Ranking every College Football Playoff team in history

10. Oregon Ducks – 2015

National Runners-up — Lost to Ohio State, 42-20

In the 2015 College Football Playoff semifinal, the Oregon Ducks submitted a convincing performance on the scoreboard against the Florida State Seminoles, topping them to the tune of 59-20. That seemingly put them in position to get Marcus Mariota a National Championship before departing Eugene as they would face the Ohio State Buckeyes who were starting Cardale Jones.

What actually transpired, however, was something akin to what Oregon did to FSU in the semifinal game. The Ducks acquitted themselves well enough early on in the game, trailing by just one point midway through the third quarter before the Buckeyes scored 21 unanswered points to ultimately take the title running away, winning by a final of 42-20.

There’s no denying the potency of the Oregon offense with Marcus Mariota at the helm of it and that showed a bit in the title game. The eventual second-overall pick in the NFL Draft threw for 33 yards, two touchdowns and one pick while rushing for 39 yards as well. What’s more, Thomas Tyner ran well, taking 12 carries for 62 yards. The big issue for all of this, which showed a bit in the Florida State game, was that they had no answer for the run.

For the second-straight CFP game, Ezekiel Elliott ate heartily as he put up 246 yards rushing and found the end zone four times. That killed Oregon’s offensive momentum and ultimately exposed their biggest flaw as a team in a major, major way. Because of that fatal shortcoming, they come in at No. 10, the lowest of any runner up.