasn’t eligible to win the UPI national title because of a few recruiting violations. So USC took home one half of the championship despite being housed by Arkansas 22-7 to start the season, and with a 15-15 home tie against an okay Cal squad. So how did USC finish this high up? 55-24 over a Notre Dame team that finished 10-2, and a classic Rose Bowl win over Ohio State that also finished 10-2.

110. 1980 Georgia (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.7100
Key Season Score Element: 5 Bad Wins
Best Win: Georgia 17, Notre Dame 10 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: Georgia 28, Ole Miss 21

Thanks to Herschel Walker and a great defense, this became a legendary Georgia team … and it beat a whole lot of nobody. There were just four wins over teams that finished with winning records, the Sugar Bowl win was against a decent-not-amazing Notre Dame team – it finished 9-2-1 – and that turned out to be the only victory over a team that didn’t finish with four losses or more.

109. 1908 Penn (11-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 18.8283
Key Season Score Element: 6 Bad Wins
Best Win: Penn 17, Cornell 4
Worst Game: Penn 6, Carlisle 6

Penn State didn’t beat a whole lot of strong teams, and it got pushed a bit more than many of the national champions of the era, but it’s all relative considering it outscored everyone 215-28. A 6-6 tie with a good Carlisle team was the only blemish. Handing Cornell its only loss and beating Michigan 29-0 in Ann Arbor were strong parts of the resumé.

T107. 1966 Notre Dame (9-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 18.9400
Key Season Score Element: 324 point differential
Best Win: Notre Dame 26, Purdue 14
Worst Game: Notre Dame 10, Michigan State 10

Okay, okay, so the epic 10-10 tie on the road against a Michigan State that finished unbeaten is hardly a “worst” game, but the Irish didn’t exactly go for it when they had a shot at the win. Just about everything else after opening up with a 26-14 win over Purdue was a total wipeout – MSU was the only team to come closer than 32 over the final eight games. Notre Dame allowed just five touchdowns on the year.

T107. 1962 USC (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.9400
Key Season Score Element: 3 Elite Wins Score
Best Win: USC 42, Wisconsin 37 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: USC 14, at UCLA 3

The Trojans started out the season with an Elite Win over Duke, and closed out with an all-time great game against Wisconsin, winning 42-37 in the Rose Bowl. Before dealing with the Badgers, USC didn’t allow more than 16 points in any regular season game, and allowed seven points or fewer eight times.

106. 1963 Texas (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.9700
Key Season Score Element: Just a 172 point differential
Best Win: Texas 28, Navy 6 (Cotton Bowl)
Worst Game: Texas 15, at Texas A&M 13

There were a whole lot of puzzling-bad performances against bad teams. It took too much work to get past a bad Arkansas team 17-13, and it struggled against a lousy SMU squad 17-12. However, the 15-13 victory over a two-win Texas A&M team was the real rough one. Even so, with a Cotton Bowl win over Roger Staubach’s Navy, and a great win over Oklahoma, the Longhorns flirted with the top 100 on this list.

105. 1968 Ohio State (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.9800
Key Season Score Element: 3 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Ohio State 27, USC 16 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Ohio State 25, Oregon 20

The legendary team had a whole lot of easy games, and there were a few more fights than it should’ve had to deal with. Iowa and Michigan State weren’t anything special, and both games were tight. Northwestern, Illinois and Wisconsin combined to win just two games, but the Buckeyes pasted a great Michigan team 50-14 and gave USC its only loss with a 27-16 win in the Rose Bowl.

104. 1949 Notre Dame (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 18.9900
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Notre Dame 34, at Michigan State 21
Worst Game: Notre Dame 27, SMU 20

This was an okay season that ended up getting helped by momentum. Notre Dame hadn’t lost a game in three years, but it was tied twice. The 1949 squad didn’t lose, but it also didn’t play anyone who was all that great. Even so, there wasn’t any drama until the seven point win over SMU on the road to close things out. The Irish went 4-4-1 the next season.

103. 1965 Michigan State (UPI) (10-1)

All-Time Season Score: 19.2791
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Michigan State 32, Ohio State 7
Worst Game: UCLA 14, Michigan State 12 (Rose Bowl)

This was before the bowl games helped determine the national championship, with the Spartans getting named the UPI champ even with the Rose Bowl loss to UCLA to close things out. But Alabama went 9-1-1 and had a worse season than MSU – and took the AP part of the title. MSU started the season with a 13-3 win over UCLA, and along the way, it beat four other teams that finished with winning records, including a 32-7 thumping over a strong Ohio State team.

102. 1887 Yale (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.2800
Key Season Score Element: 503 point differential
Best Win: Yale 17, Harvard 8
Worst Game: Yale 12, Princeton 0

Yale didn’t quite rock offensively like it did with the 687 point 1886 season, but it kept an amazing unbeaten streak going. The program went 48-0-1 over a stretch from late 1885 until the end of 1889. In ’87, the team outscored everyone 486-4 over a seven game stretch, and then came battles with the two good teams on the slate. The season went from great to fantastic with wins over Princeton and Harvard, handing the Crimson its only loss of the year.

101. 1885 Princeton (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.3900
Key Season Score Element: 514 point differential
Best Win: Princeton 6, at Yale 5
Worst Game: Princeton 10, Johns Hopkins 0

And here’s where blowing up a lot of bad teams can help. Princeton beat Stevens twice by a combined score of 170-0, and rocked Penn’s world by a combined score of 201-20 over the three games. Best of all for Princeton in the CFN Season Rankings Formula, those three wins technically count as Quality Wins – victories over teams that finished with winning records. However, handing Yale its only loss of the season with a 6-5 road victory helped.

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: Top 100

150 Greatest National Champions: Top 100

100. 1969 Texas (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.4100
Key Season Score Element: 316 point differential
Best Win: Texas 15, at Arkansas 14
Worst Game: Texas 17, at Cal 0

Yeah, one of the most legendary seasons in college football history was just sort of okay. The classic 15-14 win at Arkansas – with President Nixon declaring Texas the national champion right after – came against a squad that didn’t beat a single team that finished with a winning record. However, the Cotton Bowl victory over Notre Dame boosted up the overall Longhorn season. The only other victory over a winning team came against Oklahoma.

99. 1907 Yale (9-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 19.4300
Key Season Score Element: 10 points allowed
Best Win: Yale 12, Princeton 10
Worst Game: Yale 0, Army 0

Yale went over three years without a loss, but it was tied by a good Army squad on the road. However, the toughest game was a 12-10 victory over a killer of a Princeton squad – those were the only points scored all season on the Yale D. The five wins over teams that finished with winning records helped overcome the tie in the ranking.

98. 1973 Alabama (UPI) (11-1)

All-Time Season Score: 19.5567
Key Season Score Element: 364 point differential
Best Win: Alabama 21, at LSU 7
Worst Game: Alabama 24, Notre Dame 23 (Sugar Bowl)

If you want to dog Alabama for the inflated national championship total it likes to brag about, here you go. The Tide did take the UPI part of the national title … and lost to the AP champ Notre Dame – who finished 11-0 – in the Sugar Bowl. The D that allowed just 89 points in the 11 games before the Irish loss – and allowed 14 points or fewer ten times – got the Tide this high in the rankings.

97. 1929 Notre Dame (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.5700
Key Season Score Element: Just 145 points scored
Best Win: Notre Dame 13, USC 12
Worst Game: Notre Dame 14, at Indiana 0

There were a few two-foot putt wins, and the offense was hardly a force, but the defense allows just 38 points. The Irish got through the season unbeaten with a strong win over USC in Chicago, and …. that was about it. No one else on the slate lost fewer than three games.

96. 1973 Notre Dame (AP) (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.6800
Key Season Score Element: 293 point differential
Best Win: Notre Dame 24, Alabama 23 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: Notre Dame 14, Michigan State 10

The Irish managed to hand Alabama its only loss the season to take part of the national title in the Sugar Bowl, but that was about it for the giant wins, and Bama won the UPI national title. That was the only Elite Win, and the 23-14 win over USC was the only other victory over a team that won more than six games.

95. 1899 Harvard (10-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 19.7045
Key Season Score Element: 10 points allowed
Best Win: Harvard 20, Wesleyan 0
Worst Game: Harvard 0, Yale 0

It was a great season with ten wins and allowing just ten points all season – a 22-10 victory over Carlisle – but it all ended with a home tie against Yale. There weren’t enough Elite Wins – just two – but it was a dominant campaign overall that would’ve been a whole lot better in the rankings with a win to close it out – breaking the school’s 21 game winning streak.

94. 1984 BYU (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.7300
Key Season Score Element: 0 Elite Win Score
Best Win: BYU 30, at Air Force 25
Worst Game: BYU 20, at Pitt 14

BYU just didn’t beat anyone who was any good. There wasn’t a win over anyone who finished with fewer than four losses, the Holiday Bowl victory came over a bad Michigan team, and there was just nothing impressive about anything on the slate. So why are the Cougars so high up in the rankings? 13-0. The 13 wins were the most by anyone outside of the top 66. The schedule was so mediocre that BYU isn’t ranked higher despite the bulk wins.

93. 1909 Yale (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.8400
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 209-0
Best Win: Yale 8, at Harvard 0
Worst Game: Yale 11, Wesleyan 0

Yale didn’t give up a point and was only challenged once. It was a battle of the unbeatens at Harvard in the final game of the season, and Yale came away with an 8-0 win. In a feast-or-famine campaign, five of the victories were Quality Wins, five were classified as Bad Wins.

92. 1883 Yale (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.8800
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 540-2
Best Win: Yale 6, Princeton 0
Worst Game: Yale 49, Brooklyn Polytechnic 9

There weren’t enough Quality Wins – just 3 wins over teams that finished with winning records – but otherwise, it was a season as dominant as any in college football history. The 1882 team won the national title by outscoring teams 52-1. The 1883 version scored 49 points or more seven times and hit the 90 point mark in four games. Only Harvard scored on Yale in a 23-2 loss.

