The college football landscape changed when NIL and transfer portals put rosters in flux. Year to year, we’re seeing new rosters and more players trying to join super teams. Recruiting and development still matter, but the constant movement has us thinking about the old days.
Looking back, dominant talents played together for years, with top prospects returning for another shot at a national championship. We still see players staying longer, with the chance to make money in college, but it doesn’t feel the same with frequent transfers.
Talent has always been king in college football. So which rosters were the most loaded in the sport’s history? We’re weighing college production first and foremost, while also considering what these players accomplished in the NFL. One quick caveat: a quarterback can only appear once per program.
25. 2019 Ohio State Buckeyes
Nobody could figure out where to attack this team. Load up on J.K. Dobbins, and Justin Fields was ready to make defenses pay by throwing to Chris Olave and K.J. Hill. Slow down that offense, and you still had to block Chase Young and throw over Jeff Okudah. Heck, they had two cornerbacks go in the first round of the NFL Draft the next season.
Fields threw 41 touchdown passes with just three interceptions. It's much different than the Fields we know from the Bears and the Jets, but he was one of the best college quarterbacks ever. Dobbins ran for 2,003 yards, the first 2,000-yard season in Ohio State history. Young was borderline unblockable, tying a school record with four sacks against Wisconsin on his way to a program-record 16.5 for the season. The Buckeyes averaged nearly 47 points per game and gave up just 13.7.
The NFL confirmed the talent. Young went No. 2 overall in 2020, Okudah went No. 3, and Arnette followed at No. 19, with Dobbins going in the second round. Olave went in the first round two years later. The one blemish: a 29-23 loss to eventual champion Clemson in the CFP semifinal. It kept this group from a title, but it doesn't change how stacked the roster was.
24. 2008 Texas Longhorns
Colt McCoy had one of the most interesting college careers in recent memory. He wasn't a surpreme talent like Joe Burrow or Tua Tagovailoa. However, he had a dominant run, nonetheless. He threw for 3,859 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2008, completed a then-NCAA-record 76.7 percent of his passes, and added 561 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. He finished second in the Heisman voting. He had two reliable targets in Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley. They each topped 1,000 receiving yards that season.
The defense had its own stars. Brian Orakpo swept the Nagurski, Lombardi, and Hendricks Awards after an 11.5-sack season. Sergio Kindle added 10 more, and a young Earl Thomas was on his way to becoming one of the NFL's best safeties.
The résumé was loud. Texas beat No. 1 Oklahoma 45-35, then handled Missouri and Oklahoma State. A last-second 39-33 loss at Texas Tech cost the Longhorns a shot at the national title. They still beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl 24-21 when McCoy threw for 414 yards and hit Cosby for the winning touchdown with 16 seconds left. Texas averaged 42.4 points per game. The frustrating part: Texas beat Oklahoma head-to-head yet watched the Sooners go to the Big 12 title game, and then the national championship, over them. It's one of the greatest "what ifs" in college football history.
23. 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes
This team was ranked No. 1 from the first week of the season through the end of the regular season, and it played like it. Troy Smith won the Heisman with 2,542 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. Ted Ginn Jr. caught 59 passes for 781 yards and nine touchdowns and was also one of the most dangerous returners in the country. He would go on to have an interesting NFL career. Anthony Gonzalez added 734 yards and eight touchdowns, and Antonio Pittman anchored the running game.
The defense was just as good. James Laurinaitis won the Nagurski Trophy as a sophomore, Quinn Pitcock was an All-American tackle, and Malcolm Jenkins was a rising star in the secondary.
The résumé was heavy. Ohio State went to Austin and beat defending national champion Texas 24-7. Then it beat No. 2 Michigan 42-39, and Smith threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns. The finish stung. Ginn returned the opening kickoff of the title game for a touchdown, then got hurt, and Florida rolled to a 41-14 win.
