How Much Tougher is it Win the CFP National Championship?

The University of Alabama football team is in an extremely tough stretch of playing four ranked opponents on four straight Saturdays, with no bye week in the middle, with at least another two looming in November unless either LSU or Oklahoma falls apart by then which seems highly unlikely.

Consequently, the Crimson Tide is looking at a minimum of facing six ranked teams during the regular season, and a seventh if it qualifies to play in the SEC Championship Game. Factor most College Football Playoff scenarios, if Alabama is in the 12-team field this year, and in order for it to win the national title it'll have to play a minimum of 10 ranked opponents — never mind that Florida State probably should have been included in the preseason polls as well, and it assumes that South Carolina and Auburn don't move back into the AP Top 25 before facing the Tide.

If that happens, it'll be a record. The most ranked teams a national champion has ever faced is nine, done by Nick Saban and the 2015 Crimson Tide.

It goes without syaing that not all championships are created equal. With the advent of the Bowl Championship Series on top of a 12-game regular seasons and conference title games, there have progressively been more marquee matchups. The last time a consensus national champion didn’t have to face any top-five opponents was Georgia in 1980. The only time that one didn’t have to face any ranked teams at all was Oklahoma in 1956.

With the expanded playoff and the Big Ten and SEC expanding again, one would think that more national champions are facing tougher teams en route to the title, which hasn't quite happened as expected, although Ohio State did have to face seven raked teams last season compared to the four Urban Meyer's did with the Buckeyes in 2014. However, they are clearly facing more top-5 teams of late, which is a trend that should continue.

To gauge how much tougher it’s become, the following is every consensus national champion during the poll era, along with the number of ranked opponents each faced, and those ranked in the top five of the AP poll. (Note: from 1962 to 1967 the poll only ranked 10 teams.) Previous to when the Bowl
Championship Series began in 1998, the team atop the AP poll is listed, with one
exception: 1947.

SEE ALSO: Nick Saban's Most Underrated Feat: 100 Straight Wins Over Unranked Teams