91. 1904 Michigan (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.9500
Key Season Score Element: 545 point differential
Best Win: Chicago 22-12
Worst Game: Drake 36-4

This came right in the heart of an amazing era of Michigan football, going 55-0-1 from 1901 until the season finale of the 1905 season. In 1904, Michigan allowed six points in a win at Ohio State, and gave up four to Drake before handing Chicago its only loss of the season in a 22-12 win to close out the season. Chicago would return the favor a year later by ending Michigan’s unbeaten streak.

90. 1961 Alabama (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 19.9700
Key Season Score Element: 25 points allowed
Best Win: Alabama 10, Arkansas 3 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: Alabama 9, Tulane 0

On the one hand, 1969 Alabama didn’t beat anyone who was all that great. The Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas was fine, but the Hogs finished 8-3. There wasn’t another win over anyone who finished with fewer than four losses. On the other hand, the team was dominant, especially on defense pitching six shutouts and never allowing more than seven points.

89. 1976 Pitt (12-0)

All-Time Season Score:19.9800
Key Season Score Element: Pitt outscored opponents 381 to 133
Best Win: Pitt 27, Georgia 3 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: Pitt 24, West Virginia 16

It was a dominant run by Tony Dorsett and coming, winning every game but one by double-digits and dominating Penn State and Georgia to close things out. However, there were only three wins over teams that finished with a winning record.

88. 1912 Harvard (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 20.0400
Key Season Score Element: 4.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Harvard 20, at Yale 0
Worst Game: Harvard 7, Maine 0

It took four games against teams outside of the D-I world to warm up, and then the team kicked it all in with five terrific wins to close out the year. There weren’t many challenges, but all the nasty battles were home up until the showdown with Yale at the end of the season between the two unbeaten rivals. On the road, Harvard rolled 20-0.

87. 1896 Princeton (10-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 20.0745
Key Season Score Element: 12 points allowed
Best Win: Princeton 24, at Yale 6
Worst Game: Princeton 0, Lafayette 0

It was a true split national championship season for the late 1800s. Lafayette went 11-0-1 and tied Princeton, but Princeton – the road team in the one blemish for both sides – had the better overall season. It beat five teams that finished with winning records, and had one big thing over Lafayette – a dominant 24-6 win over a Yale team that was 13-0 at the time.

86. 1970 Nebraska (AP) (11-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 20.3283
Key Season Score Element: Just 1 Elite Win
Best Win: Nebraska 17, LSU 12 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: Nebraska 17, USC 17

The Huskers get up this high in the rankings thanks to the 11 victories and 5 Quality Wins, but there were a whole lot of layups over easy teams. The Orange Bowl victory over LSU was the only one over anyone with fewer than four losses.

85. 2003 USC (AP) (12-1)

All-Time Season Score: 20.6231
Key Season Score Element: 534 points scored
Best Win: USC 28, Michigan 14 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: at Cal 34, USC 31

It’s one aspect of the amazing run under Pete Carroll that goes unnoticed – the schedules weren’t always that great. LSU won the USA Today Coaches Poll national title – and is ranked a whole lot higher than this – while USC won the AP version despite not beating a team that finished with fewer than three losses. How mediocre was the schedule? To go along with the loss to an okay Cal team – quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers – the only national champion of the 2000s ranked outside of the top 68 – and is still this low.

84. 1978 Alabama (AP) (11-1)

All-Time Season Score: 20.6867
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Alabama 14, Penn State 7 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: USC 24, Alabama 14

Alabama caught a massive break getting any piece of the national championship. USC lost at Arizona State in the middle of the season, but it rolled through an amazing schedule – including a 24-14 win over Bama in Birmingham – to get the UPI title. However, Bear Bryant’s Tide team took down 11-0 Penn State in an epic Sugar Bowl and beat a solid Nebraska team.

Breakdown of the CFN Season Formula criteria

83. 1925 Alabama (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 20.9600
Key Season Score Element: 26 points allowed
Best Win: Alabama 20, Washington 19 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Alabama 6 Mississippi State 0

The Tide rolled through the season with a defense that gave up just seven points over the first nine games, and then allowed 19 in the Rose Bowl win over Washington. It was UW’s only loss of the season, and that wasn’t it for the great wins with a dominant 34-0 victory over a strong Florida team, and a tough 7-0 win at Georgia Tech.

82. 1979 Alabama (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.1600
Key Season Score Element: 316 point differential
Best Win: Alabama 24, Arkansas 9 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: Alabama 3, at LSU 0

There might have been some question marks about the split national title with USC in 1978, but there weren’t any question marks in 1979. Even without any amazing wins until the Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas, it didn’t matter thanks to the brick wall of a defense. Bama allowed seven points or fewer in nine of the first ten games.

81. 2007 LSU (12-2)

All-Time Season Score: 21.2271
Key Season Score Element: It’s the only team in the 150 with two losses
Best Win: LSU 38, Ohio State 24 (BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Arkansas 50, LSU 48

LSU caught a massive break just to get to the BCS Championship – a bad Pitt team shocked West Virginia to open up the door for the two-loss Tigers – and it took advantage of the situation by rocking Ohio State to win it all. Even with the two losses, the season was still ranked relatively high thanks to seven wins over teams that finished with winning records and an SEC championship over Tennessee. However, those two losses came against mediocre Kentucky and Arkansas teams.

80. 1928 Georgia Tech (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.2400
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Georgia Tech 19, Vanderbilt 7
Worst Game: Georgia Tech 8, Cal 7 (Rose Bowl)

There weren’t any issues throughout the regular season, beating seven teams that finished with winning record including Cal in a tight Rose Bowl to close things out. The defense was solid throughout, and there were only two Bad Wins.

79. 1903 Michigan (11-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 21.2983
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 565-6
Best Win: at Chicago 28-0
Worst Game: Minnesota 6-6

The Wolverines went almost four years before losing, but along the way, the only blemish was a 6-6 tie against a Minnesota team that finished 14-0-1. There were seven Bad Wins – including wins over Ferris State 88-0 and Albion 76-0 – but outscoring everyone 565-6 and beating a great Chicago team on the road were enough to take the national title.

78. 1893 Princeton (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.8100
Key Season Score Element: 14 points allowed
Best Win: Princeton 6, Yale 0
Worst Game: Princeton 8, Lawrenceville 4

There wasn’t a whole lot of stress – outscoring teams 270-14 – but there were a few terrific battles. Princeton handed Wesleyan its only loss in a 76-0 tussle, beat a strong Penn team, and took out a 10-0 Yale team for its only defeat of the year with a 6-0 regular season ender.

77. 1985 Oklahoma (11-1)

All-Time Season Score: 21.3467
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Oklahoma 25, Penn State 10 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: Miami 27, Oklahoma 14

The Sooners overcame a rough start and an injury to starting QB Troy Aikman in the loss to Miami to rip through the last seven games for the national title. The Sooners allowed more than seven points just three times in the regular season, and stuffed an unbeaten Penn State to win the Orange Bowl. In all, seven of the 11 wins were over teams that finished with winning records.

76. 1989 Miami (11-1)

All-Time Season Score: 21.4067
Key Season Score Element: 426 points scored
Best Win: Miami 27, Notre Dame 10
Worst Game: at Florida State 24, Miami 10

The Hurricanes were dropped by Florida State 24-10 in Tallahassee, but the Noles started out the season 0-2 before reeling off ten straight wins. Notre Dame was coming off a national championship season, but it couldn’t do anything against Miami in a 27-10 late November loss – the only loss of the year for the Irish. A 33-25 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl won the Canes the national title.

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: Top 75

150 Greatest National Champions: Top 75

75. 1958 LSU (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.5400
Key Season Score Element: 53 points allowed
Best Win: LSU 14, Ole Miss 0
Worst Game: LSU 7, Mississippi State 6

The Tigers beat a whole bunch of good teams, but few truly great ones. The 14-0 win over Ole Miss was the big moment that took the campaign to another level, and the 7-0 Sugar Bowl win over Clemson sealed the national championship greatness. The defense allowed more than seven points just once – a 50-18 win over Duke – against a slate with six teams that finished with winning records.

T73. 1974 Oklahoma (AP) (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.5600
Key Season Score Element: 381 point differential
Best Win: Oklahoma 28, at Nebraska 14
Worst Game: Oklahoma 28, at Iowa State 10

It was a strange season for a Sooner team that wasn’t eligible to go bowling. Its defense didn’t give up more than 14 points in any game, the team beat five teams that finished with winning records, and there wasn’t any drama outside of the 16-13 win over Texas. But there weren’t any amazing victories, and it was a split national championship with USC – despite losing a game and tying another – taking the UPI title.

T73. 1924 Notre Dame (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.5600
Key Season Score Element: 6 Quality Wins
Best Win: Notre Dame 27, Stanford 10 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Notre Dame 13, Northwestern 6

Notre Dame got to fatten up on a few lovely cupcakes along the way, but it also managed to give Army its only loss of the year, and closed out by winning the Rose Bowl by giving Stanford its only defeat. The D allowed just 25 points over the first eight games.

72. 1948 Michigan (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.5800
Key Season Score Element: 44 points allowed
Best Win: Michigan 14, Oregon 0
Worst Game: Michigan 28, Illinois 20

Michigan came up with a whole lot of Elite Wins – getting a 5.5 score added to the mix, but the other four victories were against teams that finished with three wins or fewer. The Wolverines dominated throughout the year, and there was little drama thanks to a D that gave up a total of ten points in seven games. There just weren’t enough wins to get higher in the rankings.

71. 1886 Yale (9-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 21.78800
Key Season Score Element: 683 point differential
Best Win: Yale 29, Harvard 4
Worst Game: Yale 0, at Princeton 0

Yale roared through the season without a problem – beating MIT 96-0 and Wesleyan 136-0 – but there was a tough battle against a great Harvard team in a 29-4 win that made the season. The campaign closed out with a tie against Princeton – the only blemish on both sides.