22. 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska didn't have one weakness. It had the No. 3 scoring offense and the No. 3 scoring defense in the country, and it won its games by a combined 507-104, an average of about 39 points for and 8 against per game. It's no surprise that the Cornhuskers were repeat national champions.
The offense had a star at every level. Jeff Kinney ran for 1,037 yards and 16 touchdowns. Jerry Tagge steered the attack. Johnny Rodgers was one of the most electric players of his era. In fact, Rodgers won the Heisman the following year. The Blackshirts were just as good, with Larry Jacobson winning the Outland Trophy and Rich Glover anchoring the middle.
The résumé was signature. On Thanksgiving Day, No. 1 Nebraska beat No. 2 Oklahoma 35-31 in the "Game of the Century." Rodgers opened the scoring with a 72-yard punt return; Glover made 22 tackles, and Kinney ran for 174 yards and four touchdowns, including the winner with 98 seconds left. Then came the Orange Bowl, where the Huskers beat undefeated, second-ranked Alabama 38-6.
21. 2012 West Virginia Mountaineers
To this day, kids still watch the Tavon Austin mixtape. He might be the greatest athlete to ever play college football. It’s an insane thing to say, as he was playing for the West Virginia Mountaineers, but he could have played for any franchise, and he was so fast, so elusive, and so smart on the field that he was better than everyone. He played a hybrid game between running back and wide receiver. When he got the ball in his hands, it usually led to a big play. He didn’t work in the NFL because nobody knew how to use him effectively.
Then, of course, we had Geno Smith at quarterback. He was immensely talented, and that’s why he is still playing in the NFL today. He threw for more than 4,200 yards and 42 touchdowns in his senior year with the Mountaineers. With the defense not coming to play as often as one would like, Smith had to throw his team into contention every season.
It wasn’t just them. Stedman Bailey was as steady at wide receiver as anyone in the league. They needed help at running back, and we talked about the defense already, which is why they finished 4-5 in the Big 12. Something fell off the rails after one of the greatest games ever, a 48-45 epic against the Texas Longhorns.
20. 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes
The 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes felt like a product of its time. Coming out of the grungy 1990s, this was a team that felt like it had grit. This wasn't a roster of five-stars at every position. It was tough, experienced, and just good enough everywhere to win a national title, and it did it by surviving.
Craig Krenzel was the steady quarterback. True freshman Maurice Clarett ran for 1,237 yards and 18 touchdowns, and then he became famous for trying to go to court so he could leave for the NFL. Michael Jenkins caught 61 passes for 1,076 yards. Chris Gamble played receiver, corner, and returner. Pretty elusive! The defense, led by All-American safety Mike Doss, allowed just 13.1 points per game.
Ohio State won six regular-season games by seven points or fewer, including a 14-9 win over Michigan. Then came the Fiesta Bowl: an 11½-point underdog against a Miami team on a 34-game winning streak. Krenzel converted a fourth-and-14 to Jenkins in the first overtime; a pass interference flag on a throw to Gamble kept the game alive, and Ohio State won 31-24 in double overtime. The pros followed. Gamble and Jenkins went in the first round in 2004, and Will Smith won a Super Bowl with the Saints.
19. 1991 Miami Hurricanes
There are so many great Miami Hurricanes teams. This one is so interesting. Miami in this era was built on speed, and the 1991 team might have been the peak. It went 12-0 and finished No. 1 in the AP poll (Washington took the Coaches' Poll, so the title was split).
Gino Torretta threw for 3,095 yards and 20 touchdowns, and won the Heisman the next year. He had a fast skill group around him, including Horace Copeland, Kevin Williams, and Stephen McGuire, and one of the best linebacker corps of the era, with Jessie Armstead and Michael Barrow. Kicker Carlos Huerta was an All-American.
The signature moment came in Tallahassee, when Miami trailed Florida State 16-7 in the fourth quarter and won 17-16 after Gerry Thomas's 34-yard field goal sailed wide right. One week later, the Hurricanes needed a late defensive stand to beat Boston College 19-14. In the Orange Bowl, Miami shut out Nebraska 22-0 and held the nation's top rushing offense to 82 yards.
