Ranking the 5 best individual performances of the College Football Playoff era

The 2025-26 College Football Playoff Championship Game is just a few days away. 

With that matchup on the horizon, it’s a good time to take a look back at some of the most dominant and prolific individual performances in CFP history. 

Best College Football Playoff performances ever

Here’s the top 5: 

5. TCU DL Dylan Horton | CFP semifinal vs. Michigan

Stats: 6 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 pass deflection, 1 forced fumble

Dylan Horton is the only defender to make this list, but he certainly belongs. When TCU pulled off a stunning upset of Michigan back in the 2022 semifinals, Horton was at the center of it. Despite allowing Michigan to score 45 points, Horton racked up 4 sacks, 1 pass deflection and 1 forced fumble. No player before or since has reached 4 sacks in a single CFP contest. 

4. Alabama TE OJ Howard | CFP Championship game vs. Clemson

Stats: 5 receptions, 208 yards, 2 touchdowns

OJ Howard was spectacular in the title game at the end of the 2015 season. Howard went for over 200 receiving yards — a record for a tight end — and caught a pair of crucial touchdown passes in the win over Clemson. Both touchdown passes from Jake Coker were over 50 yards. Four of his 5 receptions went for 25+ yards. Only one other player (Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith) has a CFP game with at least 4 25+ yard receptions. 

3. Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliott | CFP Championship Game vs. Oregon

Stats: 246 rushing yards, 6.8 yards per carry, 4 rushing touchdowns

In the first-ever CFP national title game, Elliott rushed for 4 touchdowns — a record that still stands to this day. His 246 rushing yards are also still an all-time record for any CFP contest. Elliott completely dominated a higher-seeded Ducks team that hadn’t lost in over 3 months. Impressively, Elliott is also No. 2 on the all-time single-game rushing yardage list for CFP games. He went for 230 rushing yards in Ohio State’s semifinal win over Alabama in 2014. 

2. LSU QB Joe Burrow | CFP semifinal vs. Oklahoma

Stats: 493 yards, 7 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 12.6 yards per attempt, 239.8 passer efficiency rating

Joe Burrow is an easy choice for No. 2 on this list. He destroyed an Oklahoma defense that was dragged to the Playoff by the likes of Jalen Hurts and CeeDee Lamb. Burrow was so good in this year’s CFP that fans and media often mention 2019 LSU as one of the best college football teams of all time. His 493 passing yards and 7 passing touchdowns are both all-time single-game CFP records to this day. 

I’ll also note here that Justin Jefferson probably deserves to be here based on the numbers, but I wanted to limit picks to 1 per team. Jefferson was responsible for a significant portion of the damage done to the Sooners on the day, as he racked up 227 yards and 4 touchdowns before all was said and done. Jefferson is the all-time record-holder for a single CFP game in both of those categories. 

1. Ohio State QB Justin Fields | CFP semifinal vs. Clemson

Stats: 385 passing yards, 6 touchdowns, 1 interception, 13.7 yards per attempt, 257.6 passer efficiency rating

This should not be a controversial No. 1 pick. While Joe Burrow put up slightly gaudier numbers against Oklahoma just one year earlier, Fields set the all-time record for passing efficiency in a single CFP game with this performance. He diced up a Clemson unit that finished eighth in defensive SP+ to the tune of almost 14 yards per attempt. His 6 touchdown passes are also the second-most all time in a CFP contest. Although Fields and the Buckeyes ultimately lost to Alabama in the title game, his performance in the semifinals was historic.

Honorable mentions: Justin Jefferson in the 2019 semifinals vs. Oklahoma; Mac Jones in the 2020 CFP Championship Game vs. Ohio State; Kyler Murray in the 2018 semifinals vs. Alabama; Sony Michel in the 2017 semifinals vs. Oklahoma; Ja’Marr Chase in the 2019 CFP Championship Game vs. Clemson; DeVonta Smith in the 2020 CFP Championship Game vs. Ohio State; Michael Penix Jr. in the 2023 CFP semifinals vs. Texas; Brandon Finnery Jr. in the 2025 CFP first-round vs. Texas Tech

Spenser Davis

Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.