70. 1895 Penn (14-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.8100
Key Season Score Element: 11 Bad Wins
Best Win: Penn 30, Lafayette 0
Worst Game: Penn 12, Chicago Athletic Club 4

Penn might have come up with 14 wins, but fewer of them were any good. 11 of the victories were Bad Wins – wins over teams that weren’t part of the official mixer against teams that won three games or fewer. But the massive win amount was enough to get the season this high – even if there was a big run of cream puffs.

69. 1986 Penn State (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.8200
Key Season Score Element: 3 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Penn State 14, Miami 10 (Fiesta Bowl)
Worst Game: Penn State 17, Maryland 15

There was absolutely nothing flashy about the Nittany Lions. They struggled through a few close games against mediocre teams, but they whacked a strong Alabama team 23-3 in Tuscaloosa, and got to the Fiesta Bowl unbeaten against Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde. They pulled off an all-timer of an upset and gave Joe Paterno his second national title thanks to a defense that didn’t allow more than 20 points all year.

68. 1917 Georgia Tech (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 21.9900
Key Season Score Element: 6 Quality Wins
Best Win: Georgia Tech 41, Pitt 0
Worst Game: Georgia Tech 32, Davidson 10

There wasn’t a 222-0 wipeout like there was the year before over Cumberland, but Georgia Tech whacked Carlisle 98-0, Vanderbilt 83-0, and Washington & Lee 63-0. A good Auburn team was able to score, and it still lost 68-7. So why isn’t the ranking a whole lot higher? The Elite Wins just aren’t quite there.

67. 1889 Princeton (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 22.0500
Key Season Score Element: 455 point differential
Best Win: Princeton 10, Yale 0
Worst Game: Princeton 16, Lehigh 0

1889 Princeton seems like it should be a bit higher in the rankings, but a few wins over lousy teams brought down the score. A 41-15 win on the road at Harvard would’ve been the most impressive performance of the season, but taking down a Yale team that finished 16-1 in what would essentially be the national championship was even better.

66. 1975 Oklahoma (11-1)

All-Time Season Score: 22.0667
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Oklahoma 35, Nebraska 10
Worst Game: Kansas 23, Oklahoma 3

The Sooners might have been shocked at home against Kansas, but they managed to come through against a killer schedule to pull off the national title. They beat terrific Texas and Nebraska teams that finished 10-2, and closed out by handing Michigan its second loss of the season in a 14-6 victory in the Orange Bowl.

65. 1944 Army (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 22.1900
Key Season Score Element: 469 point differential
Best Win: Army 59, Notre Dame 0
Worst Game: Army 27, Duke 7

Five of the nine wins were against teams that finished with winning records in an amazing year without any drama whatsoever. It thumped Villanova 83-0, crushed a strong Penn team 62-7, and destroyed the Coast Guard – a great team during that era – 76-0. The defense gave up just 35 points, spreading out touchdowns over five games, and only Navy (23-7) and Duke (27-7) held the Army O to under 46 points.

64. 1977 Notre Dame (11-1)

All-Time Season Score: 22.2267
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Notre Dame 38, Texas 10 (Cotton Bowl)
Worst Game: Ole Miss 20, Notre Dame 13

The Irish lost the second game the year to an Ole Miss team that finished with a losing season, and rolled the rest of the way. There weren’t too many amazing wins on the way to 10-1, but Joe Montana and company proved they were for real with a 38-10 whacking of an unbeaten Texas in the Cotton Bowl to take the national title.

63. 1901 Michigan (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 22.2500
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 555-0
Best Win: Michigan 50, Iowa 0
Worst Game: Michigan 21, at Ohio State 0

555-0. That was Michigan vs. its schedule in an easy 11-0 run with a Rose Bowl win over Stanford after blowout after blowout. With a 128-0 win over Buffalo and an 89-0 win over Beloit, there were a whole lot of light scrimmages, but there weren’t any amazing wins to boost up the overall Season Ranking score. The only Elite Win was 50-0 over a decent Iowa team in Chicago, but that was it considering Stanford wasn’t recognized yet as a top tier program.

62. 1990 Colorado (AP) (11-1-1)

All-Time Season Score: 22.346
Key Season Score Element: 229 points allowed
Best Win: Colorado 29, at Texas 22
Worst Game: at Illinois 23, Colorado 22

It was a strange season for the Buffs. It started out with a tie against Tennessee in Anaheim, California, it lost a few weeks later at Illinois, and it should’ve been given a loss in the infamous fifth down game – a 33-31 “win” – at Missouri.

But it also managed to win ten in a row, finishing with a 10-9 victory over Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl – saved by a phantom clip on the Irish on a Rocket Ismail punt return for a score. It split the national championship with Georgia Tech, whose season was just a wee bit better (keep reading through the countdown).

Breakdown of the CFN Season Formula criteria

61. 1987 Miami (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 22.8700
Key Season Score Element: 412 points scored
Best Win: Miami 20, Oklahoma 14 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: Miami 24, Toledo 14

Flip a coin on what was the real national championship game. Was it the Orange Bowl victory over previously unbeaten Oklahoma, or in Tallahassee against a loaded Florida State team that finished 11-1? However, even though the Canes had those two monster wins, the rest of the slate was just okay. Even so, other than the epic 26-25 win over the Noles, the D didn’t allow more than 16 points against anyone else.

60. 1898 Harvard (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 22.8800
Key Season Score Element: 19 points allowed
Best Win: Harvard 10, Penn 0
Worst Game: Harvard 11, Carlisle 5

It was an amazing year with little drama and a few huge wins – handing Penn its only loss of the season and dropping Yale on the road 17-0 – to get well into the top 60. It might not have been the greatest Harvard season of all-time, but it was almost flawless. Only Carlisle came closer than ten points with an 11-5 Harvard win.

59. 1990 Georgia Tech (UPI) (11-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 22.8883
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Georgia Tech 21, Clemson 19
Worst Game: Georgia Tech 13, North Carolina 13

In case you were wondering, AP champion Colorado was ranked lower. Georgia Tech had a rough tie with a mediocre North Carolina team, but it pulled off a great win over Virginia on the road, and it took down seven teams with winning records. The 45-21 blowout win over Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl helped, but there weren’t a whole lot of wins over amazing teams.

58. 1959 Syracuse (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 22.900
Key Season Score Element: 340 point differential
Best Win: Syracuse 23, Texas 14 (Cotton Bowl)
Worst Game: Syracuse 35, Kansas 21

Led by Ernie Davis and his two touchdowns, Syracuse got by Texas 23-14 in the Cotton Bowl. But before that, it got by a fantastic Penn State squad 20-18 on the road, and took out a solid UCLA team in LA. In all, the defense came up with five shutouts and allowed fewer than ten points eight times. The O did its part, scoring 32 points or more eight times including a 71-0 win over Colgate.

57. 1999 Florida State (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 23.0500
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Florida State 46, at Virginia Tech 29 (Sugar Bowl/BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Florida State 17, at Clemson 14

There weren’t a whole lot of great wins before surviving Michael Vick and Virginia Tech in a fun Sugar Bowl for the national championship. The Noles rolled through the season with only three tight games, but outside of a 31-21 win over Miami, and a 30-23 victory at Florida – both opponents finished with four losses – it was a great season against a mediocre slate.

56. 1939 Texas A&M (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 23.0600
Key Season Score Element: 31 points allowed
Best Win: Texas A&M 14, Tulane 13 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: Texas A&M 14, Centenary 0

Yes, there was a time when Texas A&M won a national title. It ripped through the schedule with an amazing defense that allowed a grand total of 18 points – no more than seven in any game – before beating Tulane in the Sugar Bowl 14-13. How good was the D? It pitched six shutouts, and allowed three points or fewer eight times. Elite Wins over Villanova and at Santa Clara helped A&M finish this high.

55. 1981 Clemson (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 23.0800
Key Season Score Element: 3.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Clemson 13, Georgia 2
Worst Game: Clemson 17, NC State 7

Clemson took out defending national champion Georgia early on, and beat a fantastic North Carolina team on the road. However, there weren’t any other wins over impressive teams – the 82-24 victory over Wake Forest was impressive – before beating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for the national title.

54. 1943 Notre Dame (9-1)

All-Time Season Score: 22.6100
Key Season Score Element: 6 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Notre Dame 14, Iowa Pre-Flight 13
Worst Game: Great Lakes Navy 19, Notre Dame 14

Ehhhhhh, this is a sketchy national champion considering Purdue went 9-0 with a win over the Great Lakes Navy team that got by the Irish 19-14 in Chicago, but there were still plenty of dominant performances. They handed Iowa Pre-Flight, Navy and Michigan their only losses to crank up the Elite Win score. And, okay … Purdue beat no one else with a pulse other than Great Lakes Navy.

53. 1937 Pitt (9-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 23.1400
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Pitt 20, at West Virginia 0
Worst Game: Pitt 0, Fordham 0

Pitt busted through a tough schedule, winning seven games over teams that finished with winning records. The 4.5 Elite Win score – highlighted by a great early victory at West Virginia – helped boost the overall Season Ranking score that got hit with a tie over a Fordham team that also finished unbeaten.

52. 2011 Alabama (12-1)

All-Time Season Score: 23.1431
Key Season Score Element: 347 point differential
Best Win: Alabama 21, LSU 0 (BCS Championship)
Worst Game: LSU 9, at Alabama 6

The Crimson Tide destroyed everyone on their schedule – including LSU. It just took two tries to get by the Tigers, losing 9-6 in Tuscaloosa, and catching a massive break to get a rematch in the BCS Championship. Outside of the lone loss, no one came closer than 16 points – it took a good Penn State getting a home game to keep it relatively tight. Only Georgia Southern from the FCS – in a 45-21 loss – was able to come up with more than 14 points against the Bama D.

