College Football Playoff winners history: List of national champions
The College Football Playoff has crowned seven national champions since the 2014 season. Which teams have come out on top?
Sometimes it might feel like the College Football Playoff came into being just yesterday, but it’s been a fixture in the CFB experience for eight years now.
Love it or hate it, the playoff has produced a series of worthy champions.
While we wait to find out who is next, let’s look back at who has triumphed before.
National champions in the College Football Playoff era
- 2014-15: No. 4 Ohio State
- 2015-16: No. 2 Alabama
- 2016-17: No. 2 Clemson
- 2017-18: No 4 Alabama
- 2018-19: No. 2 Clemson
- 2019-20: No. 1 LSU
- 2020-21: No. 1 Alabama
- 2021-22: No. 3 Georgia
Ohio State was the first-ever College Football Playoff winner as a No. 4 seed in 2014-15. They beat No. 2 Oregon 42-20 to life the trophy.
Alabama’s reign of playoff excellence began in 2015-16. Nick Saban and company won the title over Clemson that season, then lost the title to Clemson in 2016-17, then won the title over Georgia in 2017-18, then lost the title to Clemson in 2018-19.
LSU put in one of the more dominant national title runs in 2019-20, smashing Clemson in the championship game, 42-25. The next year, Alabama was up to their old tricks, this time taking down Ohio State for their record third championship in the playoff era.
The Crimson Tide made it to the National Championship Game again last year but it was Georgia’s time to exact revenge on the SEC Championship Game loss as the Bulldogs became the first new champion since LSU and won its first title since the 1980s.
Alabama and Clemson are tied for the most playoff appearances with six each. Ohio State and Oklahoma have made four each. Notre Dame has appeared twice while LSU, Oregon, Georgia, Florida State, Michigan State and Washington featured once.
Next. College football power rankings: Top 30 programs of all-time. dark
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