18. 1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska in 1983 was arguably the most explosive offense college football had seen up to that point. Through the 12-game regular season, the Cornhuskers averaged 52 points and 401.7 rushing yards per game, scored 84 points in a single game at Minnesota, and stayed No. 1 in the polls from pole to pole.
Mike Rozier ran for 2,148 yards and 29 touchdowns at 7.8 yards per carry and beat out Steve Young for the Heisman. He was only the second player ever to reach 2,000 yards in a season. Turner Gill ran the offense and finished fourth in the Heisman voting. Irving Fryar caught 40 passes for 780 yards, and guard Dean Steinkuhler won both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award.
The list of pros followed. Fryar went No. 1 overall in the 1984 NFL Draft, and Steinkuhler went No. 2. At that point, it was just the second time teammates went first and second. It only happened one time since then. Rozier is in the College Football Hall of Fame, and Tom Rathman won two Super Bowls with San Francisco. The heartbreak came in the Orange Bowl. Nebraska trailed Miami late, and Tom Osborne went for a two-point conversion to win rather than tie. The pass fell incomplete, and Miami won 31-30 and took the national title.
17. 2016 Alabama Crimson Tide
This was the kind of team that made offenses feel like they were playing a different sport. Alabama was ranked No. 1 all season, went 14-0 before the title game, and won the SEC. Everyone circled Alabama on their calendars because they knew this was their chance to slay the dragon. For most of the season, nobody could.
The defense allowed about 13 points per game, led the country with 54 sacks, forced 29 turnovers, and scored 11 touchdowns on its own. Jonathan Allen won the Nagurski, Bednarik, and Hendricks awards with 10.5 sacks and two fumble-return touchdowns. Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson, Tim Williams and Da'Ron Payne filled out the front seven, and Marlon Humphrey and Eddie Jackson anchored the secondary.
The résumé was heavy. Alabama shut out LSU 10-0 and held Leonard Fournette to 35 yards. It beat Florida 54-16 in the SEC title game. Jalen Hurts, a true freshman, ran for 954 yards and accounted for 36 touchdowns. The season ended in a 35-31 loss to Clemson in the national title game. A rough ending for a talented group. Four Alabama players went in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Humphrey (16th), Allen (17th), Howard (19th), and Foster (31st), with Humphrey becoming a two-time All-Pro.
16. 1986 Miami Hurricanes
Miami in 1986 played the way it talked. It was the first undefeated regular season in program history, and the Hurricanes came into the Fiesta Bowl ranked No. 1, having outscored opponents 420-136. Vinny Testaverde won the Heisman in a landslide, throwing for 2,557 yards and 26 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. Michael Irvin was the star receiver, Jerome Brown anchored the defensive line, and Bennie Blades was one of the top defensive backs in the country.
The defining win came in September, when Miami beat No. 1 and defending national champion Oklahoma 28-16. Testaverde went 21-of-28 for 261 yards and four touchdowns, and Sooners coach Barry Switzer called him the best quarterback he'd seen in 21 years. The finish is the reason this team is remembered as it is. In the Fiesta Bowl, Miami lost 14-10 to Penn State when Testaverde threw five interceptions, the last one in the end zone with 18 seconds left. Penn State took the national title.
There is no denying that much of this depth chart was headed to the NFL. Testaverde went No. 1 overall in 1987 and played 21 NFL seasons, becoming one of the most recognizable quarterbacks in the league. Irvin became a Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champion, and Brown became a Pro Bowl defensive tackle before dying in a car crash in 1992.
15. 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Tommie Frazier's senior season may be the best by an option quarterback in college football history. He threw for 1,362 yards and 17 touchdowns with only four interceptions, ran for 604 yards and 14 touchdowns at 6.2 yards per carry, and accounted for 1,966 yards and 31 touchdowns. He finished second in the Heisman voting, won the Unitas Golden Arm Award, and was named UPI Player of the Year.
