The five best college football teams this century.
Since the turn of the century, college football has featured historic, sport-changing teams. Some of them revolutionized the game, whether with their dynamic offenses or forces on defense. Most of them won the BCS or College Football Playoff National Championship and created an enduring legacy.
A handful of those teams stand out as the best of these past 20 years. They hold up as forces who forever changed the game and left lasting impressions, some as recently as the past five seasons.
A group of five stands out as the best teams of the century, starting and finishing with elite, memorable teams that are still discussed in 2020:
5. Best college football teams this century: 2011 Alabama
This is the only team of the five to have a blemish on its record, but due to the titled “Game of the Century,” when the 2011 Alabama team dropped a 9-6 field goal fest against LSU. The loss was hardly representative of this superstar squad, and not making the SEC Championship Game was meaningless towards making the BCS National Championship Game against those same Tigers.
The college football star-power was on display on both sides of the ball. From a proper signal-caller in AJ McCarron to the two-headed monster of Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy on offense and Dont’a Hightower, Mark Barron and Courtney Upshaw on defense, this was an elite unit that scored enough and did not allow opposing teams any room to operate.
The 2011 Crimson Tide allowed just one team, Georgia Southern, to score more than 14 points; not the first group to come to mind. After that, which was the third-to-last game of the season, Alabama allowed 14 points to Auburn in the Iron Bowl and blanked LSU in the title game, 21-0. Teams were kept quiet and often never stood a chance.
Richardson was the workhorse of the offense that made it work. His Heisman-finalist spot and Doak Walker award win culminated nearly 1,700 yards rushing and 24 total touchdowns. Forceful and imposing, no one was stopping him.
There was never a question of Alabama’s abilities after that first loss to LSU. They held their own for the rest of the season, somewhat controversially entered the title game amid the BCS process and won without question, ending any debate of their placement. This was a dominant team, holding the mantle ahead of the undefeated squads.
4. Best college football teams this century: 2019 LSU
Hot off the press, the 2019 LSU Tigers belong as one of college football’s best teams of the century. No longer in the heat of the moment, head coach Ed Orgeron’s talented group holds its own in this sport’s history for their dominance across the board.
Entering the season, quarterback Joe Burrow was just another name. He transferred from Ohio State in 2017 and had an unspectacular 2018 campaign with the Tigers, passing for fewer than 3,000 yards on just a 57.8 percent completion mark. So, no one expected a monstrous breakout campaign that featured one of the greatest seasons for a college football player: 5,671 passing yards, 65 total touchdowns and just six interceptions. He completed an astounding 76.3 percent of passes.
In a landslide, Burrow took home the Heisman. The numbers were incredible, but they meant something more, as LSU glided through a perfect season. The Crimson Tide threatened this in a 46-41 matchup, but Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson outscored everyone and made most games simplistic.
An NFL-caliber defense handled everything on the other side, with 15.5 combined sacks from Patrick Queen and K’Lavon Chaisson and 113 total tackles from Jacob Phillips. There was talented all over that helped make this a complete unit.
The culmination was a 37-10 win over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, a drubbing of Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl, and a swift win over Clemson. It was an unquestioned path to glory, with even the sport’s most talented teams unable to stop them.
The 2019 LSU team’s profile will rise as their legacy develops. It’s strong already, but their offensive prowess will be looked upon as all-time great.
3. Best college football teams this century: 2018 Clemson
Alabama does hold its own as a top college football team of the 2010s, but as the 1A to Clemson’s 1B.
Four of the six College Football Playoff National Championship Games had Clemson representation. Head coach Dabo Swinney turned this ACC school into a perennial powerhouse with no sign of slowing down. Their work began in the Deshaun Watson era, but a true freshman initiated his own legacy in South Carolina and continued this school’s momentum in 2018, which was also the Tigers’ best iteration of the century.
Swinney made the bold move of flipping to Trevor Lawrence early in the season. A talented defense held down other teams, but the offense stalled at times under Kelly Bryant. Lawrence was also the No. 1 recruit in the nation and someone the coaching staff could not sideline forever. He needed involvement, and once the change happened, Clemson soared.
