Is this year the best CFP foursome ever? Close, but one particular final four was better
NEW ORLEANS — After a decade of close calls, cakewalks and plenty of controversy, the NCAA will end its experiment with a four-team College Football Playoff this season and expand to 12 teams for the 2024 campaign. Before it does, let’s see how the 2023 field of Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama stacks up with the other nine seasons, based on the quality of the teams that reached the CFP.
No. 10: Bama wins in college's pandemic season (2020)
The COVID-19 pandemic treated college football like the rest of the world, disrupting any sense of normalcy and blurring historical perspective. Ohio State (No. 3 seed, 7-1 record) only played six games in the regular season, Notre Dame (No. 4, 10-2) was exposed in a 34-10 loss to Clemson (No. 3, 10-2) in the ACC title game, and only eventual champion Alabama (No. 1, 13-0) looked like its old self, especially while dispatching Ohio State in the title game.
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No. 9: Tide topple No. 1 Clemson (2015)
A dominant defense from Alabama (No. 2, 14-1) inexplicably gave up 42 points to Ole Miss in a home loss, but the Tide recovered enough to beat No. 1 Clemson (No. 1, 14-1) in the title game in the first of three meetings between the schools over a span of four seasons. Michigan State (No. 3, 12-2) and Oklahoma (No. 4, 11-2) almost felt like sparring partners in the semifinals for the true heavyweights, a pattern that would emerge over the next few seasons.
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No. 8: Sweet revenge for Clemson (2016)
Dark days for the Pac-12 meant its conference champion in Washington (No. 4, 12-2) looked outmatched against Alabama (No. 1, 14-1) in the semis, and Ohio State (No. 3, 11-2) didn’t even win its own division in the Big Ten. But star-studded Clemson (No. 2, 14-1) and QB Deshaun Watson edged out Alabama in the title game despite some glaring defensive issues.
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No. 7: A dominant showing by Clemson (2018)
Yet another Irish pretender showed up for Notre Dame (No. 3, 12-1), which went unbeaten in the regular season but fell to Clemson (No. 2, 15-0) 30-3 in the semifinals. Clemson won it all by outscoring Notre Dame and powerful Alabama (No. 1, 14-1) by a cumulative 74-19. Oh, and Oklahoma (No. 4, 12-2) lost its fourth and final semifinal game in as many appearances in the four-team playoff.
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No. 6: No conference title, but a national title (2021)
Cincinnati (No. 4, 13-1), the only FBS team to go undefeated and the only Group of Five team to ever make the CFP, navigated a soft schedule before landing with a thud against Alabama (No. 1, 13-2) in the semifinals. Sure, Georgia (No. 3, 14-1) won the national title. But losing a conference championship game — like Georgia did to Alabama — knocks that Bulldog team down a notch even if it did garner revenge in the national championship game. Michigan (No. 2, 12-2) went from unranked in the preseason to the No. 2 seed, but the fairy tale ran out against Georgia.
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No. 5: The Bulldogs and Frogs (2022)
TCU (No. 3, 13-2), the dark-horse private school from the Big 12, added some spice to the mix by handing Michigan (No. 2, 13-1) its only loss of the season, but defending champion Georgia (No. 1, 15-0) made sure the championship game had no such drama. In the semifinals, the SEC boss edged potent Ohio State (No. 3, 11-2), an offensive powerhouse in its own right.
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No. 4: A title run for the Buckeyes (2014)
Alabama (No. 1, 12-2) entered as the top seed, but this wasn’t a memorable Tide team by that program’s lofty standards. Oregon (No. 2, 13-2), with star QB Marcus Mariota, was perhaps the best Pac-12 team to reach the CFP before Washington this season, and the Ducks snapped a 29-game win streak by defending national champion Florida State (No. 3, 13-1) in the semifinals. That opened the door for Ohio State (No. 4, 14-1) to make a surprising run to the national championship behind backup QB Cardale Jones.
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No. 3: An all-SEC matchup for the title game (2017)
Baker Mayfield made Oklahoma (No. 2, 12-2) must-see TV during his run to the Heisman Trophy while Georgia (No. 3, 13-2) was just re-emerging as a national power. That season also brought another matchup between Clemson (No. 1, 12-2) and Alabama (No. 4, 13-1), which may not have won its own division in the SEC but beat Georgia for the national title.
No. 2: So good, not even a 13-0 team cracks the field (2023)
The strength of the field can be measured just as much by who didn’t make the CFP as who did travel to New Orleans and Pasadena. Florida State became the first unbeaten Power Five conference champion to miss the CFP while Michigan (No. 1, 13-0), Washington (No. 2, 13-0), Texas (No. 3, 12-1) and Alabama (No. 4, 12-1) make up just the fourth field of Power Five champs. Oh, and two-time defending champion Georgia stumbled to No. 6 in the CFP ranking after suffering its first loss of the season in the SEC title game to Alabama.
No. 1: High-flying LSU reigns supreme behind Burrow (2019)
A record-setting offense from LSU (No. 1, 15-0) quarterbacked by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow led the nation in total offense, Ohio State (No. 2, 13-1) led the country in scoring offense, and a dynastic squad from Clemson (No. 3, 14-1) was making its fifth straight appearance in the CFP. Not even ho-hum Oklahoma (No. 4, 12-2) could diminish the star power from this season.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Is this the best CFP foursome ever in college football? It's close.
