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Ranking the best champions of the College Football Playoff era, starting with Alabama, LSU
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- Ranking the best champions of the College Football Playoff era, starting with Alabama, LSU
Ohio State's 34-23 win against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game will earn the Buckeyes a spot in history as the first champion in the 12-team playoff format. Ohio State was also the first winner of the four-team playoff tournament, so this is becoming a bit of a trend.
But where do the Buckeyes rank among the national champions of the playoff era?
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Regular-season losses to Oregon and rival Michigan dent theirds case for coming in atop the list of 11 teams, though the Buckeyes did achieve something no one in Bowl Subdivision history had never done: win four postseason games. That gives them a unique argument for being compared to the best of the best since the playoff debuted in 2014.
The résumé still doesn't stack up with teams such as 2020 Alabama and 2019 LSU, which lead the way in our rankings of playoff champs:
1. 2020 Alabama (13-0)
Led by an unstoppable offense starring Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith , the 2020 Crimson Tide have an argument for being counted among the top teams in modern FBS history. Against the backdrop of the COVID pandemic, Alabama went unbeaten in games against 11 SEC teams, Notre Dame and Ohio State, scoring at least 31 points in every game, at least 41 points in every game but two and winning every game by at least 15 points. This was a dominant group and the most impressive team of the Nick Saban era.
Alabama coach Nick Saban and offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood (70) celebrates with the College Football Playoff championship trophy after beating Ohio State to win the 2020 national title.
2. 2019 LSU (15-0)
This offense will live in FBS history. Joe Burrow , Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and others formed one of the most intimidating and explosive groups to ever grace the Power Four. Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns and won the Heisman. LSU beat seven ranked teams, including Alabama and Georgia, but the Tigers didn't really take off until getting past Auburn on Oct. 26. From there, though, this team was an all-timer.
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3. 2022 Georgia (15-0)
Very close behind this top two are the 2022 Bulldogs, the second of back-to-back championships and the program's first team since 1980 to run the table. Another dominant defense was joined by an improved offense that ranked fourth nationally in yards per play. Georgia beat five teams ranked in the top 15 and put a ribbon an unforgettable year with a 58-point destruction of TCU to become the first repeat champs of the playoff era.
4. 2018 Clemson (15-0)
Until LSU matched or even exceeded the feat a year later, the 2018 Tigers put together the most dominant two-game run of the four-team playoff era, beating Notre Dame 30-3 and Alabama 44-16. Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence put himself on the map with an epic game against the Crimson Tide, throwing for 347 yards and three touchdowns. The Christian Wilkins-led defensive line is one of the most memorable in history. Overall, Clemson beat 12 bowl teams but didn't have to deal with the same strength of schedule as the other undefeated teams on this list.
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5. 2024 Ohio State (14-2)
Beating Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame should be recognized as the ultimate postseason achievement. Before this season, teams had to win two games for the national title; Ohio State won two, and then two more. When on their game, the Buckeyes were the best team in the Bowl Subdivision and an unstoppable offensive force. But the loss to Michigan is a big part of OSU's story and impossible to ignore. To be the first playoff champ with more than one loss is also something to keep in mind. But the overall road through the playoff puts OSU in elite company.
6. 2021 Georgia (14-1)
The Bulldogs did have the one blemish against Alabama in the SEC championship game but avenged that loss by topping the Tide 33-18 in the playoff title game. More so than the 2022 squad, which had a bit more balance, the Bulldogs were defined by a suffocating defense. Georgia allowed 10.2 points per game to lead the FBS and gave up just 16 touchdowns all season. The offense, however, didn't have the explosiveness it did with former quarterback Stetson Bennett 's improvement the following season.
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7. 2023 Michigan (15-0)
A relatively weak regular-season schedule that featured just two legitimate contenders (Penn State and Ohio State) and many of the worst offenses in college football docks Michigan a bit, though there's no doubt the Wolverines were a deserving national champion and one of the best teams in program's proud history. The offense never received much credit but married physicality with extremely strong play from quarterback J.J. McCarthy . Defensively, Michigan took care of business in Big Ten play and proved itself by rallying past Alabama and shutting down Washington in the title game.
8. 2016 Clemson (14-1)
Clemson faced a run of solid-to-very-good teams, with 13 of 15 opponents advancing to the postseason. The Tigers played single-possession games against Auburn, Troy, Louisville, North Carolina State, Florida State and Virginia Tech while losing to Pittsburgh, so it wasn't always pretty. But the Tigers are boosted by winning a classic championship game against Alabama with a memorable last-second touchdown.
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9. 2015 Alabama (14-1)
The 2015 Tide finished by beating teams then-ranked No. 1 (Clemson), No. 2 (LSU) and No. 3 (Michigan State), and there's something to be said for that. But Alabama also lost to Mississippi in September and weren't always consistent on offense, ending the year 49th nationally in yards per play and 46th in yards per carry. But this group stepped up when it mattered to beat Clemson 45-40 in the title game.
10. 2014 Ohio State (14-1)
The Buckeyes rocketed into the top four of the final playoff rankings by demolishing Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship and then beat Alabama and Oregon. Ohio State gets credit for winning it all despite losing two starting quarterbacks ( Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett ) and prevailing in the final three games behind third-stringer Cardale Jones . But the Buckeyes lost to Virginia Tech in non-conference play, needed double overtime to top Penn State and weren't always reliable on defense.
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11. 2017 Alabama (13-1)
The 2017 team comes in last as the only champion of the four-team playoff era to not even win its own division. Despite dropping the Iron Bowl and the SEC West to rival Auburn, the Tide reached the playoff as the No. 4 seed, beat Clemson in the semifinals and then topped Georgia 26-23 in overtime after making a halftime quarterback change from Jalen Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa that ended with a walk-off touchdown pass in overtime.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College Football Playoff national champions rankings
