The Top 20 Teams in College Football History

20) ’96 Florida Gators

The Gators outscored opponents 612-228. After the Gators pulled off a victory in hostile Neyland stadium against No. 2 ranked Tennessee, they never hit a snag until a late season match-up with Florida State. While Florida did suffer a loss, they made this list for a reason. Following a heartbreaking 24-21 loss to FSU that spoiled their perfect season, QB Danny Wuerffel and Co. pulled together and took out Alabama in the SEC championship.This set the table for a rematch with the ‘Noles, and It was slaughter. Florida instantly took control of the game and never looked back, punishing FSU to the final tune of 52-20.

19) ’91 Washington Huskies

This was legendary Huskies coach Don James finest team.The Huskies finished off their undefeated season with a sound beating of Michigan 34-14 and ended the season No. 2 in the AP poll, splitting the championship with Miami.Nobody lost by less than a touchdown to these high-powered Huskies, and they were dominant on defense.Several of the TD’s scored against UW were scored after the starters had been pulled, as head coach Don James would rather have meaningful experience for his back-ups than to run up the score.Defensive tackle Steve Emtman led the defense and was the number one pick in the next year’s draft.

18) ’69 Texas Longhorns

Led by consensus All American tackle Bob McKay, the Longhorns rolled to a perfect 11-0 season. In what was billed as the first “Game of the Century”, the ‘Horns defeated No. 2 Arkansas 15-14 to remain perfect en route to a Cotton Bowl victory over Notre Dame.

17) ’74 Oklahoma Sooners

Led by an absolutely brutal rushing attack, the Sooners won their first championship under head coach Barry Switzer. RB Joe Washington carried home a boatload of honors after his phenomenal year, and DE Lee Roy Selmon was the first pick in the next NFL Draft. In their last game of the season against Oklahoma State, the Sooners trailed 13-10 in the third quarter before scoring five touchdowns to give them a 44-13 victory.

16) ’47 Michigan Wolverines

Notre Dame may have been number one before bowl season, but the “Mad Magicians” were the clear number one after a 49-0 drubbing of USC ion the Rose Bowl.This team is credited with being one of the first to have players that specialized in offense or defense, as most guys played both sides of the field before this time. The Wolverines score in the Rose Bowl is still tied for the most points scored in that event, and coach Fritz Crisler will long be remembered for his innovations to the game.

15) ’00 Oklahoma Sooners

In Bob Stoop’s second season at the helm, the Sooners were absolutely unstoppable en route to the National Championship. Led by QB Josh Heupel, the Sooners beat six ranked teams and went a perfect 13-0.They finished off the season with a stifling defensive performance against favored defending champ Florida State, winning 13-2 in the Orange Bowl.

14) ’99 Florida State Seminoles

The Seminoles were the first team to be ranked number one from start to finish in the polls. An absolutely devastating offense was led by QB Chris Weinke and featured the likes of Travis Minor Laveranues Coles, Anquan Boldin and the ever explosive Peter Warrick. A perfect 12-0 season was capped off by a 46-29 beatdown of Michael Vick and Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

13) ’68 Ohio State Buckeyes

The ’68 Buckeyes remain one of the best teams ever fielded by Ohio State. With 11 All-Americans and six players drafted into the NFL, the Buckeyes finished a perfect campaign by dominating rival Michigan 50-14, then defeating the USC Trojans 27-16 in the Rose Bowl to claim the national title.The Buckeyes were led by outstanding RB Jim Otis, who led the Buckeyes in rushing.

12) ’94 Penn State Nittany Lions

Quite possibly the best team to not win a championship, the Nittany Lions featured a fearsome offensive attack, highlighted by RB Ki-Jana Carter, QB Kerry Collins and WR Bobby Engram. After finishing a perfect season at the Rose Bowl with a 38-20 victory over 12th ranked Oregon, the Lions fell just short of the national championship, which was instead awarded to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. PSU had three players, Collins, Carter and TE Kyle Brady picked in the top 10 of the NFL draft.

11) ’92 Alabama Crimson Tide

1992 marked many milestones for the Alabama Crimson Tide.In head coach Gene Stallings’ third season, the Tide reached their 100th season of football at the university.They won their 20th SEC title while holding opponents to 9.2 points per game and winning the inaugural SEC championship game.Then, to top it all off, they knocked off number one and favored to win Miami in the Sugar Bowl to claim the National Championship.

10) ’87 Miami Hurricanes

Miami had been the prohibitive favorite to win the title the season before, and after losing star quarterback Vinny Testaverde, Jerome Brown and Alonzo Highsmith, the Canes looked as if they were headed for a rebuilding year after a disappointing loss to Penn State in the FIesta Bowl.

Enter Michael Irvin, Brian Blades and Steve Walsh.

The ‘Canes roared to a perfect 11-0 regular season and headed to the Orange Bowl to face the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners.The Sooners lost only two games in the 1985-86 seasons, both of them at the hands of the ‘Canes, and Miami was trying to hit the trifecta.They did, defeating Oklahoma 20-14, and ending one of the most unexpected runs to the National Championship ever.

9) ’04 USC Trojans

In the school’s first undisputed national championship since the memorable 1972 season, the Trojans rode The play of Heisman winning quarterback Matt Leinart to the Orange Bowl. Winning the BCS national Championship, and leaving “no doubt”, as to their championship status.The Trojans, led by Leinart and Reggie Bush, blasted the Oklahoma Sooners in the title game 55-19, and that win was eventually vacated. Either way vacated or not they were a great team.

8) ’45 Black Army Knights

It’s not very often that a team features two Heisman winners in its backfield, but after Felix “Doc” Blanchard won it in ’45, fellow RB Glenn Davis won the award in ’46. Both gentleman were in the backfield for the Army’s remarkable campaign. I guess you could say that the Army had a pretty successful season, finishing 9-0, while beating Navy in front of 102,000 people to clinch a national championship.They also romped on Notre Dame 48-0 and trounced the Penn Quakers 61-0 in consecutive weeks.

7) ’05 Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns outscored opponents 653-213 over their remarkable 13-0 season. Vince Young’s transcendent quarterback play, coupled with a stellar defense, led Mack Brown’s boys to the best season in ‘Horns history.To cap it all off, Texas beat previously unbeaten defending national champion USC in a thriller of a title game, that had to be one of the greatest games ever played at any level.