For most of its existence, NCAA Football resisted the urge to extend its race for a champion. No matter how many teams claimed to be champions or the outrage from fanbases who claimed their teams were screwed, it took more than a century for football to change. While basketball, hockey, baseball, and more keep adding teams to play in a tournament-style blitz, football kept it to two teams. Even with all the money they could make, they resisted.
In 2012, football would finally let more than just two teams play for the top prize in the country. This would have opened the door for hundreds of teams if that was the case throughout college football history. This past year, the NCAA expanded even further, allowing 12 teams into the playoff for the first time ever.
The results were mixed, with teams like SMU, Indiana, and Tennessee getting their doors blown off in their first game, but it also ended with eighth-seeded Ohio State winning it all. The Buckeyes won the National Championship despite losing their biggest game of the season against Michigan. There are many, many examples of teams who should have won it all, but a late loss or silly evaluation metric kept them out of the National Championship Game. If we expanded the Playoff to 12 teams for all of football’s existence, who would have won the National Championship that didn’t?
2022 Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide were often given every chance to get into the National Championship Game, but in 2022, with only four spots available, two incredibly close losses knocked Alabama out of the running. Despite playing one of the hardest schedules in the country, they were left out because they lost by three points to Tennessee and lost by one point in overtime to LSU.
Every other game, Alabama dominated. They were the fourth-highest scoring team in the nation, with an offense that was led by quarterback Bryce Young. He was a superstar all over the field, putting up 3328 yards and 32 touchdowns in just 12 games. Young was awesome and was coming off his Heisman Trophy-winning season. They also had Jahmyr Gibbs and tackles Tyler Steen and JC Latham. On defense, they had Will Anderson, Henry To'oTo'o, Terrion Arnold, Kool-Aid McKinstry, and Byron Young. This team was steeped with talent.
For them to be held out of the championship because of a one-point loss to LSU, which they only lost because the Tigers went for two in overtime, is truly crazy. It was a tense rivalry game between two supremely talented teams. Future Heisman winner Jayden Daniels made a huge play to end the game. Then against Tennessee, they also lost as time expired.
In the Playoff, there wasn’t a drop of defense played. Georgia and Ohio State combined for 83 points, and Michigan and TCU combined for 96. Then, Georgia dropped 65 points in the Championship Game on the Horned Frogs. Do we really think Alabama wouldn’t win those games?
2020 Texas A&M Aggies
It feels like forever since Texas A&M was truly a title contender, but that’s probably because their best chance in recent times was during the strange COVID season in 2020. In reality, the Aggies have one National Championship to their name, and it was way back in 1939. The entire state of Texas actually only has one National Championship since 1970. It’s not for lack of trying, as Texas A&M has put millions of dollars behind their football program over the years, but they haven’t been able to get over the hump.
The 2020 football season could have been different. The season was impacted by a pandemic, and for most of the summer it was up in the air entirely. The SEC decided to cancel all non-conference games, so the season started for the Aggies on Sept. 26 against Vanderbilt. That means they had one week to prepare for Alabama, and they got smoked. It was a humbling experience, one which drove them to be better.
They faced No. 4 Florida the next week, a game that was added to make up for lost games due to the pandemic. It turned out to be one of the best games of the season. Florida took a 28-17 lead early in the third quarter, but Texas A&M stormed back. They scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, including a Seth Small 26-yard field goal as time expired to win the game.
Texas A&M wouldn’t lose another game all season. Unfortunately, they were stuck in fifth place. The top four of the playoff did not change once during the selection process, which stretched into late November. The Aggies were begging for a chance, but they never got it. Most would argue Alabama was too dominant to be beaten, which they proved, but we’ve seen what happens when a rematch happens in the Playoff. We saw it this season with Oregon and Ohio State. Many times, the losing team evens the series, and we think that would have happened here.
2018 Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes were expected to be one of the top teams in the league in 2018. They started off the season ranked No. 5 in the country, and after a Week 1 win against Oregon State by a score of 77-31, they were moved up to No. 4. They dominated Rutgers before humbling then-No. 15 TCU. They jumped into their conference schedule with a doozy, taking on then-No. 9 Penn State. The two Big Ten legends went head to head, and Ohio State squeaked out 27-26 in Beaver Stadium. They did that thanks to two touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the game. Dwayne Haskins put his superstar cleats on that afternoon, and he put Ohio State squarely into the National Championship conversation.
