National sportswriters rank the 18 national champs since the start of BCS Era
Who are the best of the best?
That’s a question CBS Sports’ Jon Solomon attempted to answer with the help of several other sports writers from all over the United States to rank the best national champions in college football since the beginning of the now-defunct BCS in 1998.
Here are the ones that participated in these rankings: Solomon himself, Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports, Ralph Russo of the Associated Press, Tony Barnhart of the SEC Network and GridironNow, Paul Myerberg of USA Today and Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.
Here’s a description of their points-based system:
“A first-place vote was worth 18 points, a second-place vote was worth 17 points, and so on.”
Here’s a look at how they ranked the 18 titleholders over that span, including each team’s record and voting points:
RANK, TEAM | RECORD | VOTING POINTS |
---|---|---|
1. 2001 Miami | 12-0 | 141 |
2. 2004 USC | 13-0 | 137 |
3. 2005 Texas | 13-0 | 126 |
T4. 2009 Alabama | 14-0 | 103 |
T4. 1999 Florida State | 12-0 | 103 |
6. 2013 Florida State | 14-0 | 97 |
7. 2008 Florida | 13-1 | 92 |
8. 2011 Alabama | 12-1 | 87 |
T9. 2014 Ohio State | 14-1 | 62 |
T9. 2012 Alabama | 13-1 | 62 |
11. 2015 Alabama | 14-1 | 55 |
12. 2002 Ohio State | 14-0 | 53 |
13. 2010 Auburn | 14-0 | 52 |
14. 2003 LSU | 13-1 | 51 |
15. 1998 Tennessee | 13-0 | 44 |
16. 2000 Oklahoma | 13-0 | 41 |
17. 2006 Florida | 13-1 | 38 |
18. 2007 LSU | 12-2 | 23 |
You can check out the story in its entirety with detailed descriptions and explanations for the rankings here.