Over the last month, I’ve been looking back at all the great things the College Football Playoff era has done for college football. From the best individual seasons to the best games to the best snubs, the sport has never been more exciting. More teams having access to a national championship has done exactly what it promised to: Captivate us.
Nevertheless, a handful of programs have defined the era. They have dominated the sport at a time when more Playoff access was supposed to mean more parity. Instead, we saw several legendary coaches turn their programs into perennial powerhouses.
So, which programs have been the best in the era of the CFP?
You’ll find my ranking below. And if you missed any of the previous “Ranking the CFP era” entries, I’ve linked them for you to enjoy. Or hate. Go wild.
- A 16-team College Football Playoff field of the best teams in the CFP era
- Ranking the 12 best teams that missed out on the College Football Playoff
- Ranking the 12 best individual seasons of the College Football Playoff era
- Ranking the 12 greatest games of the College Football Playoff era
First team cut: Texas
The Longhorns have 4 losing seasons in the CFP era. They have the lowest average SP+ rating, the fewest conference championships, the worst overall winning percentage, the second-fewest AP Top 25 finishes, and the third-worst winning percentage against AP-ranked opponents of any of the 13 teams you will find in this piece. In a head-to-head with the next team on my list, Texas has a worse overall record, a losing record against ranked opponents compared to a winning record for Washington, the same number of Playoff appearances, the same number of AP Top 10 finishes, and 2 fewer conference titles. The Longhorns have turned it around in recent years under Steve Sarkisian, but they were the clear choice to be the first team cut.
No. 12: Washington
Washington has made the Playoff twice under 2 different coaches since its inception. The Huskies were under the stewardship of a legendary coach on the West Coast, then floundered in the rain a bit after that coach’s retirement, and then stabilized with a home run hire. The Huskies have claimed 3 Pac-12 championships since the inception of the CFP and have a winning record against ranked opponents. The 2016 season, according to SP+, has been the best year any Washington team has had since 2014. And, according to SP+, Kalen DeBoer had a better team in Year 1 than he did in Year 2.
No. 11: Boise State
The Broncos have just 8 ranked wins since the start of the 2014 season and they have only 1 AP Top 10 finish. Outside of that, they’ve been the model of success. The Broncos’ 0.747 winning percentage since 2014 is the seventh-best in the FBS. Consider that the CFP era cuts off the best years of Boise State’s 21st century — the Chris Petersen years. And yet the Broncos still have 7 seasons with at least 10 wins. Last year’s campaign, which ended with a CFP appearance and a No. 8 ranking in the final AP Poll, gave Boise its first ranked finish since 2019.
No. 10: Penn State
Penn State has just 1 conference championship in the CFP era, but it has 5 AP Top-10 finishes. But Penn State is also 16-28 against ranked opponents, the only team on this list that is sub-.400 in games against ranked competition. That sort of sums up the James Franklin era perfectly. Penn State has 101 wins in the CFP era but only 16 of them have come against ranked teams. Only Boise State has fewer. And it took an expansion for Franklin’s group to break into the CFP.
No. 9: Oregon
Oregon was the first difficult placement on this list. The Ducks have more conference titles (4) than 7 other teams listed here. They also have a winning record against ranked opponents, 4 AP Top 10 finishes, and 2 Playoff appearances. But the Ducks don’t have a national championship, and that’s something the team directly ahead of them can boast. Oregon fell apart in the final season of the Mark Helfrich era, bottoming out at 4-8. They botched the replacement, hiring Willie Taggart, who bolted after a year, and then made do with Mario Cristobal for 4 years before he left for Miami. Dan Lanning has produced back-to-back seasons that SP+ would judge to be elite. And the Ducks obviously played for a title in 2014. The trajectory is pointed squarely upward, and unlike Washington, Oregon was able to keep its breakthrough hire head coach in town on a long-term deal.
No. 8: LSU
LSU, like Oregon, was challenging to place. The Tigers have one of the best single seasons (2019) of any team in this list, but they also only have 2 AP Top 10 finishes and 1 conference title in the CFP era. LSU has gone big and it has gone home. Since 2014, the Tigers have had 4 seasons with at least 10 wins and 3 seasons with at least 5 losses. They have a national title, so they can’t fall any lower, but they also don’t have the résumé to hold up against the programs above them.
