Top 20 College Football Teams of This Decade

Who are the 20 best college football teams of this decade? Fans no doubt have strong opinions of which team was the very best. The 2004 Trojans? 2001 Hurricanes? What about the 2005 Longhorns? All very good picks.

But what's sport debate without getting into the minutiae? Here's a compare and contrast of the also-rans in addition to the national title juggernauts.

First a bit about my methodology. To rank the top college football teams of this decade, I decided to devise a scientific formula. I wanted to weigh in win-loss records, strength of schedule and domination of opponents. Using the final AP poll of each of the years, I made only the top 5 poll finishers from each year eligible. I then assigned points based on the quality of each opponent combined with the margin of victory. I totaled the points and then divided them by the number of games played for each team.

I tried to make my scientific formula as fair and unbiased as possible. However, full disclosure, I'm neither a scientist nor a chemical engineer. Bare that in mind.

Now on to the top 20 college football teams of this decade. (So far.)

#20. 2006 LSU TIGERS (11-2)

The 2006 LSU Tigers had some quality wins over Arkansas and Tennessee last year. They were hobbled by early-season losses at Auburn and Florida, putting in some dismal offensive performances. But they got better as the season went on, ending 2006 with an impressive domination of Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, pounding the Irish for 577 total yards and 41 points.

#19. 2006 BOISE STATE BRONCOS (13-0)

Never would I have imagined just a year ago that I'd include Boise State in a Top 20 list of any decade but, thanks to their undefeated run in 2006 capped by their stunner in Tempe, the Broncos sneak into the rankings at #19.

Sure they had the creampuffiest schedule of any of the top 20 teams, but they tore through those pastries like a 400-pound glutton. The Sooners were merely a wafer-thin mint for dessert.

#18. 2006 USC TROJANS (11-2)

The men of Troy under Pete Carroll have been a strange bunch. No matter how talented they are, they always seem to make "a game" of their Saturdays, allowing unranked teams like Washington, Washington State and Arizona State a hair's breath of victory and others (like UCLA and Oregon State) something more altogether. Yet offer up a quality opponent like Arkansas or Notre Dame or Bill Callahan's resurgent Nebraska Cornhuskers and it's woodshed time. The 2006 USC team particularly liked to live in the land of opposites as, indeed, the only times they were either threatened or defeated was when the game should've been a gimme.

So why include an underachiever like USC on this list? 36 points over Arkansas, 18 points over Nebraska, 25 points over Oregon, 14 points over California, 20 points over Notre Dame and 14 points over Michigan.

If SC had played the whole season like they did against those schools, they would have walked away with the National Title.

#17. 2006 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (12-1)

The Buckeyes really did look like the best team in the land last year until they met up with the Florida Gators. Troy Smith's Heisman romp was a fun thing to watch. But when the post-season dust settled, maybe the Buckeyes' shellacking at the hands of Florida wasn't such a surprise.

Ohio State's two quality wins over Texas and Michigan didn't shine so brightly after multiple regular-season losses by Texas and a tolchock of the Wolverines by USC in the Rose Bowl. All of Ohio State's other opponents ended the season unranked.

So a deceptively soft schedule and a Fiesta Bowl drubbing leave last year's runner-up at the kids' table of the decade's best.

#16. 2004 UTAH UTES (12-0)

In 2004 Urban Meyer did something he can't yet claim as head of the mighty University of Florida. He coached an undefeated team. The only problem was, except for Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl, the Utes didn't play a single team that finished ranked in the polls. But it wasn't for a lack of trying by the scheduling gods who lined up such poll luminaries as Texas A&M, Arizona and BYU for the offing. Unfortunately those three teams combined for just 15 wins and 19 losses that year.

But given what Utah got by way of competition in 2004, they pounded their opponents into pancakes winning all of their games by no less than 14 points and winning most by four or five touchdowns. The Utes were never challenged in 2004. Not even in the Fiesta Bowl. Not to knock Pitt too much, but it would've been nice to see the Utes against USC, Auburn or Oklahoma that year. We'd then know what kind mettle Meyer's team was made of.

