Every College Football Playoff team in history, ranked

12. Alabama Crimson Tide – 2019

National Runners-up — Lost to Clemson, 44-16

With the numbers that Tua Tagovailoa and the Alabama Crimson Tide put up in the 2019 regular season and then in a semifinal win over Oklahoma, everyone was anticipating a heavyweight fight between Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney’s team in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. But if it was a heavyweight fight, it was like prime Mike Tyson fighting a debuting fighter — and Bama was the latter.

Everyone assumed that defensive lapses from Alabama would be shored up with the Natty on the line but Trevor Lawrence proved that was not the case. Tua Tagovailoa and the Tide’s offense kept things close early but could ultimately not keep the pace and ended up with a blowout loss.

This was obviously a fun and exciting iteration of Bama but one that falls short of several predecessors.

11. Ohio State Buckeyes – 2020

Playing Clemson in Semifinal (Fiesta Bowl)

This one could come back to bite me and make me look silly. However, after getting tested by Penn State late in the regular season and then needing to come back from a sizeable deficit against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game, there’s a bit of a sour taste in my mouth with the Ohio State Buckeyes in their first season with Ryan Day at the helm of the program. But even then, they are incredibly talented.

Whether it’s an explosive offense led by stud running back J.K. Dobbins and dual-threat Heisman finalist Justin Fields or a defense that boasts two potential top-10 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, Chase Young and Jeffrey Okudah, this is a dangerous and balanced team. But when you stack them next to their College Football Playoff peers, their stumbles in big moments leads you to question whether or not they can measure up.