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Uncover the Untold Powerhouses: Ranking the Most Dominant College Football Playoff Teams You Never Saw Coming
College football playoffs: finally here after decades of tooth-gnashing and wild debates. But who’s really the G.O.A.T. since the playoff era kicked off in 2014? Well, nobody’s just gonna hand you the answer. Instead, I’m letting data do the talking through the TRACR model — a rating system that cuts through the hype by normalizing performance across seasons. Think about it: a playoff format that started with four teams has blown up to twelve, with whispers of expanding to 24 or even 28 teams. While some squads have cruised through undefeated, can we really disregard the one-loss warriors? It’s a feast of stats, grit, and undeniable dominance. So, where does your team stack up in this unforgiving, ever-evolving landscape? Dive in and see if your pride matches the numbers. LEARN MORE.
We’re going to let the data help end the college football debate. Our historical TRACR model ranks the best teams since the playoff era began in 2014. Where does your team rank?
It’s been more than a decade now since college football fans finally got what they had been waiting several decades for.
A playoff system.
In the first 10 years of the new era that began in 2014, four teams were selected to the playoff field, with two semifinal games and a national championship game. But that proved to be just a taste of what was to come.
Of course, everyone always wants more. More teams involved. More thrilling games with plenty at stake. And more money.
In 2024, college football expanded to a 12-team format, with the five highest-ranked conference champions earning automatic bids and the top four seeds receiving first-round byes.
Will that be the end? Doubtful. According to reports, the Big Ten is already pushing the idea of a 24- or 28-team CFP, with the plan currently described as “in the early stages.”
The expanded playoff system means that it has been easier for truly elite teams to make the field. They can, in theory, slip up and lose two or three games, yet still have a chance to compete for a championship when January comes around.
But five teams haven’t bothered to go that route. They’ve conquered like no other, going undefeated throughout the regular season and playoff rounds. The 2018 Clemson Tigers (15-0), 2019 LSU Tigers (15-0), 2020 Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0), 2022 Georgia Bulldogs (15-0) and 2023 Michigan Wolverines (15-0) all accomplished perfection.
So was it one of these unforgettable teams that was the greatest of the College Football Playoff era Can we really rule out one-loss teams from claiming the top spot?
We have answers with the help of our historical TRACR (Team Rating Adjusted for Competition and Roster), a model that normalizes performance from factors that can either inflate or deflate numbers in any given year. It has ranked every team across the CFP era (since 2014), making it possible to compare teams across different seasons.
It uses advanced metrics and other factors to calculate how many points per 10 drives better or worse teams are or were compared to the league-average squad during a given season, including the playoff. From that output, we’re able to create an offensive TRACR (O-TRACR), defensive TRACR (D-TRACR) and overall TRACR. (Lower is better for defensive D-TRACR.)
Best Teams of the College Football Playoff Era
1. 2020 Alabama (TRACR: 51.92)
How dominant were the Tide in 2020? A team with a TRACR of 0.0 is considered average in the FBS. So if a team with a 7.5 TRACR faced one with a minus-3.0 TRACR on a neutral site, the better team would be expected to win by about 10.5 points if both teams ran the same number of plays, according to the model.
So what does that mean for an Alabama that featured Mac Jones, Najee Harris, Brian Robinson Jr., DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Patrick Surtain II and Will Anderson Jr. and posted a 51.92 TRACR? Well, do the math.
Alabama averaged 48.5 offensively and won all 13 of its games by an average of 29.1 points, including a 52-24 win over Ohio State in the national title game.
2. 2021 Georgia (48.33)
Though they did have some offensive playmakers like Zamir White, James Cook, Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey, the Bulldogs won the first of their back-to-back championships in 2021 behind the No. 1-ranked defense of the CFP era (see below).
Quay Walker, Nolan Smith Jr., Jalen Carter and the defense held opponents to 13 points or less in 12 of their 15 games during a 14-1 season. After suffering their only loss to Alabama (41-24) in the SEC title game on Dec. 4, the Bulldogs got their revenge against the Tide (33-18) in the national championship game on Jan. 10.
3. 2018 Alabama (47.67)
OK, this is the top team on the list that didn’t win a championship, but bear with us. Alabama famously had Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Jalen Hurts on the QB depth chart. Tua was the starter at this point, throwing for 3,966 yards with 43 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
But that wasn’t the only place Alabama had insane depth. Damien Harris, Najee Harris, Josh Jacobs, Brian Robinson Jr. and Jerome Ford were the running backs. The pass catchers, you ask? Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, Irv Smith Jr. and DeVonta Smith.
These Tide rank fifth in O-TRACR among CFP-era squads. And it was a pretty good Clemson team (13th in these rankings) that beat 14-0 ’Bama in the national championship game.