Then he saved his best game for last. In the Fiesta Bowl against No. 2 Florida, Frazier ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, a bowl record for a quarterback, including a 75-yard run in which he shook off defender after defender. Nebraska won 62-24 and ran for 524 yards.
The rest of the team match the effort of Frazier. Running back Ahman Green topped 1,000 yards, showing what was coming for him on the Green Bay Packers. Lawrence Phillips returned for the Fiesta Bowl and scored three touchdowns as one of the greatest running back talents in the country. Nebraska led the nation with 52.4 points and 399.8 rushing yards per game, and no opponent came within 14 points. The defense was in the national top five, with Grant Wistrom and Jason Peter up front. Wistrom became a first-round pick and a Super Bowl champion, and Green became a four-time Pro Bowler.
14. 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide
The 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide were the first team that showed things would be different under Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. Alabama went 14-0, won the SEC, and claimed its first national title since 1992. We knew this team was dominant, but we didn't know the dominant run that was coming after it.
Mark Ingram became Alabama's first Heisman winner, edging Toby Gerhart by 28 votes in the closest race the award had seen. He ran for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns. Freshman Trent Richardson was the change-of-pace back, Greg McElroy managed the offense, and Julio Jones was a rising star at receiver. The defense set the tone. Rolando McClain won the Butkus Award, Terrence Cody and Javier Arenas were All-Americans, Marcell Dareus was emerging up front, and Kirby Smart won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant.
The big games showed the range. In the SEC Championship Game, Alabama beat No. 1 Florida 32-13, held Tim Tebow's offense to 13 points, and Ingram scored three touchdowns. Against Texas in the BCS title game, Alabama ran for 205 yards, the most Texas allowed all season. Ingram had 116 yards and two touchdowns and Richardson added 109 yards and two touchdowns. Dareus knocked Colt McCoy out of the game early, and the defense forced five turnovers in the 37-21 win.
13. 2012 Texas A&M Aggies
Johnny Manziel didn't win the starting job until two weeks before the season. By December, he was the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. It's the greatest freshman season ever, and we don't think there's a close comparison.
He threw for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns with only nine interceptions, and ran for 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns at 7.0 yards per carry. His 5,116 yards of total offense broke Cam Newton's SEC record of 4,327, and he was the first SEC player to throw for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000. He beat out Manti Te'o for the Heisman, 2,029 points to 1,706.
The highlights piled up. He had 557 total yards against Arkansas and 576 with six touchdowns against Louisiana Tech, each an SEC record at the time. Then came Tuscaloosa. Ranked No. 15, the Aggies raced to a 20-0 lead on No. 1 Alabama and won 29-24, with Manziel producing 345 yards and three touchdowns. He closed the season with a Cotton Bowl record 516 total yards in a 41-13 win over Oklahoma. This includes 229 rushing, a bowl record for a quarterback. Texas A&M set an SEC record with 558.5 yards per game.
He had help. Luke Joeckel anchored the line and went No. 2 overall in 2013, and Mike Evans, Jake Matthews, and Manziel followed in the first round in 2014. Evans has become one of the most consistent players at his position of this era. Manziel's NFL career didn't last, but this season stands with any in college football history.
12. 2010 Auburn Tigers
Auburn's title was essentially the Cam Newton show, and that was enough. The Tigers went 14-0, won the SEC, and beat Oregon 22-19 on a field goal as time expired to win the national championship. Newton won the Heisman in a landslide after throwing for 2,854 yards and 30 touchdowns and running for 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns. Scoring 50 touchdowns is just a psychotic number to think about. He was the first SEC player to throw for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000, and he broke the conference record for quarterback rushing yards.
He kept saving Auburn. The Tigers came back from a 17-0 deficit against Clemson and won in overtime, and Newton ran for 217 yards against No. 6 LSU. He had five touchdowns against South Carolina in September and six against the Gamecocks in the SEC title game. Then he led Auburn back from 24-0 at Alabama, throwing three touchdown passes and running for another in a 28-27 win. In all, Auburn overcame deficits in eight of its 14 wins.