#15. 2002 USC TROJANS (11-2)

The 2002 Trojans, led by future Heisman winner Carson Palmer, was a harbinger of USC's domination of mid-decade. With just two respectable losses to Top 10 teams, Kansas State and Washington State, the '02 Trojans pounded their way through a tough schedule, ending the season with a 44-13 drubbing of Notre Dame and a 38-17 runaway over #3 Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

#14. 2002 MIAMI HURRICANES (12-1)

The 2002 Hurricanes looked like a continuation of their juggernaut selves of the previous year. They put up a lot of points during their undefeated run through the regular season, but traditional powers Florida, Florida State and Tennessee all had down years that season, mitigating otherwise impressive victories.

Ohio State would prove in the Fiesta Bowl that the 2002 Canes were only a shadow of their previous selves. Still, the Canes were dominant enough to earn a place among the best of the decade.

#13. 2003 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (12-2)

It might have been after the 65-13 demolition of the Longhorns or the 77-0 annihilation of Texas A&M but, at some point during the 2003 college football season, I turned to one of my buddies and said, "This may be the best college football team ever." Then came the Big 12 championship game. It wasn't the first time a Big 12 also-ran overturned a conference opponent's national title run. But Kansas State's 35-7 domination of the Sooners was nothing short of a shocker. Oklahoma would still end up in the title match against LSU, but it was clear that the F-5 tornado that ravished the plains during the regular season was nowhere to be seen in New Orleans.

With regular season stampedes of Alabama, Fresno State, UCLA, Colorado and Texas Tech, in addition to the Longhorns and Aggies, if it weren't for the north division Wildcats, the 2003 Sooners would have likely been a Top 5 team of the decade, win or lose against LSU.

#12. 2006 FLORIDA GATORS (13-1)

For much of the season, 2006 looked to belong to the Big 10, but the post-season took the veil off what was perhaps the most parity-laden season of the decade. Thanks to their domination of Ohio State, the Florida Gators showed they were slightly better than everybody else last year. While they saved the best for their last two games, Florida often struggled during the season, most notably when they went to Auburn. A mildly tough schedule and a lack of regular season dominance keeps last year's national champion from cracking the Top 10.

#11. 2002 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (14-0)

What was I saying about dominance?

2002's national champs put together a solid run, with victories over four ranked opponents including in what was arguably the most spectacular national championship game ever played, defeating defending champs Miami 31-24 in overtime.

But you'd be hard pressed to call the 2002 Buckeyes dominant. Or, at least, not on par with some of the juggernauts of the Top 10. With the exception of Washington State, their victories over ranked opponents were narrow wins. A blown opportunity here and there could have spelled a different track for each team involved. Additionally, the Buckeyes squeaked by several unranked opponents including, Cincinnati, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Purdue and Illinois, beating those five teams by an average of only 6 points.

Buckeye fans may argue that a win is a win and Ohio State had a rarely precedented 14 of them in 2002 and that the gaudy scores put up by other powerhouses are nothing more than "running up the score" and that Ohio State is too classy and respectful to do that.

That might be. But I don't believe for a second Ohio State wouldn't love to hang 50 points on Michigan. The issue is can they? Great teams win all their games, true. But juggernauts don't blast formidable opponents with 40, 50, 60 points just to show off. They do it because they can't help themselves.

#10. 2003 USC TROJANS (12-1)

When it came to blasting opponents for 40 or 50 points, it seemed like the 2003 co-champion Trojans couldn't help themselves. Led by Heisman winner, Carson Palmer, USC scored 40 points or more eight times including lop-sided victories over Notre Dame, Washington State and UCLA. USC dominated every team it played in 2003 except for a 34-31 loss to Cal.

Aside from that one loss, the 2003 Trojans were darn near perfect.

#9. 2003 LSU TIGERS (13-1)

2003 was a tumultuous and confusing year in college football. Who were the most deserving one-loss teams to play for the national title? USC, Oklahoma or LSU? The polls would never fully decide, splitting the title between the Tigers and Trojans.

A hypothetical match-up between that year's co-champs would've been an exciting game and a tough one to call. I give a slight edge to LSU. Both teams dominated their schedules, but LSU's was tougher, facing 5 foes ranked in the final poll, including 4 in the top 10. LSU lost to Top 10 finisher, Florida, while USC's loss came at the hands of unranked Cal.

