The 50 greatest college football teams throughout history

34. Best college football teams of all-time: 2017 Alabama

Although this list mostly features teams in the more distant past, we can’t deny that some of the best teams in collegiate history have come to us in the form of recent national champions. The new tournament format may not be perfect, but it sure does give us proof of just who the best team was in a given season.

It’s always hard to measure modern teams against historic teams, simply due to the difference in game style and the general physical abilities of modern athletes. That being said, this Alabama team was stacked.

The 2017 Crimson Tide is one of the best modern teams and without a doubt would massacre some of the teams on this list (if not put through a generational filter) in head-to-head competition. To leave them off the list would be doing a giant disservice to readers.

The team featured now-NFL star Minkah Fitzpatrick, as well as star defensive players like Raekwon Davis, Da’Ron Payne and Da’Shawn Hand and more. The team also had the lethal backfield combination of Damien Harris, Bo Scarbrough and Josh Jacobs to pair with the rise of a duo of star quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.

2017 is one of my favorite college football seasons in the modern era and this team could run with the best of them in terms of offensive stardom and overall talent and deserves a spot on this list without the shadow of a doubt.