Nick Fairley anchored the defense and Lee Ziemba the line, both All-Americans. All of it happened amid an NCAA eligibility investigation into Newton's father, which cleared Newton three days before the SEC title game.
11. 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State's first national title of the playoff era looks even more absurd in hindsight. The Buckeyes went 14-1 and won the inaugural College Football Playoff by beating Alabama and Oregon back-to-back, with a third-string quarterback under center. J. T. Barrett put up 45 total touchdowns before a broken ankle ended his year, and Cardale Jones went from third string to champion in three starts.
Ezekiel Elliott was the headliner, rushing for 1,878 yards and 18 touchdowns. He ran for 230 yards against Alabama and 246 against Oregon, scoring four times in the title game. He later won two NFL rushing titles. He turned this season into the rare top-10 draft pick for a running back, and he was the star of the Cowboys for close to a decade.
The defense was just as loaded. Joey Bosa, a sophomore, wrecked offenses on his way to becoming the No. 3 pick in 2016. Alongside him were Adolphus Washington and Michael Bennett up front, redshirt freshman linebacker Darron Lee, and defensive backs Vonn Bell and Eli Apple. Lee and Apple both went in the first round. Offensively, Taylor Decker anchored the line and Michael Thomas became one of the NFL's best receivers.
10. 1998 Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee made history as the first BCS national champion, and it did it the hard way. The Vols went 13-0 with a string of close calls, none bigger than a 20-17 overtime win over Florida that snapped the Gators' six-game winning streak in the series.
The craziest part about this team is that this was the first year after Peyton Manning left. Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever hold a football, but he's not Tennessee's champion. Tee Martin is. He threw for 2,164 yards and 19 touchdowns, with former Bills star Peerless Price as a top target. Jamal Lewis, the sophomore star, anchored the ground game, and he would become an NFL Offensive Player of the Year and a Super Bowl champion. Travis Henry was his backup, causing nightmares for opposing defenses.
The defense was the real engine. Al Wilson led the linebackers, Shaun Ellis and Darwin Walker controlled the line, and Dwayne Goodrich and Deon Grant helped make the secondary one of the country's best. Lewis, Wilson, and Ellis all went in the first round of the 2000 draft. The Vols beat Mississippi State 24-14 for the SEC title, then topped Florida State 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl for the crown.
9. 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama's 2011 defense might be the most suffocating unit of the modern era. The Tide went 12-1 and allowed just 8.2 points per game. Their only loss, a 9-6 overtime game against LSU, set up a rematch in the BCS title game, and Alabama won it 21-0, holding the Tigers to 92 total yards. Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw terrorized offenses from linebacker. Mark Barron patrolled the secondary, Dre Kirkpatrick locked down receivers, and Josh Chapman clogged the middle. C.J. Mosley and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, a sophomore and a freshman, were still waiting for their turn.
The offense had its own star. Trent Richardson ran for roughly 1,679 yards and won the Doak Walker Award, while Barrett Jones anchored the line and won the Outland Trophy.
The NFL results show how deep this roster ran. Richardson, Barron, Kirkpatrick, and Hightower all went in the first round of the 2012 draft, with Milliner, Warmack, Mosley, and Clinton-Dix following later. Hightower won three Super Bowls with New England, making one of the greatest sacks in the history of football when he destroyed Matt Ryan in Super Bowl LI, and Upshaw won one in Baltimore.
8. 2018 Clemson Tigers
We had to get a Clemson team on here. Those Trevor Lawrence teams were perennial contenders. Might as well go with the first one. Clemson became the first FBS team to finish 15-0, then dismantled Notre Dame 30-3 in the Cotton Bowl and beat Alabama 44-16 in the championship game. This was more than dominant in an era where everyone is talented.
