Every “Best of” or “Greatest Ever” list is purely subjective. Who will ever really know if Michael Jordan was better than LeBron James? If Tom Brady was better than Joe Montana? When it comes down to it, it’s all opinionated guesswork.
So, when we’re looking to label a college football team “the best ever” we’re doing so with no real way of backing up the statement. Different evaluators use different criteria. The team with the most future NFL players? The team that beat the most Top-25 teams? The team that won the biggest game?
At the end of the day, though, all we really have to go on is accomplishments, right? With that being said, you can make a very strong case that the season that just ended – with LSU ending Clemson’s 29-game winning streak – capped what can be called the greatest season ever from the best college football team of all-time.
There have been plenty of unofficial pronouncements about which team is the greatest ever. Most lists contain the same teams.
For example, the 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers were the first team to ever go 13-0, and are the only team ever to defeat the teams that finished ranked No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 in the final polls on their way to an undefeated season and a National Championship. Part of that was because it was so rare for all those highly ranked teams to play each other back in the day. Second-ranked Oklahoma and third-ranked Colorado both played in the same Big Eight conference as the Huskers, who drubbed #4 Alabama in the Orange Bowl.
A season later, the USC Trojans rolled out an undefeated squad that trampled Ohio State in the Rose Bowl 42-17, one of six ranked teams those Trojans beat that season. No one came within 10 points of them all year. They got every first-place vote in every weekly poll all season.
Bear Bryant’s 1979 Alabama team is on the list, based on a defense that posted five shut outs and held another five to fewer than 10 points each on their way to an unbeaten season.
The 1995 Nebraska team steamrolled every opponent they faced, including second-ranked Florida 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl/national title game. They’ve been called the most dominant team ever, averaging better than 50 points per game and whipping four Top-10 teams by at least three touchdowns a piece.
The most talented team? The 2001 Miami Hurricanes were loaded with future NFL stars, including six that went on to play in the Pro Bowl. They beat five ranked teams during the season, including the last four teams on their schedule. The Canes whipped No. 2 Nebraska in the Rose Bowl 37-14.
The 2004 USC Trojans were also loaded with future NFL talent, not to mention a pair of Heisman Trophy winners. They crushed second-ranked Oklahoma 55-19 in the Orange Bowl/BCS national title game.
There are others to mention of course, but if the criteria is notches on the proverbial belt – the most wins over the best opponents being the measuring stick for all time greatness – the 2019 LSU Tigers have a strong case for being called the G.O.A.T. among college football teams.
Consider this: With their convincing win over Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship game, the Tigers capped a 15-0 season that included wins over seven ranked teams, including the teams that finished No. 2, No. 4, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 in the national poll.
That means LSU beat half of the final Top 10. That’s unprecedented.
They may have not been dominant on defense all year, but they certainly played well down the stretch on that side of the ball, which complimented one of the best offensives ever. Heisman winner Joe Burrow, a fifth-year graduate transfer from Ohio State, set several all-time records, including the record for most touchdown passes – 60 – in a single season. He will be the slam dunk No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft.
LSU is the only team in college football history to have a 5,000-yard passer (Burrow), a 1,000- yard rusher (Clyde Edwards-Helaire), and two 1,500-yard pass catchers (Ja’marr Chase and Justin Jefferson) in the same season. We don’t yet know if the Tigers alum will end up matching what Miami produced from their 2001 squad, but it’d be tough to bet against them.
Yes, the game has changed significantly since the 70’s and 80’s, and even since the early 2000’s.
Statistics – especially passing stats – are inflated now with teams throwing the ball a lot more. But every team is playing by the same rules and standards, so saying that LSU’s pass-happy offense is a product of the era means their defense must be judged that way, too. And however you choose to evaluate the numbers, beating seven ranked teams is still beating seven ranked teams.
So, if we’re judging purely by what was accomplished on the field, it’s hard to argue against the 2019 LSU Tigers being the greatest college football team of all time.
Listen to Mark Knudson on Monday’s at 12:30 with Brady Hull on AM 1310 KFKA and on Saturday mornings on “Klahr and Kompany” on AM 1600 ESPN Denver.