#8. 2004 AUBURN TIGERS (13-0)

This team got no respect in 2004. Even after scorching Tennessee - twice! With four teams undefeated in 2004, Utah and Auburn found themselves on the outside looking in for the national title. USC and Oklahoma hogged the spotlight. And then, eventually, just USC. Fans cried foul of the BCS after the Trojans flogged the Sooners and left a total of three teams unblemished when all was said and done.

Would the Auburn Tigers have been a better opponent for USC than the Sooners? I think probably, although I just don't see a victory in the cards against Leinart and Bush. Still, 2004 Auburn was an impressive team, beating five ranked opponents and dominating nearly every team they played.

#7. 2005 USC TROJANS (12-1)

Matt Leinart made the astonishing announcement shortly after USC's pounding of Oklahoma to end 2004. He would forgo the NFL draft and stay his senior season to lead his team to a third straight national title. And into the history books.

It looked like his plan would work, too. If Vince Young hadn't been born. Before the 38-41 loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl, USC laid waste to defenses up and down the West Coast. The high-octane offense never scored fewer than 34 points and, in fact, scored 50 or more in an astounding 7 of their 12 regular season games.

But the chink in USC's armor was their own defense. Arizona State, Notre Dame and Fresno State showed that it was possible to put some points on the Trojan D. Something Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns would do with remarkable ease.

Leinart complained after the loss that the best team had not won that night. With scores like 70-17 over Arkansas and 66-19 over UCLA, I can see why he might think that. 2005 USC was one of the ten best teams of the decade. But they were only the second best of 2005.

#6. 2000 MIAMI HURRICANES (11-1)

If it weren't for those awful scoundrels in Tallahassee stealing their rightful place in the 2001 Orange Bowl, the Miami Hurricanes would've been the 2000 National Champions. Or so it goes among Miami fans. Is that just a bunch of tropical bluster or is there something to back that sentiment?

Miami blasted through a schedule that included three teams that would finish the season among the top 6 teams in the nation: #3 Washington, #5 Florida State and #6 Virginia Tech. Along with #10 Florida in the Sugar Bowl, Miami faced a tough schedule indeed.

If it were not for a narrow loss to Washington (the only team the Hurricanes did not dominate), Miami would have found itself in the title game against the Sooners. A match that would mark the resurgence of two 80s powerhouses.

#5. 2000 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (13-0)

The only problem with Cane backers' indignation over the post 2000 bowl match-ups and claims to having been robbed by the bowl schedulers of a National Title is that their would-be opponent, the Oklahoma Sooners, were every bit as good as they were.

The Sooners clobbered four ranked opponents on their way to nearly blanking Florida State in the Orange Bowl, including an impressive 31-14 win over then top-ranked Nebraska. Oklahoma scored gaudy points over the likes of Texas and Kansas State, beating the Big 12 north champs twice with a combined total of nine touchdowns.

Who was better that year? Miami or Oklahoma? We'll never know. But they were both two of the best teams of the decade.

#4. 2005 TEXAS LONGHORNS (13-0)

Some say the 2005 Longhorns were all Vince Young. I say one man alone, no matter how gifted, could put up the kind of points this team did, outscoring their opponents 652 to 203 in 13 games. In that onslaught were four ranked teams, including top 5 finishers Ohio State and USC. Indeed, none of the Longhorn's Big 12 rivals proved worthy including Oklahoma which lost 45-12 and the north division champion Colorado which had 16 touchdowns scored upon them in two games. Texas scored 40 points or more in all but one game (a win against Ohio State) and scored 60 or more points five times.

Even though it was a close game, 2005 Texas' most remarkable achievement was handing defending National Champion USC (the seventh best team of the decade) its only loss of the season. Few teams this decade could have handled the two Heisman-winner offensive titan of USC. But this one could. And did.

#3. 2001 FLORIDA GATORS (10-2)

Who? A two-loss Gator team was better than Vince Young's 2005 Longhorns?