Then, they lost to Purdue. It was one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. Not only did Ohio State lose, they got destroyed. Purdue was able to score 49 points against OSU in front of a packed house of 60,000 Boilermakers’ fans. The loss ruined the Buckeyes’ season.
They never recovered, immediately going from the second ranked team in the nation all the way down to eighth. A ho-hum effort against Nebraska dropped them to 10th, but Ohio State wasn’t going out that easily.
The Buckeyes took Michigan State to town, only allowing six points and beating them by 20. They had an epic bout against Maryland on the road, beating them 52-51 in overtime before their yearly squabble with the Michigan Wolverines. It was No. 10 vs. No. 4, and Michigan never stood a chance. Ohio State beat their rivals by 23 points, scoring an embarrassing 62 points against a top defense in the country. They finished their season with wins against No. 21 Northwestern and No. 9 Washington. If they went to the Playoff, they would have never stopped winning.
2017 Central Florida Knights
Alright, let’s talk about the elephant in the room when it comes to “coulda, shoulda, woulda” national champions. The University of Central Florida built their entire popularity structure around the fact that they kept getting snubbed from the National Championship. Their exclusion and ensuing claim to the title really put pressure on NCAA officials to make a change. Heck, they even made license plates calling themselves champs.
So let’s discuss that team. They went 13-0, beating every team on their schedule. Their work earned them a matchup with then-No. 7 Auburn in the Peach Bowl. They won that game 34-27. This team was resilient (they beat Memphis in the conference championship in double overtime, the second time they beat them this season) and uber talented.
The National Championship was won that season by Alabama, a team with one blemish on their record. That blemish? A loss to the Auburn Tigers, the very team the UCF Knights beat in the Peach Bowl. Maybe they do have a claim to the National Championship…
Looking at the teams who would have made the playoff, UCF could play with any of them. It wasn’t a particularly great year for talent, as dynamic Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa was still a freshman, and they were still juggling Jalen Hurts in as well. It was messy in Tuscaloosa. Clemson made the College Football Playoff, but it wasn’t their best effort. Oklahoma was phenomenal offensively, but they didn’t have the juice on defense. Georgia was good, but they lost to Bama in OT. UCF had a real chance this season, but the committee blew it.
2016 Alabama Crimson Tide
This one takes a little convincing since the Crimson Tide were in the National Championship and lost to the Clemson Tigers, so maybe this isn’t necessarily in the “spirit” of the list, but we felt like the team that wasn’t the best team in college football won it all that season.
Alabama was tacked from the top to the bottom of the depth chart this season. There were stars everywhere. The offense boasted Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs, O.J. Howard, Jalen Hurts, Calvin Ridley, and Cam Robinson. The defense had Minkah Fitzpatrick, Marlon Humphrey, Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster, Eddie Jackson, and Daron Payne. Many of those players are still in the NFL to this day.
So, what happened in the National Championship Game? Alabama took a lead early and kept it for most of the game. Then, in the fourth quarter, Clemson made possibly the best comeback in a National Championship Game ever. They scored three touchdowns in the quarter, two off the hands of quarterback Deshaun Watson. Alabama scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:07 left in the game, but Clemson responded with a TD as time expired.
With a game this close, the better team doesn’t always win. However, Clemson was flawed and could have been knocked out by a lesser team. They were the team coming into this game with a loss. Alabama could have taken down the rest of the country. We’re not so sure Clemson could have.
2007 West Virginia Mountaneers
The WVU Mountaneers hold a record absolutely nobody wants. No team in the history of college football has won more games without ever being recognized for a National Championship. This program has close to 800 wins in its history. They have 15 conference championships and 17 bowl games. Yet, they are the epitome of “close but no cigar.”
There are many Mountaineer teams who could be on this list. The 1988 team lost their very last game of the season to the eventual national champion in Notre Dame. They also lost one game in 1993, but they missed out on a chance for a title. This franchise has had so many stars, with young people still watching Tavon Austin highlights to this day, but the team to highlight is the 2007 team.
The Mountaineers were dead set on making the National Championship that season. An offense led by Pat White, Steve Slaton, Noel Devine, and Owen Schmitt were impossible to stop for most in the league. That is, until they absolutely needed it. Going into their rivalry game with Pittsburgh, WVU just had to win the game and they were in the title game. Somehow, they only scored nine points and lost.