51. 1982 Penn State (11-1)

All-Time Season Score: 23.6567
Key Season Score Element: 8 Quality Wins
Best Win: Penn State 27, Georgia 23 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: at Alabama 42, Penn State 21

The 1982 Nittany Lions more than earned the national title with two of the most impressive wins of the 1980s. They handed an amazing Nebraska team its only loss in a 27-24 classic, and took out Herschel Walker’s unbeaten Georgia squad in an amazing Sugar Bowl.

The 42-21 blowout loss to Alabama knocks down the Season Ranking score, but with great wins over Maryland, West Virginia, Boston College, Pitt and Notre Dame – all finished with four losses or fewer – it was a great run.

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: Top 50

150 Greatest National Champions: Top 50

50. 1890 Harvard (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 23.6800
Key Season Score Element: 543 point differential
Best Win: Harvard 13, Yale 6
Worst Game: Harvard 13, Yale 6

The best win and worst games were basically the same thing because Harvard demolished everyone but Yale. No one else game closer than 33 points, and only Amherst was able to score before Yale put up 6 in the season finale – Harvard beat Amherst 74-6. The two played twice, with Harvard winning the rematch on the road 64-0.

49. 1992 Alabama (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 23.6900
Key Season Score Element: 122 points allowed
Best Win: Alabama 34, Miami 13 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: Alabama 13, Louisiana Tech 0

It was supposed to be a Miami coronation. The Hurricanes were ripping through the season on the way to a yet another national title, and then came the Sugar Bowl against Bama in the Sugar Bowl, and everything flipped. The SEC champs only had one amazing win – beating Tennessee on the road 17-10 – but managed to get by a Florida team that finished 9-4 in the first ever SEC Championship to earn a shot at the Canes. The Bama D allowed more than 13 points just twice.

48. 1988 Notre Dame (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 24.1200
Key Season Score Element: 3.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Notre Dame 31, Miami 30
Worst Game: Notre Dame 30, at Pitt 20

The Irish essentially won the national title in mid-October with the classic Catholics vs. Convicts game against Miami, but it took a win over an unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl to finish the drill. Beating a strong USC team 27-10 was fantastic, but six wins came against teams that finished with losing records.

47. 2003 LSU (Coaches) (13-1)

All-Time Season Score: 24.1386
Key Season Score Element: 4 Bad Wins
Best Win: LSU 21, Oklahoma 14 (Sugar Bowl/BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Florida 19, LSU 7

USC might have won the AP national title, but Nick Saban’s Tigers had a much, much better year and – with the schedule they played – the more deserving national champ.

The 17-14 win at Ole Miss was strong, but dominating Georgia for the national title and stuffing Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl for the BCS Championship boosted up the campaign. The D allowed 14 points or fewer in 12 of the 14 games, with one of the down games coming in a 19-7 loss to Florida.

46. 1997 Michigan (AP) (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 24.3300
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: Michigan 21, Washington State 16 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Michigan 28, Iowa 24

Michigan beat a solid Ohio State team – thanks, Charles Woodson – and got past a good Penn State squad to get to the Rose Bowl to face Ryan Leaf and Washington State. The Wolverines got the win to go 12-0, and they beat seven teams that finished with winning records, but they still had to split the national title with Nebraska.

45. 1972 USC (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 24.5800
Key Season Score Element: 7 Quality Wins
Best Win: USC 42, Ohio State 17 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: USC 18, at Oregon 0

There were a whole slew of mediocre wins for most of the season, and then came the big tests at the end. USC passed with flying colors, taking out UCLA 24-7 in Pasadena, rocked Notre Dame 45-23, and went back across town to take out Ohio State 42-17 in the Rose Bowl. Stanford – in a 30-21 loss in Palo Alto – was the only team to come closer than 17 points against the dominant Trojans.

44. 1945 Army (9-0)

All-Time Season Score: 24.6600
Key Season Score Element: 5.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Army 32, Navy 13
Worst Game: Army 55, Melville PT Boats 13

Out of all the great Army teams, this is the one. This was when the program was at the peak of its powers, going 27-0-1 from 1944 to 1946 with this season right in the middle of it all. There wasn’t a lick of drama, handing Navy its only loss in a 32-13 blasting, and destroying an outstanding Notre Dame team 48-0.

In all, five of the nine wins ended up being a part of the Elite Win category. So why is the ranking so low? There weren’t enough games. 1945 Army was the only team in the top 49 that didn’t have double-digit wins.

43. 1888 Yale (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 24.6900
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 694-0
Best Win: Yale 10, Princeton 0
Worst Game: Yale 28, Crescent Athletic Club 0

The 1888 Yale team was never touched, with eight of the 13 victories decided by 54 points or more. The problem was the multiple wins over bad teams. Yale whacked around Wesleyan three times, including a 105-0 squeaker late in the year. There were also two wins over Amherst and two more over Penn. In the end, nine of the victories were Bad Wins.

42. 2004 USC (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 24.7700
Key Season Score Element: 327 point differential
Best Win: USC 55, Oklahoma 19 (Orange Bowl/BCS Championship)
Worst Game: USC 31, at Stanford 28

The 2003 team earned a split national title, but there weren’t any question marks after the 2004 season. There were some rough patches – it took a lot of work to get by bad Stanford and Oregon State teams on the road – but a win over a fantastic Cal team, and a 45-7 blasting of an Arizona State squad that went 9-3, set the stage for what was coming. The 55-19 destruction of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl was the most dominant big game performance of the Pete Carroll era.

41. 1993 Florida State (12-1)

All-Time Season Score: 24.9931
Key Season Score Element: 407 point differential
Best Win: Florida State 18, Nebraska 16 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: at Notre Dame 31, Florida State 24

Thank you, Boston College. Florida State lost at Notre Dame in an epic 31-24 classic, but the Irish were shocked by BC the following week to keep the national title dreams open. Six of the last 11 games came against teams that finished with three losses or fewer, FSU handed Florida one of its two losses on the year – and did it in Gainesville – and survived an unbeaten Nebraska in the final seconds of the Orange Bowl for Bobby Bowden’s first national championship.

40. 1997 Nebraska (Coaches) (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.1800
Key Season Score Element: 607 points
Best Win: Nebraska 42, Tennessee 17 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: Nebraska 45, at Missouri 38

There was the miraculous “kick” game to get by Missouri, but Scott Frost and company ripped through just about everyone else, beating Texas A&M 54-15 in the Big 12 Championship before destroying Peyton Manning’s Tennessee team for a share of the national title. There were plenty of easy wins, but the Huskers handed Kansas State its only loss in a 56-26 win.

39. 1994 Nebraska (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.2200
Key Season Score Element: 6 Quality Wins
Best Win: Nebraska 24, Miami 17 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: Nebraska 42, Wyoming 32

The Huskers had a great season, but there were a whole slew of mediocre victories before getting by Miami for the national title. They handed Colorado its only loss of the season in a 24-7 performance, but there were only three wins over teams that finished with more than seven wins.

38. 1902 Michigan (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.3200
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 644-12
Best Win: Michigan 21, at Chicago 0
Worst Game: Michigan 6, Wisconsin 0

This was the best season in the run of Michigan national championships from 1901 to 1904. The 1902 team gave up six points to a strong Minnesota squad, and beat Case 48-6. That was it for the points allowed, obliterating everyone else with a 107-0 win over Iowa, an 86-0 win over Ohio State, and a 119-0 squeaker against Michigan State. The Elite Win Score of 3.5 helped provide the big boost in the rankings.

37. 1897 Penn (15-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.4300
Key Season Score Element: 15 total wins
Best Win: Penn 15, Harvard 6
Worst Game: Penn 4, Cornell 0

The 15 wins got Penn this high because of the bulk, but like most of the program’s great seasons in the late 1800s, there were a whole lot of layup wins against bad teams – there were eight Bad Wins. However, six of the team’s wins were against schools that finished with winning records, and a 46-0 victory over Lafayette and handing Harvard its only loss of the year in a 15-6 showdown made the campaign.

36. 2001 Miami (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.4500
Key Season Score Element: 395 point differential
Best Win: Miami 37, Nebraska 14 (Rose Bowl/BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Miami 26, at Virginia Tech 24

This might have been among the most talented teams of all-time, but it’s dominance was mythologized, and the ranking is this low, thanks to a schedule that was a giant bag of whatever.

It caught a massive break by not having to play anyone from the SEC, and missed a fantastic Oregon squad. The win over Florida State wasn’t that big a deal, and the BCS Championship win came against a Nebraska team exposed by Colorado in the Big 12 Championship.

35. 2002 Ohio State (14-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.5200
Key Season Score Element: 1 Elite Win Score (lowest in the top 31)
Best Win: Ohio State 31, Miami 24 (Fiesta Bowl/BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Ohio State 23, at Illinois 16

At the time, the national championship was among the most impressive runs of all-time. The Buckeyes won 14 games – only three all-time national champs won more – the most of any of the national champions since Penn won 15 in 1897. There was one problem in these rankings, though – the Buckeyes didn’t have any Elite Wins until taking out Miami for the national title in one of the greatest games of all-time. The defense allowed nine points or fewer six times.

34. 1991 Washington (Coaches) (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.5500
Key Season Score Element: 115 points allowed
Best Win: Washington 34, Michigan 14 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Washington 14, at USC 3

This might be the all-time most unsatisfying split national title. Miami went 12-0 and won the AP championship, Washington won the USA Today Coaches Poll title, and both were good enough to finish among the top 30 in the Season Rankings.

The Huskies were able to beat a great Nebraska team in Lincoln, took care of a Cal team that finished 10-2 on the road, and closed it all out with a 34-14 blowout over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. The UW D allowed seven points or fewer seven times.

Breakdown of the CFN Season Formula criteria

33. 1978 USC (UPI) (12-1)

All-Time Season Score: 25.5731
Key Season Score Element: 10 Quality Wins
Best Win: USC 24, at Alabama 14
Worst Game: at Arizona State 20, USC 7

The Trojans clunked in a 20-7 road loss to Arizona State, but a 24-14 win at Alabama, and the 17-10 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl, were enough to early the UPI national championship. Bama got the AP title, but as the CFN Season Rankings show, USC was the far, far more deserving champ. Only three of the national champs on this list – and no one outside of the top seven – had more wins over teams that finished with winning records.