4. 2019 LSU (47.30)
When you have Joe Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, your offense is going to be pretty good. And it was historically good during LSU’s 15-0 campaign in 2019.
Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy, threw for 5,671 yards with an NCAA FBS-record 60 touchdowns and six interceptions, CEH ran for 1,414 yards and 16 scores and Chase and Jefferson combined for 195 catches and 3,290 yards.
The Tigers averaged 48.4 points per game and beat Trevor Lawrence’s Clemson 42-25 in the national championship game.
5. 2019 Ohio State (44.23)
With Justin Fields rushing for 10 touchdowns and throwing for 41 more, Ohio State carried a 13-0 record into the 2019 CFP semifinals before dropping a 29-23 heartbreaker to the aforementioned Clemson Tigers.
Fields had a couple of pretty good targets with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson at wideout and J.K. Dobbins out of the backfield. The Buckeyes ranked third in the country with 46.9 points per game that season, and Chase Young led a strong defense with 16.5 sacks.
6. 2022 Georgia (42.92)
With some of the same players from the previously mentioned 2021 national champs, the Bulldogs became the first back-to-back champions since Alabama did it in 2011 and 2012.
Over three years between Nov. 21, 2020 and Nov. 25, 2023, Georgia won 45 of 46 games with its only loss coming to Alabama in the 2021 conference championship game. After pulling out a 42-41 thriller over Ohio State in the 2022 semifinals, the Bulldogs wrapped up a 15-0 season with a 65-7 drubbing of TCU in the national title game.
7. 2019 Alabama (42.67)
We’ve come to our first two-loss team in the rankings, though it’s worth considering how the defeats transpired. Alabama was still pretty loaded after its loss to Clemson in the 2018 national championship game and it ran out to an 8-0 start before coming up just short in a 46-41 loss to Joe Burrow and No. 1 LSU despite DeVonta Smith’s 213 receiving yards and two TDs.
The Tide were still in the playoff hunt until the regular-season finale. Tagovailoa had suffered a hip fracture, so Mac Jones was under center in a wild 48-45 loss to Auburn.
8. 2017 Georgia (40.02)
Three weeks after its dream of an undefeated season ended in a 40-17 loss at Auburn, Georgia cruised past the fourth-ranked Tigers 28-7 in the SEC championship game.
With a strong defense and a three-headed monster of a backfield with Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D’Andre Swift, the Bulldogs outlasted No. 2 Oklahoma 54-48 in double overtime in the semifinals but fell 26-23 in overtime to Alabama in the championship game.
9. 2019 Clemson (38.92)
Noticed a trend? Looking back, 2019 was a special season with so many great teams. In fact, five of the top 25 greatest squads during the CFP era are from that season.
Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne Jr. and Tee Higgins headlined a 2019 Tigers team that won its first 13 games by an average of 35.9 points. Clemson upended No. 2 Ohio State 29-23 in the semifinals on Lawrence’s 34-yard TD pass to Etienne with 1:49 left. The Tigers, however, came up short against Joe Burrow’s LSU Tigers 42-25 in the national championship game.
10. 2017 Ohio State (38.78)
The Buckeyes finished 12-2 and out of the playoff in 2017, but their schedule was loaded with impressive wins. They knocked off Saquon Barkley and No. 2 Penn State 39-38 behind J.T. Barrett’s 328 passing yards and four touchdowns, and trounced No. 13 Michigan State 48-3 as Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins combined for 286 rushing yards and two TDs.
Ohio State also beat No. 3 Wisconsin 27-21 in the Big Ten championship game behind Terry McLaurin’s 92 receiving yards and a score, and topped Sam Darnold’s No. 8 USC 24-7 in the Cotton Bowl.
The Rest of the Top 25 Teams Since 2014
- 11. 2024 Ohio State (38.37)
- 12. 2018 Georgia (38.16)
- 13. 2018 Clemson (37.68)
- 14. 2022 Alabama (37.48)
- 15. 2019 Georgia (36.55)
- 16. 2023 Georgia (35.99)
- 17. 2020 Georgia (35.83)
- 18. 2020 Florida (35.14)
- 19. 2016 Alabama (34.39)
- 20. 2020 Texas A&M (34.32)
- 21. 2014 Alabama (34.31)
- 22. 2017 Alabama (34.05)
- 23. 2015 Alabama (33.95)
- 24. 2023 Michigan (33.53)
- 25. 2023 Ohio State (32.92)
For more coverage, follow along on social media on Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and X.
The post From Derrick Henry’s Alabama to Jeremiah Smith’s Ohio State: Ranking the Best Teams of the College Football Playoff Era appeared first on Opta Analyst.
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