Was Rich Rodriguez distracted by all the attention he was getting from other schools? He would eventually leave for Michigan just two weeks later. WVU ended up winning their bowl game pretty easily, dominating No. 3 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. They proved they can play with the big dogs with no distractions. Would Rich Rod announce he’s out the door if he was playing for a title? We would hope not.
2006 Boise State Broncos
Boise State walked so that UCF could run, and eventually, Boise State got the chance UCF never did. The Broncos made it to the College Football Playoff, taking the third seed. They were able to grab one of the top four seeds since the ACC had a very down year, and the Pac-12 disbanded. They were good, but they lost to Penn State 31-14.
It wasn’t the first Boise State team to fight for a National Championship, but it was the first to get a chance. The Broncos had long been contenders in the early and mid-2000s, but they always had to face allegations that their weak schedule had no bearing on even being considered for a championship opportunity. The NCAA finally put Boise State in a place where they belonged.
After going undefeated in the regular season, they were matched up with Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Most thought this would be the humbling performance that would shut defenders of these teams up, but it didn’t go that way. Oklahoma scored a touchdown with 1:26 left in the game and successfully (after three attempts) hit the two-point conversion to tie the game. Then, the Sooners intercepted a pass for a touchdown on the next drive, certainly spelling doom for the Broncos. Instead, they ran a hook and lateral play on 4th and 18 that went for a touchdown to tie the game again.
The Broncos would win the game after going for two in overtime. They ran a Statue of Liberty play to their star running back Ian Johnson. He won the game and then got engaged to his cheerleader girlfriend, Chrissy Popadics. That season, the Broncos felt like the team of destiny. Nothing was stopping them from accomplishing their goals. They were undefeated for a reason, and this could have easily been a national championship game where Johnson proposed marriage.
2004 Auburn Tigers
If anyone on this list was obvious, it’s the 2004 Auburn Tigers. We suppose technically they are considered national champions (or were since all their wins were vacated from that season). We want one team to rule them all. We don’t want this shared championship nonsense. So let’s finally declare a winner. Let’s get the 12-team playoff to the one year that needed it most.
This honestly would have been an epic year for a 12-team playoff. Teams like Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, Georgia, Iowa, Cal, Miami, and Boise State could have all realistically competed for it. That’s why we needed this! But back to why Auburn was the right choice.
Auburn finished the season as one of three undefeated teams. It was USC, Oklahoma, and Auburn at the top. Auburn moved into third in the rankings after going 7-0 in Week 7, and the rankings never changed at the top. During the season, they beat No. 5 LSU, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 8 Georgia, No. 15 Tennessee, and somehow this team wasn’t given a shot at the national championship. This was insane.
Auburn was stacked, just like USC and Oklahoma. They had Jason Campbell at quarterback, Ronnie Brown at running back, Carlos Rogers at CB, and then Cadillac Williams also at running back. The two-headed monster in the backfield might be the best we’ve ever seen since Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. Could USC stop them? Nobody else could.
2001 Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are one of the greatest college football franchises without a national championship. This past season is one of four seasons where they have one loss and nothing to show for it in the past 25 years. They also have six two-loss seasons in that time. The Ducks are always right up there with the most popular teams in the league. They often get the most talent and put up a fight against the very best in the country. Yet, no national championship.
There are plenty of teams to choose from for this, but we went with the 2001 Ducks. They made one mistake, and it cost them everything. They even proved themselves against the other team people expected to make the BCS Championship, but at that point, it was too late. The Ducks lost to Stanford in late October. It was a compete collapse, as they went into the fourth quarter with a 42-28 lead. They got outscored in the final frame 21-0, blowing a mistake by Stanford when they missed an extra point with six minutes remaining.
Yet, it was still just one loss. Oregon went on to beat everyone else that season, including No. 10 Washington State and No. 17 UCLA. They were the second-ranked team in the country by the AP Poll, but that’s not how the BCS saw it. They took Nebraska to the championship instead, who had just lost to Colorado and wasn’t even the Big 12 champion.
As a consolation prize, the Ducks got to face those same Buffaloes in the Fiesta Bowl, pitting No. 2 vs. No. 3. Oregon won the game 38-16. Meanwhile, Miami completed their perfect season. Yes, that was a fantastic Miami team, but we think the Oregon offense could match them and play a style that would confuse and frustrate the Hurricanes.