32. 2017 Alabama (13-1)

All-Time Season Score: 26.6286
Key Season Score Element: 8 Quality Wins
Best Win: Alabama 26, Georgia 23 (College Football Playoff National Championship)
Worst Game: at Auburn 26, Alabama 14

By 19 miles, this was the weakest season by any of the College Football Playoff champions so far. The Tide didn’t play in the SEC Championship and lost to Auburn, meaning they won 13 games instead of the 14 or more by the other CFP title winners.

The defense allowed ten points or fewer nine times, and there’s no dogging beating Clemson and Georgia in the playoff, but considering the team didn’t have to play the conference title game to get into the tournament, it caught a mega-break.

31. 1932 USC (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.6300
Key Season Score Element: 5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: USC 35, Pitt 0 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: USC 6, Loyola Marymount 0

Out of the ten victories, five of them ended up factoring into the Elite Win range – USC beat three teams that ended up with just one loss – and three others were wins over teams that finished with a winning record. USC allowed just 13 points all year, pitched eight shutouts, and won eight of its ten games by double digits.

30. 1930 Notre Dame (10-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.6600
Key Season Score Element: 9 Quality Wins
Best Win: Notre Dame 7, Army 6
Worst Game: Notre Dame 20, SMU 14

How strong was the 1930 Irish season? Out of the ten wins, nine of them were against teams that finished with a winning record. Notre Dame handed Northwestern its only loss, and did it on the road. It gave Army its only loss – doing it in Chicago – and closed out with a win over USC in Los Angeles.

29. 1903 Princeton (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 25.7800
Key Season Score Element: 9 Quality Wins
Best Win: Princeton 11, at Yale 6
Worst Game: Princeton 5, Georgetown 0

It’s the greatest of all of the Princeton national championship seasons with nine of the 11 wins coming against teams that finished with winning records. The D allowed just six points all season long, but those came on the road in an 11-6 victory in what would be the national championship determining game against a Yale team that finished 11-1. There was a Bad Win over a Gettysburg team that wasn’t a part of the official standings, but the 68-0 stomping helped the Point Differential Score.

28. 1996 Florida (12-1)

All-Time Season Score: 26.0731
Key Season Score Element: 611 points scored
Best Win: Florida 52, Florida State 20 (Sugar Bowl)
Worst Game: Florida 28, at Vanderbilt 21

Steve Spurrier’s squad caught two massive breaks to win the national title. First, it got a second shot at a Florida State team that beat up QB Danny Wuerffel in a 24-21 showdown of unbeatens in Tallahassee. The Gators stomped all over the Noles 52-20 in the rematch in the Sugar Bowl.

The second break was an Ohio State comeback over unbeaten Arizona State in the Rose Bowl. If the Sun Devils held on, they would’ve been national champs. Florida bear four teams that finished with double-digit victories, including a 35-29 win at Tennessee and Peyton Manning, and a 56-13 crushing of a great LSU.

27. 2012 Alabama (13-1)

All-Time Season Score: 26.8186
Key Season Score Element: 542 points, 389 point differential
Best Win: Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14 (BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Texas A&M 29, Alabama 24

The Crimson Tide lost to Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M, but they did everything else right. After the loss, Bama stepped back up with back-to-back 49-0 wins over Western Carolina and Auburn, but neither team was that great. It took a fantastic win over Georgia in the SEC to earn the right to blowout Notre Dame in the BCS Championship. Bama scored 40 points or more in eight games, and the D allowed more than 17 points twice.

26. 1991 Miami (AP) (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 26.3600
Key Season Score Element: 5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Miami 22, Nebraska 0 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: Miami 19, at Boston College 14

So who really won the 1991 national title? Washington went unbeaten and won the Rose Bowl – and the USA Today Coaches title – but Miami was on top in the AP rankings … and had a much better year than the Huskies. With wins at Tulsa – who went 10-2 – Florida State, and against Penn State and Nebraska, the Elite Win score is massive. On the year, the D allowed just 100 points with only Penn State – in a 26-20 Hurricane win – came up with more than 16.

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: Top 25

150 Greatest National Champions: Top 25

25. 1998 Tennessee (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 26.4200
Key Season Score Element: 4 Bad Wins
Best Win: Tennessee 23, Florida State 16 (Fiesta Bowl/BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Tennessee 17, at Auburn 9

It was the first year for Tennessee after Peyton Manning, and it was the first year of the new BCS era. It was a wild ride from the start, with a brilliant late 34-33 comeback win over Donovan McNabb and Syracuse, and followed it up with an equally thrilling 20-17 victory over Florida.

There wasn’t too much drama after handling the Gators, until needing a miracle stumble-fumble to survive Arkansas 28-24. The Vols went on to beat Mississippi State for the SEC Championship, and got past Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl for the national title.

24. 1904 Penn (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 26.4300
Key Season Score Element: 9 Quality Wins
Best Win: Penn 18, Carlisle 0
Worst Game: Penn 6, Swarthmore 4

A few Penn teams of the era won more games and came up with more dominant scores, but none had to deal with a schedule as nasty as the 1904 squad had to face. Of the 12 wins, nine were Quality Wins – victories over teams that finished with a winning record. So what’s missing? Despite outscoring everyone 222-4 and allowing points in just one game – a 6-4 win over Swarthmore – the Point Differential score was the lowest by anyone in the top 25.

23. 1900 Yale (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 26.5100
Key Season Score Element: Outscored teams 336-10
Best Win: Yale 28, Harvard 0
Worst Game: Yale 50, Bates 0

Yale got pushed at Columbia in a 12-5 fight, but that was it for the drama. It was a dominant season with eight Quality Wins – victories over teams that finished with winning records – among the 12, and just three Bad Wins. Winning 12 games was amazing, but there weren’t enough overall victories – length of season matters here – to get into the top 20 despite coming up with one of the most dominant campaigns of all-time.

22. 2006 Florida (13-1)

All-Time Season Score: 26.6986
Key Season Score Element: 9 Quality Wins
Best Win: Florida 41, Ohio State 14 (BCS Championship)
Worst Game: at Auburn 27, Florida 17

It was supposed to be a layup for Ohio State, and many thought Michigan should’ve had a second shot at the Buckeyes in a rematch for the national championship.

Florida was beaten 27-17 by Auburn, needed a blocked kick to slip by South Carolina, were underwhelming in five games decided by seven points or fewer, got by a decent SEC Championship win over an okay Arkansas, and … came up with a 41-14 stomping over the Buckeyes for Urban Meyer’s first national title. Even with the loss, there were enough impressive wins to get into the top 20.

21. 2010 Auburn (14-0)

All-Time Season Score: 27.1500
Key Season Score Element: 337 points allowed (most by any national champion)
Best Win: Auburn 22, Oregon 19 (BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Auburn 27, Clemson 24

It was the national championship season that came from out of nowhere, with Auburn fighting through a few tight early games – winning two of the first three by three points each – to keep on winning and winning. There were some scares, but Cam Newton – dealing with a controversy over his recruitment through the key late stretch – and company ripped through South Carolina for the SEC title before beating Oregon for the national title.

T19. 1971 Nebraska (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 27.2800
Key Season Score Element: 6 Quality Wins (among the fewest in the top 25)
Best Win: Nebraska 35, at Oklahoma 31
Worst Game: Nebraska 36, at Missouri 0

Nebraska handed Alabama its only game of the 1971 season in the Orange Bowl – rolling the Tide 38-6 – but it wasn’t the Game of the Century like the epic win at Oklahoma. There weren’t a ton of amazing wins, but the Huskers destroyed a great Colorado team, and no one other than the Sooners were closer than 24 points of the Big Red juggernaut.

T19. 2020 Alabama (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 27.2800
Key Season Score Element: 630 points in 13 games
Best Win: Alabama 52, Ohio State 24 (College Football Playoff Championship)
Worst Game: Alabama 38, Missouri 19

Here’s the problem – there weren’t enough games. In the COVID season, Alabama played 13 games instead of the 15 that most College Football Playoff era national championships would get. It also catches a bad break because of the all-SEC schedule – the records of the SEC opponents weren’t as good as they’d normally be. The offense was amazing, there wasn’t any real on-field drama, and it was all against a schedule without any fluff.

18. 1892 Yale (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 27.7900
Key Season Score Element: Yale outscored teams 429-0
Best Win: Yale 6, Harvard 0
Worst Game: Yale 6, Wesleyan 0

It got off the a slow start with a 6-0 win over an awful Wesleyan team, and then everything rolled the rest of the way. In all, Yale managed to crank up a massive Elite Win score of 5, and didn’t allow a point all season. In terms of purely great wins, this one did it, handing a Penn team that went 15-1 its only loss, a Harvard squad that went 10-1 its only defeat, and caught Princeton in the season finale.

17. 2000 Oklahoma (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 27.8700
Key Season Score Element: 4 Bad Wins
Best Win: Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2 (Orange Bowl)
Worst Game: Oklahoma 12, at Oklahoma State 7

Eight of the 13 Sooner wins came against teams that finished with winning records, including a 63-14 blasting of Texas, a 41-31 shootout against Kansas State, and a 31-14 domination of Nebraska. Throw in the rematch win against K-State in the Big 12 title game, and OU beat four teams that finished with ten wins or more. It all finished off with the brilliant Orange Bowl stuffing of Florida State for the national title.

16. 1931 USC (10-0-1)

All-Time Season Score: 28.1400
Key Season Score Element: The only team in the top 48 with a tie, and the ten wins were the fewest by anyone in the top 25.
Best Win: USC 21, Tulane 12 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: St. Mary’s 13, USC 7

USC lost the season opener to St. Mary’s 13-7, and then ripped off 25 wins in a row. Notre Dame provided a massive push in the South Bend in 16-14 Trojan win, and it took a fight to beat Cal 6-0 in Berkeley, but the D pitched six shutouts, allowed seven points or fewer eight times, and in all, nine of the ten wins came against teams that finished with a winning record.

