LSU Football: National publication ranks top 10 champions of BCS/Playoff era
By Zach Ragan
LSU football‘s national championship season in 2019 is undoubtedly one of the greatest in the history of the sport.
The Tigers went 15-0 in 2019, cruising to a national championship win while blowing out most of their opponents.
LSU averaged 48.4 points per game in 2019. They scored at least 50 points in seven of their wins (including a 63-28 win against Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football playoff).
The Tigers won most of their games by double-digits. In fact, only three of LSU’s wins came by less than 10 points.
- LSU 45 Texas 38
- LSU 23 Auburn 20
- LSU 46 Alabama 41
The further removed we are from the 2019 season, the more impressive it looks from a historical perspective.
So where does the Tigers’ national championship in 2019 rank in the BCS/Playoff era?
LSU football’s 2019 national championship win ranks high in 247Sports’ ranking
247Sports recently ranked the top 10 BCS/College Football Playoff era champions (every champion since 1998 was eligible).
When I first started reading the list, I assumed LSU would be ranked No. 2. I thought they might give Miami the top spot, mainly to avoid recency bias.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Tigers in the top spot in 247Sports’ rankings.
Here’s how their rankings broke down.
10. Alabama Crimson Tide — 2009
9. Florida Gators — 2008
8. Ohio State Buckeyes — 2014
7. USC Trojans — 2004
6. Clemson Tigers — 2018
5. Florida State Seminoles — 2013
4. Alabama Crimson Tide — 2020
3. Texas Longhorns — 2005
2. Miami Hurricanes — 2001
1. LSU Tigers — 2019
Here’s what 247Sports’ Brad Crawford had to say about LSU’s 2019 championship run:
"The No. 1 spot is debatable, like all rankings, but this LSU team was special. Fueled by perhaps the most notable quarterback performance this century, LSU’s magical unbeaten run to a national title during the 2019 season featured an unprecedented seven wins over top-10 teams."
LSU ended up having 14 players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, which shows just how much talent this team possessed.
Perhaps the craziest thing about the Tigers’ 2019 season is that their defense was average by SEC standards.
LSU’s defense was solid, but it wasn’t dominant. The Tigers gave up 21.9 points per game, which ranked No. 32 in the nation.
Imagine if the Tigers would’ve had a top 10 defense?
Next. Was there an ego problem between LSU coaches in 2020?. dark
LSU’s offense in 2019 was already not fair. Adding a dominant defense would’ve been downright mean to opponents.