Ranking every College Football Playoff team in history

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Adam Choice #26 and Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers celebrate with the trophy after their teams 44-16 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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January 1, 2015: Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual between the Florida State Seminoles and the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images) /

13. Florida State Seminoles – 2015

Lost to Oregon in Semifinal (Rose Bowl), 59-20

This might be a bit of a surprise to see the 2014-15 Florida State Seminoles coming in at No. 13 in these rankings given the way that their Rose Bowl semifinal matchup in the 2015 College Football Playoff transpired. Jameis Winston and the Seminoles under Jimbo Fisher ultimately lost by 39 points to Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks, but that doesn’t tell the whole story about this team.

When you look at the box score for the Seminoles, it wasn’t like they were unable to have any success. Though Winston threw a pick, he did throw for 348 yards on 29-of-45 passing and a touchdown. Moreover, the run game was working as Dalvin Cook took 15 carries for 103 yards and Karlos Williams added 12 totes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Where Florida State fell apart was their defense in the second half. This game wasn’t a blowout throughout. The Seminoles were actually within five points (25-20) midway through the third quarter and, with the way that their offense was playing, seemingly within striking distance. Then Oregon reeled off 34-straight points and that was all she wrote for the Noles.

The fact that the game was closer than the final score and because the Seminoles offense was still potent for the majority of the Rose Bowl matchup, they come in higher in these rankings than you might expect. In truth, they honestly should’ve done better against Oregon, but they get a little it of respect here nonetheless.

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