2000 Virginia Tech Hokies
There are few players in the history of college football who were as impactful as Michael Vick. He led the Virginia Tech Hokies to a 22-2 record in 1999 and 2000 before he became the Atlanta Falcons’ number-one overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. In his first season under center, Vick led his team to the national championship, but they were overwhelmed by a Florida State team that dominated the Hokies defense.
Going into the year 2000, Virginia Tech was not giving the respect most runner ups get. They were ranked 10th in the preseason poll. Tenth? They still had Vick, by far the best weapon in college football. They quickly moved up the polls, marching to fourth in the Coaches’ Poll by Week 4 and second in the AP Poll by Week 8. They stayed there until a loss to No. 3 Miami on November 4th.
One thing that’s not in consideration is that Vick was hurt for that game. He had a seriously sprained right ankle, and he didn’t even suit up in the second half. How is that not under consideration in the rankings when the season ends?
Virginia Tech finished the season sixth in the rankings, which is also insane. It’s almost like there was a reason why voters didn’t want Virginia Tech to get higher in the rankings. They didn’t even get a good bowl opponent, beating No. 16 Clemson with ease in the Gator Bowl. This was a massive injustice, as we would have loved to see a healthy Vick take on undefeated Oklahoma in the national championship.
1998 Kansas State Wildcats
Is anyone surprised that the first season of existence for the BCS National Championship was shrouded in controversy? We were using a computer system with no understanding of context to pick who plays for the biggest prize in college sports. What could go wrong? As we know today, there’s a list of things that went wrong.
Let’s start with this season. Kansas State was undefeated heading into their Big 12 Championship Game against Texas A&M. In a torrid affair, the Wildcats lost to the Aggies 36-33 in double overtime. It’s a brutal loss at the worst time, especially since Kansas State just beat two straight ranked teams in the weeks heading into the game.
After the loss, there was still a chance that KSU would make the championship. There was only one undefeated team with a legitimate shot at the title game. However, the BCS computer pushed both Florida State and Ohio State ahead of Kansas State, leading to heartbreak for KSU.
The Wildcats deserved their shot at a national championship, and they proved they could string together wins. We’re not even acknowledging the Alamo Bowl loss to Purdue. It was a slap in the face that’s where they were sent, and we’ve seen teams treat those lesser bowls like they are. However, getting into a playoff and proving to be the best is exactly what Kansas State deserved after a fantastic season.
1996 Florida State Seminoles
We’ve seen a few times that the Florida State Seminoles got opportunities to play in national championship games over other teams, but this whole 12-team playoff controversy really revved up when an undefeated team was left out of the four-team playoff because Jordan Travis got hurt. That wasn’t the first time the Seminoles felt heart break.
For one of the first times ever, a college football team played back to back games against each other. To make it crazier, it was Florida versus Florida State. The in-state rivalry, which is as crazy a rivalry as there is in football (at least at the time) often brings out the best and worst in the players. Florida State welcomed the Gators to Doak Campbell Stadium on November 30th and came out the victors.
The Gators were given a chance to get into the title game when Texas beat Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game, and since the Big 12 wasn’t in the Bowl Alliance, their undefeated champion Arizona State was left out. This left the Florida-Florida State matchup on the table.
However, if Florida State was able to put some space between themselves and another Florida matchup, and if Steve Spurrier didn’t have four weeks to simply study what went wrong for his Gators, we can’t see the Seminoles not being crowned the best team in college football.
1994 Penn State Nittany Lions
It’s never good when there’s not a consensus for the national champion, but that’s what happened in 1994. The New York Times, Matthews Grit Ratings, and Eck Ratings System all named Penn State as their official national champion. They had good reason to go against the conventional winner. Penn State was literally undefeated. They beat great teams along the way. And here is where the Bowl Coalition situation completely fell apart.
As we mentioned, the Bowl Alliance and Boal Coalition were what was in place before the BCS, and it involved naming a national champion from all the teams represented by the Orange, Fiesta, Cotton, and Sugar Bowls. One problem: that doesn’t include the Rose Bowl, which demanded that the winners of the Pac-10 and Big Ten play in their game. They were not concerned about national championship implications.
