Fansided

20 best college football coaches without a national championship

By Brad Weiss

MANHATTAN, KS - NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Bill Snyder (C) of the Kansas State Wildcats gets carried off the field, after winning his 200th career game against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 26, 2016 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
MANHATTAN, KS - NOVEMBER 26: Head coach Bill Snyder (C) of the Kansas State Wildcats gets carried off the field, after winning his 200th career game against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 26, 2016 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – DECEMBER 30: Head Coach Mike Bellotti of the University of Oregon Ducks holds the winner’s trophy after beating the Oklahoma State University Cowboys in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium on December 30, 2008 in San Diego, California. The Ducks won 42-31. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – DECEMBER 30: Head Coach Mike Bellotti of the University of Oregon Ducks holds the winner’s trophy after beating the Oklahoma State University Cowboys in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium on December 30, 2008 in San Diego, California. The Ducks won 42-31. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
19

Mike Bellotti

, Chico State, Oregon

After the 1989 season, Oregon head coach Rich Brooks headed off to the NFL. Mike Bellotti, then the offensive coordinator, would take over the program, and lead the Ducks for the next 14 seasons. In that time, he helped turn the Oregon program into a national power, becoming arguably the best head coach the University has ever had.

During his time with the Ducks, Bellotti would be named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year twice. Overall, he won 116 games for the Ducks, losing only 55, while taking his team to 12 bowl games. For a guy who got his start by putting together a losing record during his time with Chico State, Bellotti certainly impressed once he was given an opportunity on the big stage.

During the 2001 season, Bellotti was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the second straight year. His team was loaded, ripping off six straight wins to start the season, before dropping their only game of the season 49-42 at home against Stanford. They would end up playing No. 3 Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl, blowing the Buffaloes out 38-16, and finishing the year as the No. 2 team in the country.

That would be the closest Bellotti would get to winning a national title, though even if they did beat Stanford, they likely would have lost in the BCS National Championship Game. The Miami Hurricanes of the 2001 college football season are arguably the best college football team of all time, though it would have been cool to see quarterback Joey Harrington go up against the Hurricanes defense at his peak.

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