Oregon, Cal, Stanford, Notre Dame and Georgia all finished with two losses – one of them came against USC – and Tulane lost its only game 21-12 in the Rose Bowl.

15. 1995 Nebraska (12-0)

All-Time Season Score: 28.1400
Key Season Score Element: 5.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Nebraska 62, Florida 24 (Fiesta Bowl)
Worst Game: Nebraska 35, Washington State 21

One of the most dominant seasons of all-time, the 1995 Huskers beat everyone but Washington State – taking down the Cougars 35-21 – by 23 points or more. So what’s missing? Not much, with four wins over teams that finished 10-2 or better.

However, there were four Bad Wins and – compared to the teams that finished in the top ten on this list – just six Quality Wins. Destroying Kansas on the road – the Jayhawks finished 10-2 – 41-3, and … oh yeah. There was that 62-24 destruction of Steve Spurrier’s Florida team in the Fiesta Bowl for the national title.

14. 1891 Yale (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 28.6300
Key Season Score Element: 0 points allowed
Best Win: Princeton, 19-0
Worst Game: Yale 26, Crescent Athletic Club 0

Winning 13 games was good, doing it by a combined score of 488-0 was great, and beating everyone by ten points or more was even better. There were plenty of special wins to go along with the sheer bulk of victories, handing Harvard its only loss of the season, giving Princeton its only loss in the season finale – essentially, that was the national title game – and beating a great Penn team – whose only other loss was to Princeton – 48-0.

13. 1905 Chicago (11-0)

All-Time Season Score: 28.6600
Key Season Score Element: 6.5 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Chicago 2, Michigan 0
Worst Game: Chicago 26, North Division High School 0

Unfortunately in the rankings, 1905 Chicago only played 11 games – tied for the fewest played by anyone in the top 25. The more games you play, the longer the season, the more teams wear down, the more chances for mistakes, and …

No one in the history of college football went unbeaten against a better schedule.

Yeah, there was a true scrimmage against a high school team to kick off the season, and there was an easy game against a bad Beloit team, but the rest of the slate was packed with killers.

A whopping seven games were played against teams that finished with three losses or fewer, and the Elite Win Score of 6.5 is tops by a mile over everyone but 1995 Nebraska’s 5.5.

The defense gave up points in a 16-5 win over Indiana, and that was it for the scoring D, pitching shutouts in the other ten games. The 4-0 win over a great Wisconsin team in Camp Randall was fantastic, but the 2-0 win over Michigan was historic.

In a true national title showdown, it was the last game of the season for both schools, and Chicago pulled it off to break Michigan’s 56-game unbeaten streak.

Wins (11): North Division High School (26-0), Lawrence (33-0), Wabash (15-0), Beloit (38-0), Iowa (42-0), Indiana (16-5), at Wisconsin (4-0), at Northwestern (32-0), Purdue (19-0), Illinois (44-0), Michigan (2-0)

Losses (0): None

Quality Wins (8): Lawrence, Iowa, Indiana, at Wisconsin, at Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan

Elite Wins (6.5): Iowa, Indiana, at Wisconsin, at Northwestern, Purdue, Michigan

Bad Wins (2): North Division High School, Beloit

Points For: 271
Points Against: 5

12. 2008 Florida (13-1)

All-Time Season Score: 28.9786
Key Season Score Element: 9 Quality Wins
Best Win: Florida 24, Oklahoma 14 (BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Ole Miss 31, Florida 30

How incredible was the Florida season? It’s the only team outside of the College Football Playoff world to lose a game and still finish among the top 16 campaigns.

The 31-30 home loss to Ole Miss might have been disappointing, but it led to the Tim Tebow “promise” speech and a devastating run the rest of the way.

Outside of the misfire against the Rebels – which is what it was, with Tebow failing to connect with an open Percy Harvin in a few key moments – Florida beat everyone else by double-digits.

The nine Quality Wins – victories over teams that finished with winning records – were impressive, but the 611 points were a big deal, and there was only one Bad Win.

Closing with a flourish, Tebow and company came through late to beat a then unbeaten Alabama team in a fantastic SEC Championship, and then managed to take down Heisman winner Sam Bradford and the record-setting Oklahoma offense in a gutty 24-14 BCS Championship.

Wins (13): Hawaii (56-10), Miami (26-3), at Tennessee (30-6), at Arkansas (38-7), LSU (51-21), Kentucky (63-5), Georgia (49-10), at Vanderbilt (42-14), South Carolina (56-6), Citadel (70-19), at Florida State (45-15), Alabama (SEC Championship, 31-20), Oklahoma (BCS Championship, 24-14)

Losses (1): Ole Miss (31-30)

Quality Wins (9): Miami, LSU, Kentucky, Georgia, at Vanderbilt, South Carolina, at Florida State, Alabama, Oklahoma

Elite Wins (3): Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma

Bad Wins (1): Citadel

Points For: 611
Points Against: 181

Breakdown of the CFN Season Formula criteria

11. 2005 Texas (13-0)

All-Time Season Score: 30.1400
Key Season Score Element: 439 point differential
Best Win: Texas 41, USC 38 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Texas 40, at Texas A&M 29

USC might have been the big star coming into the 2005 season – it was the defending national champion – but Texas was primed and ready for a big run, too.

The 25-22 win at Ohio State in the second week of the season – that Buckeye team was a monster, only losing to the Longhorns and a Penn State team that finished 11-1 – set the tone for what was coming.

There were a few little moments here and there, but Texas ripped through the schedule, scoring 40 points or more against everyone but OSU, and with 11 of the first 12 games decided by 11 points or more.

Poor Colorado had a nice season with a Big 12 North title, but it was crushed by Texas by a combined score of 112-20.

The epic Vince Young performance against the Trojans in the Rose Bowl cemented the historic season for the power program, and was the win that boosted Texas into the top ten.

Wins (13): Louisiana (60-3), at Ohio State (25-22), Rice (51-10), at Missouri (51-20), Oklahoma (45-12, in Dallas), Colorado (42-17), Texas Tech (52-17), at Oklahoma State (47-28), at Baylor (62-0), Kansas (66-14), at Texas A&M, (40-29), Colorado (70-3, Big 12 Championship), USC (41-38, BCS Championship/Rose Bowl)

Losses (0): None

Quality Wins (9): Louisiana, at Ohio State, at Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas Tech, Kansas, Colorado (Big 12 Championship), USC

Elite Wins (2.5): at Ohio State, USC

Bad Wins (1): Rice

Points For: 652
Points Against: 213

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: Top Ten

150 Greatest National Champions: 10

2021 Georgia (14-1)

All-Time Season Score: 30.69
Key Season Score Element: 153 points allowed (10.2 per game)
Best Win: Georgia 33, Alabama 18 (College Football Playoff National Championship)
Worst Game: Alabama 41, Georgia 24

The tone was set from the start.

It was supposed to be the biggest non-conference game of the 2021 season, and in terms of intensity it lived up to the billing. The offense didn’t do much in the 10-3 win over Clemson, but the defense came up with a pick six, didn’t allow a touchdown, and the program’s first national championship run since 1980 was off and rolling.

The D didn’t allow more than 13 points in any of the first nine games, gave up 17 to Tennessee, and finished the regular season giving up fewer than 14 in 11 of 12 games.

And then Alabama went off. The Dawgs lost the SEC Championship, but came back and rolled against Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinal before getting revenge on the Crimson Tide with one final great defensive performance in the 33-18 win for the national championship.

Bowls don’t matter? Auburn, Florida, and Missouri all lost their bowl games to finish with losing seasons. Had they all won, the Georgia wins would’ve been more impressive – they all would’ve been Quality Wins – and 2021 would’ve been much, much higher in the Season Ranking list.

Wins (14): Clemson (10-3), UAB (56-7), South Carolina (40-13), at Vanderbilt (62-0), Arkansas (37-0), at Auburn (34-10), Kentucky (30-13), Florida (34-7), Missouri (43-6), at Tennessee (41-17), Charleston Southern (56-7), at Georgia Tech (45-0), Michigan (34-11, Orange Bowl/College Football Playoff), Alabama (33-18, College Football Playoff National Championship)

Losses (1): Alabama (41-24, SEC Championship)

Quality Wins (8): Clemson, UAB, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, at Tennessee, Michigan (Orange Bowl), Alabama (CFP National Championship)

Elite Wins (3): Clemson, Michigan (Orange Bowl), Alabama (CFP National Championship)

Bad Wins (3): at Vanderbilt, Charleston Southern, at Georgia Tech

Points For: 579
Points Against: 153

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 8 2009 Alabama

150 Greatest National Champions: 9

2009 Alabama (14-0)

All-Time Season Score: 30.100
Key Season Score Element: D allowed 164 points
Best Win: Alabama 37, Texas 21 (BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Alabama 12, Tennessee 10

It was the breakthrough moment for Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty, and it was his only unbeaten season.

The Tide took down ten teams that finished with winning records, but the Point Differential Score of 2.85 – the lowest by anyone in the top nine of the rankings at the time, and second lowest by anyone in the top 16 – turned out to keep them out of the top five.

At the highest end of games, though, they closed out with a bang, beating unbeaten defending national champion Florida 32-13 in the SEC Championship – making Tim Tebow cry – and knocking out Colt McCoy early to hand Texas its only loss 37-21 in the BCS Championship.

Along the way, an okay Tennessee team provided a push in a 12-10 Tide win, and Auburn put up a fight in a 26-21 loss. There weren’t too many problems against anyone else.