So undefeated Penn State, which had already dispatched No. 14 USC, No. 21 Ohio State, and No. 5 Michigan, had to play No. 12 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, which they won 38-20. It was never really a contest.
Nebraska would win the national title. It was a robbery of the fans, to be honest. We wanted to see how Nebraska’s defense would battle the combination of Kerry Collins and Ki-Jana Carter. We wanted those high-powered matchups on the biggest stage. Instead, the Bowl Coalition and the Rose Bowl couldn’t put aside their differences for the good of the game.
1986 Oklahoma Sooners
This is another example of a great team facing another great team way too early in the season. We love those matchups now that we have a 12-team playoff when one loss doesn’t ruin a team’s season, but back in the 1980s, losing one game would be saying goodbye to any chance of a championship.
The Oklahoma Sooners were the top-ranked team in the country, and they went up against the Miami Hurricanes. It was the rare September No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Oklahoma was the defending national champion, and Miami was hoping to repeat history. See, the Hurricanes actually beat the Sooners the year prior as an unranked opponent, and it forced the Sooners to work from behind to make the national championship. Well, history did repeat itself.
And we think history would repeat itself just like it did in 1985. Oklahoma would prove to be the best team when everyone was judged. The Sooners took the same playbook as they did in ‘85. They beat a top-five Nebraska team, won multiple games by massive numbers, and they even shut out a few teams along the way.
The one difference this season is it was Miami who was in their way, and there was no shot they would jump them when they lost the head-to-head matchup. However, that’s not relevant in a 12-team system. So, Oklahoma makes it to the tournament, and they win.
1983 Auburn Tigers
The 1983 Auburn Tigers had a similar script to the Oklahoma Sooners of 1986. They weren’t the defending national champions, but they did come into the season as the fourth-ranked team in the nation. They had a hard matchup early, taking on No. 3 Texas in their second game. They lost 20-7 as the offense just never got going. Losing a home game like that is hard to come back from, and it proved impossible for Auburn.
The rest of the season, the Tigers dominated. They played a gauntlet in the middle of the season, facing off with three straight top-ten teams. They beat No. 7 Maryland 35-23, No. 4 Georgia 13-7, and No. 5 Florida 28-21. They finished their season with the Iron Bowl against No. 19 Alabama. It was a brutal stretch for a team that was desperately trying to stay in the hunt. They won each and every game, but it still wasn’t enough.
The prize for this season was a Sugar Bowl matchup with No. 8 Michigan, which they also won. Somehow, the national championship ended up being the Orange Bowl. Miami was ranked fifth in the nation, but because of the control these bowls had on the sport, it became a title game with Nebraska. Most expected the Cornhuskers to take the title home, but Miami upset them.
Well, that’s awkward. At the same time, Georgia upset No. 2 Texas. So Auburn is the champ,s right? Nope, Miami got that. Well, at least Auburn would finish second. Nope! That was actually Nebraska, who still got first-place votes. If there was a playoff, Auburn would be lifting up the trophy.
1981 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Yet another example of an early-season loss knocking a team out of contention forever. It’s going to be hard to explain the stress that came with college football to younger generations. It was live or die for these teams because legacy was on the line every single week. Do you think most people generally remember the 1982 Nebraska Cornhuskers? They would if they won the national championship, but those dreams were dashed on September 25th of that year.
The Cornhuskers were ranked two when they went head-to-head with Penn State. The Nittany Lions were excited to welcome their Big Ten rivals to Beaver Stadium and 85,000 rabid fans. It’s one of the few historic college football games to have its own Wikipedia page. That’s because the most important play was a mistake by the referees.
On 2nd-and-4 with less than a minute left in the game, Todd Blackledge threw the ball to receiver Mike McCloskey for a 15-yard gain to put the ball on the two-yard line. However, replay appeared to show him catching the ball out of bounds. There was no review at this time, so the referee’s decision was final. Nebraska would watch as Penn State threw the game-winning touchdown with four seconds left in the game.
Penn State, on the back of this win, would go on to win the national championship. Meanwhile, Nebraska spent the rest of the season chasing. They never caught up despite winning every game for the rest of the season, including their Orange Bowl matchup with LSU.