No. 7: Notre Dame
Only Ohio State, Clemson, and Alabama have more AP Top 25 finishes than Notre Dame. The Irish have 4 top-10 finishes, 3 Playoff appearances, and 30 wins against ranked opponents during the CFP era. The 0.757 winning percentage is the fifth-best in the FBS since 2014, and the 0.546 winning percentage against ranked teams is the sixth-best. Notre Dame has won at least 10 games in 8 of the last 10 seasons, it just hasn’t been able to take that next step into the elite tier of teams.
No. 6: Michigan
Michigan has 3 Playoff appearances, 1 national championship, 3 conference championships, 4 AP Top 10 finishes, and a 0.734 winning percentage since 2014. Jim Harbaugh, for all his faults, restored Michigan to its place among college football’s elites. Now, the Wolverines have a losing record against ranked opponents in the CFP era, and they have a massive black stain covering the recent run of success, but there is no denying that Michigan has been one of the most consistently strong teams of the CFP era. Since Harbaugh took over in 2015, U-M has 6 seasons with at least 10 wins and 10 seasons with at least 8 wins.
No. 5: Oklahoma
Even considering a pair of 6-7 seasons in the last 3 years, Oklahoma is among the winningest teams in the Playoff era. From 2015-21, the Sooners won at least 11 games 6 times in 7 years, claimed 6 Big 12 championships, and made 4 appearances in the Playoff. Because of the one-sided nature of the Sooners’ teams under Lincoln Riley, OU has never looked like a legitimate contender for a national championship, but the Sooners have been in a class all by themselves just outside that championship tier for the better part of the last decade.
No. 4: Georgia
Georgia has some of the best individual teams, but Georgia doesn’t have the résumé to stack up against any of the 3 teams ahead of it in this ranking. The Bulldogs’ winning percentage is fourth, behind Clemson, Alabama, and Ohio State. Their winning percentage against ranked teams is fourth, behind the same group. That same group has more Playoff appearances, more conference titles, more AP Top 25 finishes, and they all have multiple national championships just like Georgia. Could you make the argument Georgia has a brighter long-term outlook than Clemson or Alabama at this exact point in time? Sure. But that’s not the exercise. Since 2014, the Dawgs have been excellent, but they’re a clear No. 4.
No. 3: Clemson
Recently, Clemson has been lagging behind its peers. After 6 consecutive seasons (2015-20) finishing with an SP+ rating of 24.0 or better, Clemson has had a sub-20.0 SP+ rating in 4 straight years. The worst Tiger team of the last decade came in 2023, and Clemson rebounded adequately in 2024 to reclaim the ACC title and get back into the Playoff. Clemson is poised for a big season in 2025 as well. But that 6-year run in the heart of the 4-team Playoff… Wow. The Tigers also have 8 conference championships since 2014 and an appearance in each final AP poll. Dabo Swinney may have lost it for a spell, but when he had it, Nick Saban was really the only coach who could tango.
No. 2: Ohio State
Since 2014, Ohio State has an average SP+ rating of 28.1. That’s the second-best of any program listed here. The Buckeyes have 11 AP Top 10 finishes in 11 years. They’ve won one of the toughest conferences in football 5 times, lifted 2 national championships, and absolutely dominated everyone. Ohio State’s 0.884 winning percentage since 2014 is the best in the FBS. Ohio State has also won 90% of its games when favored since 2014 — the best mark in the country. Now, if Ryan Day could just beat that team up north and save his job.
No. 1: Alabama
There’s no debate to be had here. The best program of the Playoff era is the program that has won the most national championships and made the most Playoff appearances. That’s the Alabama Crimson Tide. Since 2014, Alabama has 7 SEC championships and 10 AP Top 10 finishes. Alabama has a ridiculous 0.803 winning percentage against ranked opponents. Alabama has averaged 12.4 wins per season over the last 11. Nick Saban is the GOAT for a reason. Though I’m not sure which is more impressive: 16 straight seasons with at least 10 wins or 6 CFP National Championship Game appearances in 7 years.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