Trevor Lawrence took over at quarterback as a true freshman and threw for 3,280 yards and 30 touchdowns, including 347 yards and three scores against the Tide. Travis Etienne ran for 1,658 yards and 24 touchdowns, giving Clemson one of the most dangerous young backfield duos ever.
The defensive line was the engine. Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins, and Dexter Lawrence all went in the first round of the 2019 draft, with Ferrell going No. 4. Isaiah Simmons was still a reserve, and cornerback A.J. Terrell was a young starter. Both went in the first round in 2020. Wide receivers Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, and Hunter Renfrow made the passing game just as dangerous.
7. 2013 Florida State Seminoles
Florida State buried opponents in 2013, averaging more than 50 points per game, winning the ACC Championship Game 45-7 over Duke, and taking the final BCS title game 34-31 over Auburn after trailing 21-3. This was a team that felt like it came out of nowhere, but the pride of Tallahassee was talented to the gills.
Jameis Winston won the Heisman as a redshirt freshman, throwing for 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns. He hit Kelvin Benjamin for the game-winning score with 13 seconds left against Auburn. Benjamin caught 54 passes for 1,011 yards and 15 touchdowns, Rashad Greene topped 1,000 receiving yards, and Devonta Freeman ran for 1,016. Bryan Stork won the Rimington Trophy up front.
The defense was just as good, allowing only 12.1 points per game, the best in the country. Lamarcus Joyner starred in the secondary, Timmy Jernigan and Telvin Smith gave the defense NFL-caliber talent at the line and linebacker, and sophomore Ronald Darby was on his way up. This team had a ton of players make it to the next level, including Jameis Winston, who is kind of one of the worst first-overall picks of all time.
6. 2020 Alabama Crimson Tide
Honestly, every Nick Saban Alabama team could be on here, but their highest team finished sixth on this list. It's interesting, but it feels right. Six first-round picks is incredible just in 2021 alone, including some of the NFL's best like Patrick Surtain and DeVonta Smith. Alabama's 2020 team was a different kind of loaded. The Tide went 13-0 in the COVID-shortened season, beat Notre Dame 31-14 in the Rose Bowl semifinal, and crushed Ohio State 52-24 for the national title while averaging 48.5 points per game.
Mac Jones threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns. DeVonta Smith won the Heisman with 117 catches, 1,856 yards, and 23 touchdowns, then caught 12 passes for 215 yards and three scores in the title game. Jaylen Waddle was the most explosive player on the roster until his ankle injury, and Najee Harris ran for 1,466 yards and 26 touchdowns. John Metchie added even more receiving depth.
The defense had Surtain, one of the best corners of all time, and Christian Barmore up front was as big and mean as they come. Alex Leatherwood won the Outland Trophy, and Landon Dickerson won the Rimington. The trophy cases for this team are quite full.
5. 2008 Florida Gators
Florida's 2008 team combined speed and depth that few teams have matched. After a shocking 31-30 loss to Ole Miss, the Gators won their last 12 games, beat No. 1 Alabama 31-20 in the SEC Championship, and topped Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS title game, holding the nation's highest-scoring offense to 14 points.
Tim Tebow, the reigning Heisman winner, accounted for 42 touchdowns. This was the season when he gave "The Promise" speech after that Ole Miss loss. That speech is now immortalized on the Gainesville campus. Percy Harvin was one of the country's most dangerous players, a receiver and runner who missed time with injuries but still scored constantly. Backup quarterback Cam Newton, who would later go No. 1 overall, waited behind Tebow.
The defense was just as fast and really solidified\ the personality of this team. Brandon Spikes led the linebackers, and Carlos Dunlap, Joe Haden, Major Wright, and Janoris Jenkins gave Florida NFL-caliber talent at every level. Maurkice Pouncey and Mike Pouncey anchored the interior line.
4. 2005 Texas Longhorns
Texas won the 2005 national title in one of the greatest games in college football history. The Longhorns went 13-0, then beat USC 41-38 in the Rose Bowl, ending the Trojans' 34-game winning streak after trailing by 12 in the fourth quarter.