1973 Ohio State Buckeyes
What does one do when the top team in the country ties a game? That’s not the optimal result, obviously, but it’s also not a loss. The team is still technically “undefeated.” Do they get hurt in the rankings as a result? Ohio State sure did in 1973. They went undefeated all season. The college football world was set up for a matchup between the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the fourth-ranked Michigan Wolverines.
It ended in a 10-10 tie. Now, we’re as hateful to ties as anyone, but does a team deserve to lose a shot at a national championship due to a tie? Well, when there are two teams with no losses and no ties and only two spots in a title game available, it does impact a few things.
The Buckeyes were knocked back to fourth in the rankings after the Michigan loss, and they were relegated to a matchup with USC in the Rose Bowl. They handedly beat the Trojans 42-21, showing their dominance. If they could do that to a top team, imagine what would happen to all non-rivalry matchups?
The national championship ended up being Alabama versus Notre Dame, which ended 24-23 in favor of the Irish. Notre Dame’s signature win outside of Alabama was also against USC, so it would have been interesting if Ohio State and Notre Dame were given a chance to match up.
1971 Oklahoma Sooners
We’ve mentioned here about what happens when dominant teams play twice in a season. More often than not, the teams split the matchup. The losing team usually spends all of their time learning what went wrong, they change the gameplan, and they have all the motivation in the world to do better the second time. Meanwhile, the winning team usually comes into the contest a little too confident. The coaches often go with the same game plan (why mess with a winning formula?), but that’s often a mistake.
The 1971 Oklahoma Sooners took on the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Nov. 25. The rivalry was intense, and the two went back and forth all game. Future Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers took a punt back for a touchdown to kick off the scoring. Jeff Kinney scored four rushing touchdowns, but John Harrison kept Oklahoma in it with his arm.
Harrison hit Jack Mildren for a 16-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Oklahoma defense couldn’t hold up. With less than two minutes left, Nebraska scored the game-winning touchdown on a Kinney rush. Oklahoma lost on mistakes, losing three fumbles.
That’s unlikely to ever happen again for this team. If it was a 12-team playoff, we’d want OU and NU to matchup again. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards for that season.
1966 Alabama Crimson Tide
An undefeated team getting no shot to play for a national championship is always a tragedy, but who knew this ever happened to the Alabama Crimson Tide? This seems like something that would happen to someone else in favor of Alabama, right? It makes it even crazier because Alabama was the back-to-back champion. The Crimson Tide won the title in 1964 and 1965. How could they really be held out of the championship because of a ranking system? How is that defending the title?
On Nov. 7, Alabama moved up to No. 3 in the AP Poll. They needed either Michigan State or Notre Dame to lose to have a shot at a championship. Again, this was a team defending its crown. Instead, they were blocked from that chance and the Fighting Irish and Spartans were given their chance to win the title.
Well, nobody won. They tied. The biggest game of the season ended in a tie. It was also Michigan State’s last game of the season. Notre Dame had a rivalry game against USC left on the schedule, which they won. That led to voters naming them champion because… reasons.
Meanwhile, Alabama lost no games, and tied no games as well. They were sitting there with the only meaningful undefeated and untied record in the country, but they had nothing to show for it. Remind us again how a playoff took so long?
1959 Ole Miss Rebels
To end this list, we’re going all the way back to 1959, showing these types of controversies had no expiration date. For those Ole Miss Rebels fans who were alive to see it, they will curse the name of Syracuse until the day they die. The Orangemen took their national championship, and their first one in fact. The Rebels lost one game that season to the No. 1 team in the country at the time, LSU.
At the end of the season, they got their revenge. They played LSU in the Sugar Bowl, which is basically a home game for them since it is in New Orleans. Ole Miss beat them 21-0 in that game after losing the first one 7-3. They also beat Tennessee, Arkansas, and Memphis State, who were all ranked in the top 11.
Ole Miss’s defense was insane. They shut out eight of their 11 opponents that season. Eight shutouts in a season is absolutely insane. They would have smothered every team they faced in a College Football Playoff.
Gosh we wish we could have seen Ole Miss take on Syracuse, who had the best offense in the country. They were scoring 39 points per game and putting up 451 yards per game. They basically did the first half of the previous playoff, with Syracuse beating No. 4 Texas in the Cotton Bowl and Ole Miss beating LSU in the Sugar Bowl. Let’s create the 1959 version of the Fiesta Bowl and play this out.