The 25 best college football teams from the 2010s

Let's forget for a moment that the Sooners defense was far from national championship caliber (33.3 points allowed per contest). However, the team did feature Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray at quarterback, who led an offense that averaged 48.4 points. It was good enough to get Oklahoma (12-2) into the College Football Playoff, where it fell behind, 28-0, to Alabama before making things somewhat interesting late in a 45-34 semifinal loss.

Regardless of how the Irish fared in the national semifinals, they deserved to be there as one of the three undefeated teams that made the College Football Playoff last season. Notre Dame (12-1) was solid on both sides of the ball (33.8 points per game, 17.3 allowed ppg during the regular season) and was 4-0 against Top 25 teams before losing, 30-3, to eventual national champion Clemson. 

The Seminoles' bid for a second straight unbeaten campaign and national championship ended with a major thud in their 59-20 CFP semifinal loss to Oregon. Even with Jameis Winston back at the helm and taking a 13-0 mark into the championship game, Florida State wasn't the same dominant club it was one year earlier. The Seminoles struggled with Georgia Tech in the ACC title game and had six other games decided by less than 10 points.

Back in the Bowl Championship Series era, before the four-team CFP was introduced, TCU was on the outside looking in at an official national championship. Then a member of the Mountain West, the Horned Frogs averaged 41.6 points with Andy Dalton at quarterback and allowed an average of 12.0 points. They capped a 13-0 season with a 21-19 victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, but playing outside a Power Five conference kept them from recognized national glory.

The Marcus Mariota-led Ducks overcame an in-season loss to Arizona and then pounded the Wildcats to win the Pac-12 title. In addition to Mariota (4,454 passing yards, 42 touchdown passes, four interceptions, 15 rushing TDs), Oregon had a 1,300-yard rusher in Royce Freeman and a 1,000-yard receiver in Byron Marshall. Its high-potent offense ended reigning national champ Florida State's 29-game winning streak in the semifinal but was on the wrong end of a 42-20 rout by Ohio State in the first CFP title game.

Baker Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy, but he could not win the Sooners a national championship. However, he did get them into the College Football Playoff, where they lost a highly entertaining 54-48 double-overtime contest to Georgia. Kyler Murray was Mayfield's backup while Marquise Brown, Mark Andrews and CeeDee Lamb were integral parts of a team that finished 12-2. 

Amari Cooper (124 receptions, 1,727 receiving yards, 16 touchdowns) starred for the Tide's offense, and Landon Collins (103 tackles) anchored the defense. Alabama successfully moved on from an early road loss to a good Ole Miss team but ran into the buzz saw that was Ohio State in the CFP semifinals, losing 42-35 to finish 12-2.

With versatile quarterback Everett Golson and tight end Tyler Eifert leading the offense and Manti Te'o (103 tackles) on defense, Notre Dame (12-1) allowed more than 17 points once during the regular season while going 12-0. The Irish got their shot at the program's first national title since 1988 but were blown out, 42-14, by Alabama in the BCS championship game.

There are those who will make the case that Ohio State's 2012 team was better than the Buckeyes' squad that actually won a national title this decade. A postseason ban  prevented Urban Meyer's first Ohio State team from being more than a college football footnote while going 12-0. Quarterback Braxton Miller threw for more than 2,000 yards and ran for 1,200-plus to pace this talented group.

Arguably the best team Oregon has ever produced came at the beginning of the decade. With LaMichael James (1,731 rushing yards yards, 21 touchdowns) and the underrated Darron Thomas (2,881 passing yards) leading the offense, the Ducks were a force. However, they were finally grounded by Cam Newton and Auburn on a walk-off field goal for a 22-19 loss in the national championship game that ended their season at 12-1.

Alabama was in control all season, 14-0 and averaging 47.7 points heading into the national championship game against Clemson. However, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (3,966 passing yards, 43 touchdown passes) was not 100 percent, and the Tide's defense looked like it was wearing down late in the season. That all caught up with them, as the Tigers scored 30 unanswered points en route to a 44-16 title game rout.

There's no doubt the highlight of Auburn's 2013 season was Chris Davis' "Kick Six" return to beat Alabama in the Iron Bowl. That paved the way for a rout of Missouri in the SEC title game. The Tigers (12-2) didn't have many household names on their roster, but running back Tre Mason (1,816 rushing yards, 23 TDs) and Co. led Florida State 21-3 in the first half of the national title game before allowing the Seminoles to post 21 fourth quarter points and score the winning touchdown with 13 seconds left.

The groundwork for Clemson's national dominance in recent years might have been laid in 2015. Led by Deshaun Watson (4,109 passing yards, 35 touchdown passes, 1,105 rushing yards, 12 TDs) and Wayne Gallman (1,527 rushing yards, 13 TDs), the Tigers found ways to keep winning, all the way to the national title game where they fell short against Alabama to finish 14-1.

