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25 best college football coaches never to win a national title

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Oct 25, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder waits to lead his team onto the field before the start of a game against the Texas Longhorns at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder waits to lead his team onto the field before the start of a game against the Texas Longhorns at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 23, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Boise State Broncos head coach Chris Petersen during the first half against the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 23, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Boise State Broncos head coach Chris Petersen during the first half against the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
  • Head Coaching Record: 102-19* at Boise State 2006-13 and Washington 2014-Present
  • Closest He Came to Winning a National Championship: 2009; 14-0 Fiesta Bowl Champions, No. 4 final ranking
  • Notable: Four WAC Championships (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010), 2012 Mountain West Championship, 2006 and 2009 Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, 2010 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award

Like Gary Patterson at TCU, Chris Petersen has had tremendous success at the mid-major level in college football, and at a relatively young age, still has plenty of time to win a national championship. Also like Patterson, Petersen was promoted to the head coaching position after serving as a coordinator, having called offensive plays at Boise State under Dan Hawkins before Hawkins left for Colorado following the 2005 season.

Peterson’s first season as a head coach was one of the most successful debuts ever. The Broncos went 12-0 in the regular season and won the WAC title, which earned them a spot in a BCS bowl game for the first time in program history. In the Feista Bowl against Oklahoma, Boise State pulled off one of the most exciting upsets in college football history – a 43-42 overtime victory – thanks to a trio of trick plays, two of which scored touchdowns in fourth down situations and the third which won the game on a two-point conversion. The win moved Boise State to No. 5 in the final AP Top 25.

Under Petersen’s direction, Boise State continued to make its mark as one of the most successful non-BCS programs in the country. In eight seasons as the head coach of the Broncos, Petersen compiled an incredible 92-12 record, which included seven seasons in which his team won ten games or more and finished ranked in the top 20 of the AP Poll. The closest Petersen and the Broncos came to a national championship was the 14-0 2009 squad that won the Fiesta Bowl and finished No. 4 in the nation.

Petersen resigned as head coach at Boise State following the 2013 regular season, and accepted the same position at Washington. In his first season in Seattle, the Huskies were 8-6.

Next: Mike Bellotti

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