Wins (14): Virginia Tech (34-24 in Atlanta), FIU (40-14), North Texas (53-7), Arkansas (35-7), at Kentucky (38-20), at Ole Miss (22-3), South Carolina (20-6), Tennessee (12-10), LSU (24-15), at Mississippi State (31-3), UT-Chattanooga (45-0), at Auburn (26-21), Florida (32-13, SEC Championship), Texas 37-21 (BCS Championship)

Losses (0): None

Quality Wins (10): Virginia Tech, Arkansas, at Kentucky, at Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, LSU, at Auburn, Florida (SEC Championship), Texas (BCS Championship)

Elite Wins (3): Virginia Tech, Florida (SEC Championship), Texas (BCS Championship)

Bad Wins (3): FIU, North Texas, UT Chattanooga

Points For: 449
Points Against: 164

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 8 2013 Florida State

150 Greatest National Champions: 8

2013 Florida State (14-0)

All-Time Season Score: 30.2800
Key Season Score Element: 723 points (most by any of the national champions)
Best Win: Florida State 34, Auburn 31 (BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Florida State 48, at Boston College 34

In terms of modern day total dominance, it’s hard to beat 2013 Florida State …

At least before the last BCS Championship ever.

It all started with a Monday night 41-13 win destruction over Pitt – coming with the official national introduction to eventual Heisman winner Jameis Winston. There wasn’t so much as a hiccup before getting to Pasadena.

Clemson was supposed to come out rocking at home, and it got its doors blown off 51-14.

Miami was in the midst of a decent season … 41-14.

In all, Florida State ended up whacking around eight teams that finished with winning records, the defense allowed seven points or fewer seven times, and the ACC Championship against Duke was a mere formality in a 45-7 blowout.

It took a fantastic comeback in the final moments to get by Auburn 34-31 to win the national title, but the 14 wins and 723 points – the next highest scoring all-time national champion was 1888 Yale with 694, and only 11 teams total scored more than 600 – made this the greatest season of the BCS era.

Wins (14): at Pitt (41-13), Nevada (62-7), Bethune-Cookman (54-6), at Boston College (48-34), Maryland (63-0), at Clemson (51-14), NC State (49-17), Miami (41-14), at Wake Forest (59-3), Syracuse (59-3), Idaho (80-14), at Florida (37-7), Duke (45-7, ACC Championship), Auburn (34-31, BCS Championship)

Losses (0): None

Quality Wins (8): at Pitt, at Boston College, Maryland, at Clemson, Miami, Syracuse, Duke, Auburn

Elite Wins (2.5): at Clemson, Auburn

Bad Wins (3): Bethune-Cookman, NC State, Idaho

Points For: 723
Points Against: 170

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 7 2016 Clemson

150 Greatest National Champions: Top 7

2016 Clemson (14-1)

All-Time Season Score: 31.8633
Key Season Score Element: 11 Quality Wins
Best Win: Clemson 35, Alabama 31 (CFP National Championship)
Worst Game: Pitt 43, at Clemson 42

Remember that year when the ACC got all chirpy about being the best conference in college football? This was it – eight of the ACC teams on the slate finished with a winning record – and it helped build up Clemson’s resumé in one of the five greatest national championship seasons of all-time.

The Tigers started out on the road against a good Auburn team, and then had to get by a Troy squad that went 10-3 and pushed Clemson in a 30-24 loss.

There was a 42-36 struggle against Lamar Jackson and Louisville – at least in the final score -and it took a 24-17 overtime minor-miracle to get past NC State. Pitt – led by that Nathan Peterman’s five touchdown passes – pulled off a thrilling 43-42 win in Death Valley, and all of a sudden, Clemson didn’t appear to be ready for the big show.

And then it all kicked in.

Virginia Tech showed up in the ACC Championship, but after the Pitt loss, Clemson came up with three blowouts in the next four games, including a 31-0 stomping of Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Just when it seemed like Alabama was going to win yet another national title, Deshaun Watson led Clemson on a drive for the ages to pull out a 35-31 win.

Wins (14): at Auburn (19-13), Troy (30-24), South Carolina State (59-0), at Georgia Tech (26-7), Louisville (42-36), at Boston College (56-10), at Florida State (37-34), Syracuse (54-0), at Wake Forest (35-13), South Carolina (56-7), Virginia Tech (42-35, ACC Championship), Ohio State (31-0, Fiesta Bowl), Alabama (35-31, CFP National Championship)

Losses (1): Pitt (43-42)

Quality Wins (11): at Auburn, Troy, at Georgia Tech, Louisville, at Boston College, NC State, at Florida State, at Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Alabama

Elite Wins (3): at Florida State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State

Bad Wins (1): South Carolina State

Points For: 588
Points Against: 270

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 6 2014 Ohio State

150 Greatest National Champions: 6

2014 Ohio State (14-1)

All-Time Season Score: 31.6033
Key Season Score Element: 672 points
Best Win: Ohio State 42, Alabama 35 (Sugar Bowl/College Football Playoff)
Worst Game: Virginia Tech 35, at Ohio State 21

And to think, the season was supposedly over after a 35-21 debacle at home against Virginia Tech.

Everything had to go perfectly for Ohio State just to get into the College Football Playoff, and that included TCU not converting on a late fourth down play in a shootout loss to Baylor.

The Buckeye offense kicked it in after the loss to the Hokies – scoring 42 points or more in 11 of the final 13 games – with the 59-0 destruction of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship the final statement to the CFP committee.

Once the Buckeyes got in, they took care of business with a terrific 42-35 win over Ohio State, and a 42-20 win over Heisman winner Marcus Mariota and Oregon to become the first ever College Football Playoff national champion.

Only three champions (2013 Florida State and 1886 and 1888 Yale) scored more than 2014 Ohio State, and only three (2015 Alabama, and 2016 and 2018 Clemson) had more wins over teams that finished with winning records.

Wins (14): Navy (34-17), Kent State (66-0), Cincinnati (50-28), at Maryland (52-24), Rutgers (56-17), at Penn State (31-24), Illinois (55-14), at Michigan State (49-37), at Minnesota (31-24), Indiana (42-27), Michigan (42-28), Wisconsin (59-0, Big Ten Championship), Alabama (42-35, Sugar Bowl/College Football Playoff), Oregon (42-20, College Football Playoff National Championship)

Losses (1): Virginia Tech (35-21)

Quality Wins (10): Navy, Cincinnati, at Maryland, Rutgers, at Penn State, at Michigan State, at Minnesota, Wisconsin, Alabama, Oregon

Elite Wins (4.5): at Michigan State, Wisconsin, Alabama, Oregon

Bad Wins (1): Kent State

Points For: 672
Points Against: 330

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 5 2022 Georgia

150 Greatest National Champions: 5

2022 Georgia (15-0)

All-Time Season Score: 31.777
Key Season Score Element: 4 Elite Wins
Best Win: Georgia 65, TCU 7 (College Football Playoff National Championship)
Worst Game: Georgia 26, Missouri 22

The 2021 Georgia national championship team was far better defensively, the offense did a little more, and … there was a loss.

The SEC Championship defeat to Alabama put the ’21 Dawgs down a few pegs, but the 2022 version came roaring back with an unbeaten season including the biggest blowout in the history of bowl games – at 65-7 win over TCU.

There was a little bit of drama in the late comeback to beat Missouri 26-22, but that was it until a jacked up Ohio State gave the Dawgs everything they could handle.

An epic late scoring drive led by QB Stetson Bennett – and saved by a missed last second kick from the Buckeyes – pulled the CFP Semifinal out of the fire, and then it became fun-time. Georgia roared with a win over a brutally overmatched TCU for a second straight national championship and the first unbeaten or untied one since 1980.

The only reason the 2022 team isn’t higher is the lack of Quality Wins – wins over teams that finished with a winning record. There were just two until November, and then it all kicked in with six in the final seven.

Wins (15): Oregon (49-3), Samford (33-0), at South Carolina (48-7), Kent State (39-22), Missouri (26-22), Auburn (42-10), Vanderbilt (55-0), Florida (42-20), Tennessee (11-2), at Mississippi State (45-19), at Kentucky (16-6), Georgia Tech (37-14), LSU (50-30, SEC Championship), Ohio State (42-41, CFP, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), TCU (65-7, CFP National Championship)

Losses (0): None

Quality Wins (8): Oregon, at South Carolina Tennessee, at Mississippi State, Kentucky, LSU (SEC Championship), Ohio State (CFP Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), TCU (CFP National Championship)

Elite Wins (4): Oregon, Tennessee, Ohio State (CFP Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), TCU (CFP National Championship)

Bad Wins (1): Samford

Points For: 616
Points Against: 214

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 4 2015 Alabama

150 Greatest National Champions: 4

2015 Alabama (14-1)

All-Time Season Score: 32.4233
Key Season Score Element: 12 Quality Wins
Best Win: Alabama 45, Clemson 40 (College Football Playoff National Championship)
Worst Game: Ole Miss 43, at Alabama 37

Ole Miss 42, Alabama 37.

That wild and crazy shootout with a whole lot of strange bounces, twists and turns went the wrong way for the Crimson Tide in the SEC opener. Had they won and gone on to win the rest of their games, they would’ve had the greatest season in the history of college football.

Instead, Bama finished in the top three thanks to 12 Quality Wins – victories over teams that finished with winning records – the most by any national champion.

There were two easy games, but again, 12 of the 15 games were against teams that at least ended up going bowling, and one of the other battles was that loss to the Ole Miss team that finished 10-3.

Wins (14): Wisconsin (35-17, in Arlington), Middle Tennessee (37-10), ULM (34-0), at Georgia (38-10), Arkansas (27-14), at Texas A&M (41-23), Tennessee (19-14), LSU (30-16), at Mississippi State (31-6), Charleston Southern (56-6), at Auburn (29-13), Florida (29-15, SEC Championship), Michigan State (38-0, CFP Cotton Bowl), Clemson (45-40, CFP Championship)

Losses (1): Ole Miss (43-37)

Quality Wins (12): Wisconsin, Middle Tennessee, at Georgia, Arkansas, at Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU, at Mississippi State, at Auburn, Florida (SEC Championship), Michigan State (CFP Cotton Bowl), Clemson (CFP National Championship)

Elite Wins (4): Wisconsin, at Georgia, Michigan State (CFP Cotton Bowl), Clemson (CFP National Championship)

Bad Wins (2): ULM, Charleston Southern

Points For: 526
Points Against: 227

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 3 2018 Clemson

150 Greatest National Champions: 3

2018 Clemson (15-0)

All-Time Season Score: 33.1700
Key Season Score Element: 467 point differential
Best Win: Clemson 44, Alabama 16 (CFP Championship)
Worst Game: Clemson 27, Syracuse 23

2018 Clemson was very, very, very close to being No. 1, and because of the quirky nature of how the top team in the National Champion Season Rankings got to that spot, go ahead and call this the No. 1A greatest season of all-time.