Vince Young was the centerpiece, finishing second in the Heisman voting after throwing for 3,036 yards and running for 1,050. Losing that award clearly motivated him. He piled up 467 total yards and three rushing touchdowns against USC, including the game-winning fourth-down run with 19 seconds left. Freshman Jamaal Charles and Selvin Young gave Texas a deep backfield, while Limas Sweed and Billy Pittman stretched defenses. This was like building a team in a video game.
The defense had NFL talent across all positions. Michael Huff and Aaron Ross starred in the secondary, Rodrique Wright anchored the line, and Justin Blalock and Jonathan Scott protected Young up front. There was so much talent on this team, but the National Championship game where Young ran all over USC sticks out in our minds and might stay there forever.
3. 2004 USC Trojans
Special doesn't even begin to explain this roster. The USC Trojans went 13-0 in 2004 and made the season look inevitable, capping it with a 55-19 rout of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Matt Leinart threw five touchdowns against a No. 2 Sooners team that had also gone unbeaten. Reggie Bush might be the greatest talent of the 21st Century. LenDale White would have been a star anywhere else. USC was the coolest team in sports.
Matt Leinart won the Heisman, throwing for 3,322 yards and 33 touchdowns. Around him sat a sophomore Reggie Bush, who rushed for 908 yards and caught 43 passes, and LenDale White in the same backfield. Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett caught passes, and Winston Justice protected Leinart up front.
The defense even had NFL talent. Shaun Cody inside, Mike Patterson beside him, and Lofa Tatupu leading the tackles showed this wasn't strictly a team of offensive superstars. Darnell Bing added depth in the secondary. The fruits of the labor came in the draft, even if they played another year together. Ironically, most of these players had diminishing returns in the NFL.
2. 2001 Miami Hurricanes
Buckle up, because this might be the easiest case on the whole list. And yet, they aren't number one. The 2001 Miami Hurricanes went 12-0, won the national title, and outscored opponents by roughly 42 points per game. They then bulldozed Nebraska 37-14 in the Rose Bowl. Ken Dorsey threw for 362 yards and three touchdowns, and the defense forced four turnovers. It wasn't close. It was never close.
Dorsey was a Heisman runner-up, which feels crazy in retrospect. Clinton Portis carried the ground game, Andre Johnson was a nightmare on the outside, and Jeremy Shockey was a wrecking ball at tight end. Those three all became NFL stars, and Johnson even made the Hall of Fame. The talent was apparent. The talent was overwhelming.
And the defense? Ridiculous. Ed Reed was a ball-hawking menace in the secondary, Jonathan Vilma patrolled the middle, and Phillip Buchanon and Mike Rumph locked down the outside. Freshmen Antrel Rolle and Vince Wilfork were just getting started, and Sean Taylor was lurking as a sophomore. Think about how much talent this team needed to have Sean Taylor as the last player we mentioned. Pro Bowlers everywhere. All-Americans everywhere. If you're not familiar, do yourself a favor and put on some 2001 Miami highlights and enjoy greatness on your screen.
1. 2019 LSU Tigers
When this list was first being put together, the 2019 LSU Tigers were the team that came to mind. It’s Joe Burrow, one of the best quarterbacks alive with his crazy journey from Ohio State to LSU. It’s Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, two of the unequivocal four best receivers in the NFL. It’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who was a first-round pick for the champion Chiefs. They even had Terrace Marshall! And that’s just the offense.
LSU went 15-0 in 2019, and the résumé reads like a liar on LinkedIn. The Tigers beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Georgia in the SEC title game, Oklahoma 63-28 in the semifinal, and then ended Clemson's 29-game winning streak for the national title.
Let's not forget about the defense. Patrick Queen and K'Lavon Chaisson were incredible, and Derek Singley Jr. was a teenager, but he was still dominating at cornerback. They broke a record in 2020 by having 14 players drafted. And that doesn't even county Chase, who had twait another year. There is no team with level of talent. It will probably never happen again.
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