Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Ranking National Champs, last 50 years

Great find by https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/


https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2019/03/national-champs-last-50-years.html


11. 1999 Florida State Seminoles
Record: 12-0
Finished: Beat No. 2 Virginia Tech 46-29 in the Sugar Bowl
Final Ranking: No.1
Notable Wins: No. 10 Georgia Tech (41-35), No. 20 North Carolina State (42-11), No. 19 Miami (31-21), No. 4 Florida (30-23), and No. 2 Virginia Tech (46-29)
Consensus All-Americans: Three (Sebastian Janikowski, Corey Simon, Peter Warrick)
Bobby Bowden’s best team was the first in history to go “wire-to-wire” in the modern era, meaning it started the preseason at No. 1 and held the ranking throughout the entire season. The Seminoles knocked off five ranked opponents, including an undefeated Virginia Tech team led by Michael Vick, to win Bowden’s second national championship.

10. 2004 USC Trojans


9. 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Record: 12-0
Finished: Beat No. 3 West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl
Final Ranking: No. 1
Notable Wins: No. 9 Michigan (19-17), No. 1 Miami (31-30), No. 2 USC (27-10), and No. 3 West Virginia (34-21)
Consensus All-Americans: Two (Frank Stams, Michael Stonebreaker)
With a roster that included 30 players who would go on to the NFL, the Irish beat the teams that would finish No. 2 (Miami), No. 4 (Michigan), No. 5 (West Virginia), and No. 7 (USC) en route to the national championship. The wins against the Hurricanes and the Wolverines were by razor thin margins, but the other 10 victories were by double digits.

8. 2005 Texas Longhorns
7. 1972 USC Trojans
6. 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide

5. 2018 Clemson Tigers
Record: 15-0
Finished: Beat No. 1 Alabama 44-16 in the College Football Playoff National Championship
Final Ranking: No. 1
Notable Wins: Texas A&M (28-26), Syracuse (27-23), No. 16 NC State (41-7), No. 17 Boston College (27-7), South Carolina (56-35) Pittsburgh (42-10), No. 3 Notre Dame (30-3), No. 1 Alabama (44-16)
Consensus All-Americans: Three (Clelin Ferrell, Mitch Hyatt, Christian Wilkins)
Clemson is the first major college football program to go 15-0 since the 1800s, and 12 of those wins came against teams that went to bowls. The Tigers' run in the postseason also was the most dominant in the history of the young College Football Playoff.

4. 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers

3. 2013 Florida State Seminoles
Record: 14-0 
Finished: Beat No. 2 Auburn 34-31 in BCS National Championship Game 
Final Ranking: No. 1 
Notable Wins: No. 25 Maryland (63-0), No. 3 Clemson (51-14), No. 7 Miami (41-14), No. 20 Duke (45-7), and No. 2 Auburn (34-31) 
Consensus All-Americans: Three (Lamarcus Joyner, Byron Stork, Jameis Winston) 
Quarterback Jameis Winston became the second freshman to win the Heisman Trophy as he led an offense that outscored its opponents 723-170 to become the highest-scoring team in college football history. The Seminoles beat all but two of its opponents by 27 points or more. Those two exceptions were a 48-34 win over Boston College in Chestnut Hill and the 34-31 win over Auburn in the title game, which ended a run of seven straight national championships for the SEC.

2. 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers

1. 2001 Miami Hurricanes
Record: 12-0
Finished: Beat No. 4 Nebraska 37-14 in Rose Bowl
Final Ranking: No. 1
Notable Wins: No. 13 Florida State (49-27), No. 15 Syracuse (59-0), No. 11 Washington (65-7), No. 14 Virginia Tech (26-24), and No. 4 Nebraska (37-14)
Consensus All-Americans: Two (Bryant McKinnie, Ed Reed)
The Hurricanes garnered the No. 1 ranking after the first game and went on to beat all of their opponents by an average of 32.9 points. They also had the third-best offense and top-ranked defense that season. With 38 NFL draft picks (17 in the first round), the 2001 Miami squad is widely regarded by college football fans and writers as the greatest of all time.

NOTE: ACC teams produced 3 of the top 5 strongest national champs of the last half century!

SUMMARY, ACC-Related Champions:
#InstitutionYear(s)
1Georgia Tech1990
1Pittsburgh1976
3Notre Dame1977, 1973, 1988
3Clemson1981, 2016, 2018
3Florida State1993, 1999, 2013
5Miami1989, 1983, 1991, 1987, 2001

No comments:

Post a Comment