Only one other national champion – that No. 1 squad – won more than 14 games than the 15-0 Tigers, who were pushed hard by Texas A&M in a 28-26 thriller in College Station, and survived a scary 27-23 battle with Syracuse.

But that was about it. There wasn’t any drama over the last ten games, closing out with an epic finishing kick.

Clemson rolled past Pitt in the ACC Championship, an unbeaten Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl part of the College Football Playoff semifinals, and a seemingly all-timer of an Alabama squad in the CFP national championship by a combined score of 116-29.

This was the proverbial team that got better as the season went on. That’s not supposed to happen in a 15-win season.

Wins (15): Furman (48-7), at Texas A&M (28-26), Georgia Southern (38-7), at Georgia Tech (49-21), Syracuse (27-23), at Wake Forest (63-3), NC State (41-7), at Florida State (59-10), Louisville (77-16), at Boston College (27-7), Duke (35-6), South Carolina (56-35), Pitt (42-10, ACC Championship), Notre Dame (30-3, Cotton Bowl/College Football Playoff), Alabama (44-16, CFP National Championship)

Losses (0): None

Quality Wins (11): at Texas A&M, Georgia Southern, at Georgia Tech, Syracuse, at Wake Forest, NC State, at Boston College, Duke, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Alabama

Elite Wins (2): Notre Dame, Alabama

Bad Wins (2): Furman, Louisville

Points For: 664
Points Against: 197

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 2 1894 Yale

150 Greatest National Champions: 2

1894 Yale (16-0)

All-Time Season Score: 33.7200
Key Season Score Element: 16 wins
Best Win: Yale 12, Harvard 4
Worst Game: Yale, 10, Crescent Athletic Club 0

Wins, wins, wins, wins, wins.

College football might be night-and-day different now from what it was back in the 1800s, but the 1894 Yale team still managed to have the best season by any national champion in the history of the sport, mainly because of the 16 wins and by beating opponents by a combined score of 485-13.

There were a whole slew of Bad Wins against athletic clubs, but the nine Quality Wins helped make up for it in the overall score. The more games against good teams, the more chances for a loss, and the more chances for something to go wrong.

Other teams in history played 16 games or more – the 1889 Yale team played 17 – but no one ever pulled off a season this strong … at least for the era.

Wins (16): at Trinity (42-0), Brown (28-0), Crescent Athletic Club (10-0), Williams (23-4), Lehigh (34-0), Dartmouth (34-0), Orange Athletic Club (24-0), Boston Athletic Club (24-0), at Army (12-5), Volunteer Athletic Club (42-0), at Brown (12-0), Tufts (67-0), Lehigh (50-0), Chicago Athletic Club (48-0), Harvard (12-0), Princeton (24-0)

Losses (0): None

Quality Wins (9): at Trinity, Brown, Williams, Dartmouth, at Army, at Brown, Tufts, Harvard, Princeton

Elite Wins (4.5): at Trinity, at Army, Harvard, Princeton

Bad Wins (6): Crescent Athletic Club, Orange Athletic Club, Boston Athletic Club, Volunteer Athletic Club, Chicago Athletic Club

Points For: 485
Points Against: 13

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: No. 1 2019 LSU

150 Greatest National Champions: 1

1. 2019 LSU (15-0)

All-Time Season Score: 34.7300
Key Season Score Element: 726 points
Best Win: LSU 42, Clemson 25 (CFP National Championship)
Worst Game: LSU 23, Auburn 20

Some national champions played more tough games, but no one ever did this with the flair, the scoring, and against SO many amazing teams.

2019 LSU beat the four preseason top four-ranked teams, and it rolled through big game after big game against one of the toughest schedules of all-time.

At Texas? Got it. At Alabama? Survive and advance. LSU beat Sugar Bowl champion Georgia, Big 12 champion Oklahoma, and ACC and Peach Bowl winner Clemson all away from Baton Rouge.

But that wasn’t enough.

The Tigers beat Orange Bowl champion Florida. They beat Auburn and Texas A&M, too.

The 15 wins tied 2018 Clemson – welcome to the College Football Playoff era – and were only one behind 1894 Yale. The 726 points were the most scored by any national champion in the history of college football, and again, they came against a schedule that was next-level brutal.

By the way, this ranking isn’t just a function of the day and age – had Clemson won the 2019 national championship, it would’ve finished just inside the top ten.

It all worked out for the SEC Tigers – 2019 LSU had the greatest season of all-time.

Wins (15): Georgia Southern (55-3), at Texas (45-38), Northwestern State (65-14), at Vanderbilt (66-38), Utah State (42-6), Florida (42-28), at Mississippi State (36-13), Auburn (23-20). at Alabama (46-41), at Ole Miss (58-37), Arkansas (56-20), Texas A&M (50-7), Georgia (37-10, SEC Championship), Oklahoma (63-28, CFP Playoff/Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl), Clemson (42-25, CFP National Championship)

Losses (0): None

Quality Wins (10): Georgia Southern, at Texas, Utah State, Florida, Auburn, at Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson

Elite Wins (5.5): Florida, at Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson

Bad Wins (3): Northwestern State, at Vanderbilt, Arkansas

Points For: 726
Points Against: 328

NEXT: CFN Historical Rankings Formula

CFN Historical Formula

1. Wins. Obviously, winning matters. Just win lots of games, and all is fine. 1 point per win.

2. Losses. Don’t lose. -1 point per loss

3. Ties. Yeah, there used to be those. 0.5 points per tie.

4. Quality Wins. The wins over the good teams. 1 point per win over a team that finished with a winning record.

5. Elite Wins. The wins over the great teams. 1 point per home win over a team that finished with two losses, or a road, bowl, or neutral site win over a team that finished with three losses. An extra 0.5 added to a road win over a team that finished with two losses.

6. Bad Losses. The soul-crushers. -1 point per loss to a non-FBS/D-I team, or a team that finished with three wins or fewer. An extra 0.5 is added to a home loss to a “bad” team.

7. Bad Wins. The layups. -0.25 for a win over a team that finished with three wins or fewer.

8. Elite Losses. The forgivable defeats. 0.25 added for a loss to a team that finished with two losses of fewer.

9. Point Differential. They keep score for a reason. Points scored minus points against divided by 100.

10. Winning Percentage. A sort of tie-breaker, taking into account how good the season was beyond the raw wins and loss.

Story originally appeared on College Football News

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150 Greatest College Football National Champions

FIRST TEAMS OUT …

154. 1911 Penn State (8-0-1)

153. 1910 Pitt (9-0)

152. 1923 Michigan (8-0)

151. 1910 Harvard (8-0-1)

150 Greatest College Football National Champions: Top 150

150 Greatest College Football National Champions

150. 1942 Ohio State (9-1)

149. 1923 Illinois (8-0)

148. 1913 Harvard (9-0)

147. 1947 Notre Dame (9-0)

146. 1919 Texas A&M (10-0)

145. 1933 Michigan (7-0-1)

144. 1954 UCLA (UPI) (9-0)

143. 1952 Michigan State (9-0)

142. 1965 Alabama (AP) (9-1-1)

141. 1956 Oklahoma (10-0)

140. 1946 Notre Dame (8-0-1)

139. 1915 Cornell (9-0)

138. 1926 Stanford (10-0-1)

137. 1935 Minnesota (8-0)

136. 1919 Harvard (9-0-1)

135. 1922 Princeton (8-0)

134. 1914 Army (9-0)

133. 1908 LSU (10-0)

132. 1922 Cal (9-0)

131. 1957 Ohio State (UPI) (9-1)

130. 1951 Tennessee (10-1)

129. 1922 Cornell (8-0)

128. 1926 Alabama (9-0-1)

127. 1953 Maryland (10-1)

126. 1964 Alabama (10-1)

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: Top 125

150 Greatest National Champions: Top 125

125. 1967 USC (10-1)

124. 1950 Oklahoma 1950 (10-1)

123. 1896 Lafayette (11-0-1)

122. 1916 Pitt (8-0)

121. 1983 Miami (11-1)

120. 1957 Auburn (AP) (10-0)

119. 1954 Ohio State (AP) (10-0)

118. 1955 Oklahoma (11-0)

117. 1882 Yale (8-0)

116. 1940 Minnesota (8-0)

115. 1938 TCU (11-0)

114. 1970 Texas (UPI) (10-1)

113. 1906 Princeton (9-0-1)

112. 1920 Cal (9-0)

111. 1974 USC (UPI) (10-1-1)

110. 1980 Georgia (12-0)

109. 1908 Penn (11-0-1)

T107. 1966 Notre Dame (9-0-1)

T107. 1962 USC (11-0)

105. 1968 Ohio State (10-0)

104. 1949 Notre Dame (10-0)

103. 1965 Michigan State (UPI) (10-1)

102. 1887 Yale (9-0)

101. 1885 Princeton (9-0)

NEXT: 150 Greatest National Champions: Top 100

150 Greatest National Champions: Top 100

100. 1969 Texas (11-0)

99. 1907 Yale (9-0-1)

98. 1973 Alabama (UPI) (11-1)

97. 1929 Notre Dame (9-0)

96. 1973 Notre Dame (AP) (11-0)

95. 1899 Harvard (10-0-1)

94. 1984 BYU (13-0)

93. 1909 Yale (10-0)

92. 1883 Yale (9-0)

91. 1904 Michigan (10-0)

90. 1961 Alabama (11-0)

89. 1976 Pitt (12-0)