Well, if college football has such a thing as an idiot savant, it's gotta be the 2001 Florida Gators. "Savants" because this squad managed to not just beat five Top 25 finishers, they destroyed them. Among their victims, #7 LSU (44-15), #22 Georgia (24-10), #13 South Carolina (54-17), #15 Florida State (37-13) and #11 Maryland (56-23). And "idiots" because these knuckleheads also managed to lose two games. One to unranked Auburn and the other to #4 Tennessee. Both losses were squeakers that the Gators could have just as easily won. With the 2001 Hurricanes an undeniable juggernaut, had Florida gone the regular season undefeated, it might have set up a Rose Bowl to rival the 1971 Nebraska-Oklahoma game in which an immovable object met an irresistible force.

Now back to that question. Was this two-loss Gator team really better than the 2005 Longhorns? Not necessarily. When I crunched the numbers, 2001 Florida beat 2005 Texas by 3/10 of a point. Which means any number of variables could have made the two teams swap places. If Texas had beaten USC by a touchdown instead of a field goal, for example, that would have been enough to tip the scale.

#2. 2004 USC TROJANS (13-0)

The 2000s clearly belong to the USC Trojans. But you probably already knew that. Five USC teams make my Top 20, three of those residing in the Top 10. And the 2004 team would've mopped the floor with any of those other Trojan squads.

The list of victims on USC's 2004 schedule include such worthy opponents as Virginia Tech, Cal, Arizona State and Notre Dame. But the 2004 Trojans would take on legendary status by manhandling second-ranked Oklahoma 55-19 in the Orange Bowl, blasting its way to a 38-10 halftime lead.

Along with Oklahoma, USC beat three top 10 teams in all. Like other USC teams, the 2004 team often let less worthy opponents hang on, only to demolish them in the second half. But even in these games, the threats rarely looked serious. It was as if the Trojans were merely toying with their opponents.

And they probably were.

#1. 2001 MIAMI HURRICANES (12-0)

Are the 2001 Hurricanes the best college football team in the history of the Universe? I'm not going to argue one way or another (even though I know the answer), but there's no denying that they are the best of the current decade. I'm sure SC fans who were captivated by Leinhart and Bush will object, but the stats speak for themselves.

Miami played six teams that finished ranked in the Top 25 of 2001. #8 Nebraska, #18 Virginia Tech, #19 Washington, #14 Syracuse, #21 Boston College and #15 Florida State. Tough schedule? Well for just about any other team, it would be, but Miami bulldozed those teams by a combined score of 254 to 79. Or a 42-13 average. Miami made some of these top tier opponents look no better than the Rutgers and Troy States of their schedule, slamming Syracuse and Washington for a combined 17 touchdowns while allowing them only one.

The culmination of the 2001 season came on January 3rd, 2002 in Pasadena when Miami shot to a 34-0 half-time lead over then #4 Nebraska. The 2001 Huskers were themselves no creampuffs, having lead the nation in rushing offense steered by the explosive Heisman winner, Eric Crouch. But Miami dominated their opponent from the opening series on. A tough fight from Nebraska in the second half kept the game from being a total debacle, but the final outcome was never in doubt.

A direct comparison of the decade's top two teams shows why 2001 Miami beats 2004 USC. Both teams demolished their schedules up and down except for two games a piece. Miami nudged past Virginia Tech 26-24 and beat Boston College handily but not spectacularly 18-7. But both VT and BC were ranked opponents and were reasonably tight games. USC, on the other hand, had close calls against two unranked opponents. Stanford 31-28 and UCLA 29-24. Edge Miami. Both teams demolished formidable bowl opponents. But USC's opponent was tougher and they won by a wider margin than the Canes. Edge USC. USC played four teams ranked in the final poll. They beat two soundly and demolished two. Miami played six teams ranked in the final poll. Edged one. Beat another soundly. They destroyed the other four and had no close calls against unranked opponents (unlike USC). Big edge to Miami.

While some may argue that the domination level of USC and Miami are too close to call, I just don't see it. To sum. An undefeated season, a loaded schedule (matched only by the 2001 Florida schedule) and an unequivocal domination of opponents makes the 2001 Miami Hurricanes the best college football team of this decade.

So far.