Apr 5

Apr 5 The 5 Greatest NCAA Football Teams

Erich Heinlein

Opinion

The Best NCAA Football Teams of All-Time

In college football, each season a new ‘great team’ is crowned, and the hyperbole grows bigger every year.

Every so often though, some extra special teams come out and dominate against the college football season.

But who are the greatest NCAA football teams in history?

Ed Reed, star player for the Miami Hurricanes

In this article, read about 5 teams that are considered the greatest in NCAA history.

1. 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Team highlight stats

Ranked as the number one team
Won against Oklahoma State and Kansas State
Defensive lineman Larry Jacobsen won the 1971 Outland Trophy

This version of Nebraska’s football team had a chilling defence, giving up less than seven points a game in 10 of its 13 games for the season.

When the Cornhuskers had more than 10 points in a game, it was called a game of the century.

This team beat Oklahoma 35-31 and they were ranked number one in the country at the time.

In addition to beating the number two team in the country, they also knocked off numbers three and four in Alabama (38-6) and Colorado (31-7).

The other two games where Nebraska gave up more than seven points were blowouts, when they thrashed Oklahoma State 41-13 and Kansas State 44-17.

During the season, the Cornhuskers outscored their opponents 507-118.

As you can imagine with that type of domination, the Cornhuskers won many awards at the conclusion of the season.

This included defensive lineman Larry Jacobsen winning the Outland Trophy.

Defensive linemen Willie Harper, along with receiver running back and punt return specialist Johnny Rodgers, made the 1971 Consensus All-America team.

Rodgers’ claim to fame came when he returned a punt for 71 yards in the game against Oklahoma.

He won the Heisman Trophy the following year.

2. 2004 USC Trojans

Team highlight stats

Won all of their games by a combined score of 496-169
Reggie Bush ran 908 yards against 143 attempts
Matt Lienhart completed 269 of 412 passes for 3,322 and 33 touchdowns

Although USC had its share of problems in the future due to legal issues with the NCAA, you can’t deny their dominance during the 2004 season.

And yes, this was the team with Reggie Bush and Matt Lienart!

For this particular season, the team’s motto was to leave no doubt. What would the doubt be and what did they have to prove, you may wonder?

The Trojans were one year removed with a split national championship with the LSU Tigers, and they were ready to prove that they truly were the best college football team in the land.

With the Bush-Lienart combination, they did just that, destroying their opponents almost as much as the 1971 Cornhuskers.

They won all of their games by a combined score of 496-169, which averaged out to a winning score of 38-13 during the 2004 season, concluding in a 55-19 spanking of Oklahoma.

Leave no doubt that this time they would be the national champion!

Lienhart won the Heisman Trophy that year, torching opponents through the air and completing 269 of 412 passes for 3,322 and 33 touchdowns.

Reggie Bush ran 908 yards against 143 attempts.

3. 2001 Miami Hurricanes

Team highlight stats

Won against Pitt, Florida State and Virginia Tech
Produced 37 future NFL players
Star players included Ed Reed, Joaquin Gonzalez and Philip Buchanan

With a brand new coach in Larry Coker, who was promoted from within, the sky was the limit for this team.

The coach from the year before, Butch Davis, was promoted to the Cleveland Browns during this season.

This version of the Hurricanes produced 37 future NFL players, 17 of whom were in the first round.

Some players you may recognise include Ed Reed, Jeremy Shockey, Joaquin Gonzalez and Philip Buchanan.

Miami allowed their opposition to get into double digits only four times, including the national championship game.

The first was Pitt, who they beat 43-21, Florida State 49-27, ranked number 14 at the time, and Virginia Tech, also ranked number 14.

Virginia Tech was the only team to keep Miami within 10 points for the entire season.

They also beat Nebraska 37-14 in the national championship.

Their dominance rivalled the 1971 Cornhuskers team as they outscored their opponents for the season, 512-117.

They were third in the country in points, averaging 43.2 points per game.

They only finished behind the Florida Gators, who finished the season at 43.8 points per game, and Brigham Young, who recorded 46.8 points per game.

Defensively, the Hurricanes gave up the fewest points in the country in 2001.

4. 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide

Team highlight stats

This was coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s last national championship
Gave up less than 10 points to their first 10 opponents
Steadman Shealy had 791 rushing yards

As dominant as Alabama has been over the history of college football, it is almost impossible not to include at least one of their teams on the list.

This specific team was Paul “Bear” Bryant’s last national championship. The Crimson Tide was nine years into having developed the Wishbone offence.

Amazingly, nobody figured out a way to stop it- and the first part of the season didn’t show a sign of that changing anytime soon.

Their defence was equally as stout, only giving up less than 10 points to the first 10 opponents and five of those games were shutouts.

The teams who experienced them were Baylor, Wichita State, Florida, LSU and Miami.

Just like the other teams in this article, the Tide were dominant, with only two teams winning by one score, one of which was a 3-0 victory against LSU.

They narrowly beat rival Auburn Tigers 25-18 and won their first five games by a score of 219-9.

In the wishbone offence, Alabama flexed their muscles in the ground game with an average of 344 yards of offence.

The leading rusher was quarterback Steadman Shealy, who had 791 rushing yards. They also had five other running backs who gained at least 230 yards for the season.

5. 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes

Team highlight stats

Won by an average score of 32-15
Won 50-14 against rival Michigan
Played against famous USC running back OJ Simpson

In a sense, this version of the Ohio State Buckeyes was equivalent to Michigan’s basketball version of the fab five during the 1990s.

For those not familiar, during the 1991-1992 season, the University of Michigan basketball team started five freshmen and made the national championship, but they eventually got blown out by Duke 71-51.

The reason you could make this comparison is that the Buckeyes were riddled with sophomores (freshmen weren’t allowed to play at the time) and they were dubbed the “super sophomores.”

However, despite their youth, they still found ways to dominate the season.

They won by an average score of 32-15 in Woody Hayes’ first year as coach, including a 50-14 drubbing of rival Michigan.

The Buckeyes dominated both on the ground and through the air, as running back Jim Otis had 985 yards with 17 touchdowns, and quarterback Rex Kearn threw for 972 yards and seven touchdowns.

Ohio State University fell behind 10-0 in the championship game and then came back to win 27-16.

They even kept USC running back OJ Simpson at bay with 27 carries on 91 yards.