The 50 greatest college football teams throughout history

3 of 51

(Original Caption) Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana runs out of the arms of Houston’s Fred Snell (24) during the final drive of the game that led to Notre Dame’s 35-34 victory in the Cotton Bowl. /

49. Best college football teams of all-time: 1977 Notre Dame

If there is any fantastic indication of just how hard it was to make this list, it’s this: a team that went 11-1 on the year and won the national championship by beating an unbeaten Texas team, sits as low as No. 48 on the list.

They became the 10th Notre Dame squad to win the national title, however, which means they are in the tough competition even from their own program. The team used star talent and great coaching from coach Dan Devine to fuel their championship run. The Irish were led by All-Americans Ken MacAfee, Ross Browner and others.

That’s not to say that only the All-Americans on this team were the players of importance, that led them to the title — the team had quite the stellar quarterback. You may have heard of him.

His name is Joe Montana.

One of the best quarterbacks in history, Montana was a junior starter for the Fighting Irish, on the 1977 team who were looking to rebound from two straight three-loss seasons following the departure of Parseghian.

This Irish team jumped up four spots in the 1977 polls after beating an impressive Texas team by a score of 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl, effectively earning them the national championship.