To start, we need to figure out what goes into being one of the best college teams ever. First you need to have won the national championship, you can’t be one of the best ever without not even being the best that season. Second, you have to have very good players. If you have bad players you won’t be considered on this list. You also had to have had a wide margin of victory. If you win every game by 1 point then you’re not really the greatest, even if you fit everything else on this list.
So let me start with it!!!!
1.) 2001 Miami Hurricanes- this team was completely stacked and had 5 first rounds picks in the NFL draft. with a roster that had 4 NFL RBs, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor and Bryant McKinney and All American Ken Dorsey at QB they were hard to topple that season. with a average margin of victory of 34 points per game. They showed how great they really were in back to back games vs. ranked Washington and ranked Syracuse where they outscored them by a combined 116-7 (an NCAA record).
2.) 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers- This wasn’t a flashy team, but they were totally sound with fundamentals and very hard to beat. by scoring 39 points per game and only giving up 8.2 they showed they could beat you anyway they wanted. 2ith the 1972 Heisman winner in Johnny Rodgers who may be the greatest return man we have ever seen, they proved that they were great at every spot on the field. It was a close one between Miami and Nebraska, but in the end, the star power Miami has gives them the edge
3.) 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers- The fact that Nebraska can have 2 teams in the top 3 of this list shows how much of a traditional power they are. With an O that put up 50 plus points per game, and one of the hardest schedules in college history that included 4 top 10 teams, and they STILL beat everybody by more than 23 points. Beating Florida 64-24 cemented their status as one of the greatest teams in college history
4.) 1945 Army- This one goes way back to a time when WW2 was still going on. They had one of the best RB duos in FB Felix Blanchard and RB Glenn Davis. They split the Heisman 2 years in a row with Blanchard winning in 45 and Davis winning in 46. They were also EXTREMLY dominant going 9-0, including a 48-0 trouncing of Notre Dame in front of 75,000 at Yankee Stadium. They capped off their amazing season with a 32-12 win over rival Navy in front of 102,000 fans
5.) 1956 Oklahoma Sooners- At the time of this season Oklahoma was in the middle of a 47 game winning streak. They finished 10-0 with an average of 47 points per game. They also had a superior defense, as they held 6 opponents scoreless. RB Tommy McDonald finished 3rd in the Heisman voting that year but even more impressive was the fact that a lineman finished right behind McDonald at 4th in the Heisman voting
There you have it folks. The great thing about a list is that no matter what, people are going to disagree with it at some point for some reason. There will always be that 6th or 10th team or person who is left out that people will say “well this team or that team should be number 5, not the one you put there.” Regardless of your personal preference, each and every one of these teams made a huge impact on the college game and all 5 of them showed they deserve a spot on this list.
Honorable Mention-
1972 USC
1947 Michigan
1947 Notre Dame
2005 USC
1961 Alabama
Written by MiamiXCanes
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man, where is 1998 Michigan?
Where is the 1991 Washington Huskies at? They were the same team that had the top defense that season, plus in 1990 they also received a share of the national championship, and their d was excellent. In the early 90’s the Washington Huskies were beasts on the field, and also beat your fellow Miami Hurricanes too…..
No ucla teams? That’s unfortunate
That Husker team only won the championship because Penn State’s scrubs let 2 late TDs against Indiana. That offense was incredible — 3 picks in the top 9 in 2005, plus Bobby Engram, Jeff Hartings, and Marco Rivera the next year.
how can you say nat’l champ is required and then put the 05 USC Trojans as honorable mention. They lost to the LONGHORNS BABY!!
If you put the 2001 Canes in their then you have to put the canes from 1983 to 1992 and you should put the 2003 Trojans in there too
Miami Hurricane were the best team in the 80’s and early 90’s, winning 58 consecutive home games says it all and the best is yet to come…
Miami ? Are you kidding me ? '95 Nebraska would have hung 70 points on them. At best, the '01 Miami team would have been #7 or #8, Maybe. No way they are even in the top 5, let alone #1.
i agree that 2001 miami team was probably the most talented college team ever the 3 future nfl pro bowl running back(clintin portis, frank gore, willis mcghee) on one roster, 2 pro bowl safety(ed reed and sean taylor), 2 tight ends(jeremy shockey and kellen winslow jr), 3 receivers( andre johnson, reggie wayne, santana moss), they had a probowl tackle in bryant mcknee, and a pro bowl linebacker in jonathan vilma
No way Miami '01 is the greatest college football team ever. The third requirement you listed required the elite to have won by a wide margin. That Miami team only beat #18 Va Tech by 2 pts and was in some real trouble at #21 BC until a freaky interception return sealed the victory. And there average margin of victory was 32.92 not 34.
'95 Nebraska dominated every single opponent. This included 4 top ten teams. Miami only beat one top ten team (a VERY avg Nebraska team that had just been beaten much worse by Colorado). And for the record the avg margin of victory for '95 Nebraska? 38.67 points.
Debate over.