After avenging their only regular-season defeat by beating Auburn for the SEC title and outlasting Oklahoma in two overtimes in the CFP semifinals, it appeared the Bulldogs were sitting pretty in the national championship game. Georgia led Alabama, 20-7, in the third quarter and by 10 heading into the fourth. However, the Tide rallied to force overtime and stunned the Bulldogs, thanks to the arm of Tua Tagovailo that delivered a devastating 26-23 loss. 

All signs pointed toward another national championship repeat for Alabama. Only two teams during the regular season scored more than 16 points against this group, while a defense led by Reuben Foster (115 tackles) and Minkah Fitzpatrick (six interceptions) held seven opponents to seven or fewer. Alabama entered its national championship tilt with Clemson and jumped out to a 14-0 lead. It led late before giving up the Tigers' winning TD with one second left to suffer a heartbreaking 35-31 loss.

If it wasn't for that ugly 21-0 BCS title-game loss to Alabama (92 total yards), these Tigers might have been higher on the list. They finished 13-1 and beat Alabama 9-6 at home during a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2. Aside from those two games with the Crimson Tide, the 2011 Tigers failed to score 35 or more points only one other time that season.

Perhaps the least memorable of Alabama's four national championship-winning teams during the decade, it went 14-1 — losing only to ranked Ole Miss in a wild September affair at home. With eventual Heisman winner Derrick Henry (2,219 rushing yards, 28 TDs) running wild, the Tide pretty much rolled the rest of the season. They dominated Michigan State, 38-0, in the CFP semifinals but had a tougher time putting away Clemson, 45-40, to win their third title of the decade.

In 2017, Alabama didn't win the SEC, thanks to a loss in the Iron Bowl. However, the Crimson Tide still managed to earn a spot in the CFP, where they stymied Clemson, 24-6, in the semifinals. The college football world was introduced to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He came on to rally the Tide from 20-7 down to Georgia in the national championship game with a 26-23 overtime victory capped by hitting DeVonta Smith with a title-winning 41-yard TD pass.

The Tigers were able to finish the business they started in 2015, when they allowed 24 fourth quarter points to Alabama in losing the national title game. Under the direction of Deshaun Watson (4,593 passing yards, 41 TD passes, nine rushing TDs), Clemson's 2016 team did not have an easy road to the national championship but suffered only a one-point loss to Pitt. Watson's 2-yard TD pass to Hunter Renfrow with one second left gave the Tigers a 35-31 title-game win over the Tide in one of the greatest games in college football history.

Prior to the start of the 2014 season, the Buckeyes weren't given much national championship hope after starting quarterback Braxton Miller was lost to injury. J.T. Barrett was next in line, and Ohio State lost its second game of the year to Virginia Tech. However, the Buckeyes didn't lose again, even after Barrett suffered a season-ending injury. Cardale Jones led a 59-0 blowout of Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, and Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 476 yards and six TDs in CFP wins over Alabama and Oregon to cap the 12-1 championship campaign.

The most recent team to defend its national championship, Alabama did not have the dominant defense it had in 2011 but was a  more complete team. Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon combined for 2,430 rushing yards, AJ McCarron threw 30 touchdowns and Amari Cooper caught 11 TD passes. Linebacker C.J. Mosley (107 tackles) led a unit that posted four shutouts but struggled to stop Johnny Manziel's Texas A&M squad in a 29-24 loss. In the end, the Tide capped a 13-1 season with that 28-point national title-game win over Notre Dame.

Heisman winner Cam Newton (2,854 passing yards, 30 TD passes, 1,473 rushing yards, 20 rushing TDs) led the best team in Auburn history to a 14-0 season and the program's second national championship. Current Tigers coach Gus Malzahn was the offensive coordinator of a group that averaged 41.2 points but needed to rally from 24-0 down to beat Alabama, 28-27, in the Iron Bowl. Auburn also needed Wes Byrum's 19-yard field goal as time expired to beat Oregon, 22-19, for the national title. 

The 2011 Tide were all about defense, allowing a total of 106 points on the season and more than 14 just once. Alabama, which pitched three shutouts thanks to a unit led by linebacker Dont'a Hightower and safety Mark Barro, suffered its only loss 9-6 vs. then-No. 1 LSU. However, the Crimson Tide avenged that defeat when it mattered most with a 21-0 victory over the Tigers in national title game.

Led by quarterback Jameis Winston (4,057 yards, 40 TDs), the Seminoles went 14-0 for their third undefeated season in program history and third — and most recent — national championship. Winston's go-ahead 2-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left in that captivating 34-31 victory over Auburn in the BCS title game will go down as one of the most memorable moments in college football history.

The Tigers got better as the season went on, thanks in part to the emergence of freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence (3,280 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, four interceptions) and a defense that allowed just 19 points in dominating Notre Dame and Alabama in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers' postseason performance, especially in that 44-16 title-game win over the Crimson Tide, was truly one for the ages.