The 30 most dominant teams in college football

We all have our own opinions about the best college football teams of all time. Maybe you’re a 2001 Miami person. Maybe you like the 2005 Texas or the 1995 Nebraska, or maybe you want to go with another Nebraska vintage, the 1971 version. Maybe you, like Beano Cook, are forever spreading the gospel of 1947 Notre Dame. Maybe you were hypnotized by the coolness of Joe Burreaux and 2019 LSU. Maybe you think Nick Saban was the best of the Alabama teams — 2011? 2012? 2020? — worthy of respect. Maybe you’re like me, a 1945 Army hipster.

The greatest teams don’t always have the greatest impact on sports. Over a century, the evolution of college football has been largely and only moderately successful by teams and coaches both small and large.

This list is an attempt to celebrate the influencers — Nick Saban and Mouse Davis, both of LSU and the Gramblings. This is a list of the 30 most dominant teams in college football history. You can create this list in several ways. Maybe you encourage major innovation. Maybe your team came to define the pinnacle of a certain era. Maybe you’ve made an impact both through greatness and cultural or social impact. Maybe you were cool as hell. Regardless, here are 30 teams that have made particularly indelible marks on sports.

Jump: Top 10

head coach: Billy Suter

record: 12-0

I can’t tell you what kind of tactical brilliance Billy Suter unleashed and I can’t tell you what made captain and future College Football Hall of Famer DT Siebels so special. But I (and a million other college football fans) can tell you this: Over six days and 2,500 miles of train travel in November, Sutter’s Iron Men played Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, LSU and Ole Miss. They won five games by a combined 91–0. A few days after returning home, they crushed Cumberland 71-0.

If we’re still talking about your feat 125 years later, you’ve probably done something special.

29. 2010 TCU

head coach: Gary Patterson

record: 13-0