Ranking All 10 National Championship Winners: Four-Team College Football Playoffs Era

Justin ranks all 10 championship winners of the college football four-team playoff era. Which champion tops the list?

The four-team playoff era of college football is over, with the 12-team playoff set to take over in 2024.

All in all, this format lasted for 10 seasons. We saw some really great football teams win titles over that span, but which is the best of the best?

Let's rank all 10 championship winners from the four-team playoff era of college football.

10. 2017 Alabama

A poorly-timed loss to Auburn kept the Crimson Tide from even making the SEC Championship Game, but the team's overall resume earned it a spot in the playoff field. After a dominant 24-6 win over Clemson, the Tide snuck by Georgia 26-23 in the final. Tua Tagovailoa came in to replace Jalen Hurts in the title game.

This team gets knocked a bit for not winning its division, but you can't ignore all the talent this team had. Damien Harris, Najee Harris, Brian Robinson Jr., and Josh Jacobs at running back. Jerry Jeudy, Calvin Ridley, and DeVonta Smith at wide receiver. This team might rank 10th, but they're capable of beating any of these other nine teams.

9. 2016 Clemson

After shutting out Ohio State 31-0 in the first round, Clemson took down Alabama 35-31 in the championship game. Deshaun Watson threw 41 touchdown passes for the Tigers, who ranked 14th in points scored per game at 39.2. Mike Williams had 1,361 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns while Wayne Gallman rushed for 1,133 yards and 17 touchdowns. On defense, Carlos Watkins had a team-high 10.5 sacks while Jadar Johnson picked off five passes.

8. 2015 Alabama

This 2015 Alabama team might have had the worst quarterback situation of any of the 10 teams to win in the four-team playoff era, as Jake Coker was a steady but not spectacular presence. That didn't matter though, because running back Derrick Henry was unstoppable, toting the rock 395 times for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns on his way to winning the Heisman.

This team shined on defense, allowing 15.1 points per game, the third-best mark in the FBS that season. Jonathan Allen had 12 sacks. Eddie Jackson had six interceptions and two pick-sixes. Minkah Fitzpatrick made life tough for every opposing pass-catcher that came into his vicinity.

7. 2014 Ohio State

The first champions of the CFP era land seventh on this list. The team took down Oregon 42-20 in the title game after beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. J.T. Barrett had a strong year at quarterback, throwing 34 touchdown passes, while Ezekiel Elliott was dominant on the ground, gaining 1,878 yards on 273 carries. There was a ton of talent on both sides of the ball for this Buckeyes team, the most recent Big Ten team to win a title until Michigan in 2023.

6. 2021 Georgia

This Georgia team might not have been as good as the one that came a year after it, but did get to do something that just doesn't happen in college football often: avenge their lone defeat. After losing 41-24 in the SEC Championship Game to Alabama, the Bulldogs got their revenge in the national title game, knocking off the Crimson Tide 33-18. Quarterback Stetson Bennett wasn't as good as he was in 2022, but he did manage to throw a career-high 29 touchdown passes for the Bulldogs.

5. 2023 Michigan

The final CFP champion, one might be inclined to rank Michigan lower than this because the Wolverines just didn't really feel like one of the best teams to win a title. That hypothetical person would be wrong. Michigan led the FBS in opponent points per game, allowing just 10.4 per contest, and the team beat Washington convincingly to win the title. Running back Blake Corum had a historic season, rushing for 27 touchdowns.

4. 2019 LSU

We've now reached the part of this list where we're just splitting hairs. These next four teams were all elite champions and you could conceivably put them in any order. LSU starts us off at fourth, with the one negative being a defense that ranked 32nd in opponent points per game.

But offensively, this team was a powerhouse, scoring an FBS-best 48.4 points per game. Joe Burrow threw 60 touchdown passes and was tossing the ball to Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, who combined to catch 38 touchdowns. On the ground, Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 1,415 yards and 16 touchdowns.

3. 2018 Clemson

This 15-0 Clemson team just absolutely decimated its playoff opponents. In the first round, the Tigers took down Notre Dame 30-3, then followed that in the College Football Playoff National Championship with a 44-16 win over Alabama.

Clemson was fourth in points per game behind the strong play of quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a host of offensive weapons like wide receivers Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, and Hunter Renfrow as well as running back Travis Etienne. Defensively, three players had double-digit sacks, led by Clelin Ferrell's 20.

2. 2022 Georgia

Georgia deserves a top-two spot for its domination of TCU in the title game alone. The Horned Frogs were universally viewed as an easy matchup for Georgia, but did anyone expect a 65-7 thrashing? This Georgia team ranked in the top five in both points for and against per game, and the defense was just a who's who of the top players in college football, with names like Jalen Carter and Kelee Ringo dominating on that side of the ball. The Bulldogs were unstoppable all season.

1. 2020 Alabama

The 13-0 Crimson Tide were just absolutely stacked on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Alabama was second in points per game at 48.5. Mac Jones threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns to a star-studded receiver room that featured DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle as well as John Metchie. Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. took the pressure off in the run game.

Defensively, it was the same story. Will Anderson Jr. and Christian Harris were sack machines and the secondary featured elite players like Brian Branch and Patrick Surtain II. This was a strong team from top to bottom, which is why it ranks as the top champion of the four-team playoff era.

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