30 touchdowns to just four interceptions flashed Lawrence’s precision with the football. He was accurate and worth the wait, never losing a game in his first season as the starter. 24 rushing touchdowns from Travis Etienne was an incredible supplement to the passing game, and Tee Higgins and Hunter Renfrow, who seemingly played for the Tigers for a decade, were ideal threats on the outside. This group was elite and the catalyst towards greatness.
The stellar defense can’t go by the wayside. Isaiah Simmons and Clelin Ferrell were the foundation, with pro-caliber talents surrounding them. They held opponents to 10 or fewer points nine times.
Crushing Notre Dame, 30-3, in the Cotton Bowl set Clemson up for another date with Alabama in the National Championship Game. It was a debate before the matchup of the Tigers’ youth vs. Nick Saban’s potent offense and, as always, All-American defense. However, perhaps one of the most surprising final scores of a title game this century, the Tigers won, 44-16. When do the Crimson Tide ever sit at the other end of a blowout?
2018 Clemson was elite. They are grouped with other special teams in that five-year timeframe, but Lawrence, Simmons, Ferrell and company formed something uniquely talented for that football program. It was a journey, with a surprise ending, that set them apart.
2. Best college football teams this century: 2004 USC
Titles can be vacated, but the footage and the moments do not disappear from the vault. That defines the star-studded USC team of 2004.
Head coach Pete Carroll’s Trojans were the team of the mid-2000s, taking the mantle from Miami. Matt Leinart had taken the quarterback mantle from Carson Palmer, a No. 1 overall pick of the Cincinnati Bengals. Reggie Bush was the next big star of college football and led a dynamic, one-two punch with LenDale White in the backfield. Add Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett on the outside and a slew of future NFL players on defense, and this was a group few others could compete with.
USC was a perfect 13-0. Pac-12 games against California, Stanford and UCLA proved difficult, but the obliteration of a ranked Arizona State team and long-time rival Notre Dame pushed momentum in the second half of the season, leading to the winning year.
Leinart was the Heisman Trophy winner that season, and Bush was not far behind, winning his own piece of hardware in 2005. They were the forces that drove this electric team. Leinart was efficient with the football and a big playmaker, and Bush was the multi-purpose back that opposing teams had to plan for. Heck, it’s easy to forget that White led the way in rushing yards and total touchdowns.
To win the title, USC ran over No. 2 Oklahoma, 55-19. It was a no-contest and solidified not only the Trojans’ place atop college football but as one of the best teams to ever complete a season.
In 2010, however, the NCAA imposed sanctions on USC, highlighted on improper benefits given to Reggie Bush. They were forced to vacate the UCLA win and the 2004 National Championship.
While no longer official in the record books, USC’s impact on college football will never disappear. Their 2004 run holds a spot among the sport’s best teams of the century, and they still deserve their credence.
1. Best college football teams this century: 2001 Miami
There is a reason why Miami holds itself on a high pedestal, despite a lack of success in the past 15 years, they’ve often been No. 1 in the AP Poll for weeks on end.
The 2001 Hurricanes were as all-pro of a football team as any in the sport, producing big-name NFL players or others who held their own in the league. Willis McGahee, Andre Johnson, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Ed Reed, Jeremy Shockey and Vince Wilfork were just some of the star talent on this roster, so it’s no surprise they went 12-0.
This was a dominant unit, running over No. 13 Florida State, crushing Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions and putting up 65 points against a No. 11 Washington Huskies unit. With few scares in-between, head coach Larry Coker’s team ran past the ACC and non-conference competition, set up by a stout rushing unit and Ken Dorsey’s leadership at quarterback.
The destruction of Nebraska in the Rose Bowl, long before the College Football Playoff, was the icing on the cake and won the Hurricanes a championship. They had a difficult schedule on paper to reach this, but no matter who was in their way, they ceded to one of the most exciting, prolific college football teams ever.
Nearly 20 years later, this Miami team still holds up well, too. With multiple of the aforementioned names likely set for the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Ed Reed was already inducted), this group has an unforgettable legacy from their dominance in the early 2000s. Few have approached replication.
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