Which one-loss NON-national champion college football team was the best team ever?

[saturdaysarebetter]

Which one-loss NON-national champion college football team was the best ever?
'71 Oklahoma?
'69 Ohio State?
'02 Miami?
'86 Miami?
'87 Oklahoma?
'93 Notre Dame?
'83 Nebraska?
'23 Georgia?
'11 LSU?
'16 Alabama?
'Others?

 

[Boglodyte]

23 Georgia

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

23 Georgia

They were robbed in the SECCG.

 

[Xeliou66]

16 Bama was a great team, they were better than the Clemson team that beat them, Clemson just made a wild comeback in the second half of the title game. 23 Georgia was awesome as well, I think they would’ve had a good shot at beating Michigan in the playoff.

 

[foster4prez]

'00 Virginia Tech wins the title easy if there is a playoff.

Only lost to Miami in a game without Vick and our #1 WR.

 

[HuskerOC]

While I so badly want to go with my 1983 Huskers.....

Gotta go with the '02 Canes. Both lost in similar games in which they got stymied into playing to the other team's strengths.

And I had this on my wall as a kiddo. Probably still packed away in some box somewhere.

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

While I so badly want to go with my 1983 Huskers.....

Gotta go with the '02 Canes. Both lost in similar games in which they got stymied into playing to the other team's strengths.

And I had this on my wall as a kiddo. Probably still packed away in some box somewhere.

View attachment 388056

I remember an article in the USA Today that talked about Nebraska '83 being discussed s possibly the greatest team ever as they destroyed teams during the regular season.

 

[HuskerOC]

I remember an article in the USA Today that talked about Nebraska '83 being discussed s possibly the greatest team ever as they destroyed teams during the regular season.

It was crazy hype. And they lived up to it almost every weekend.

17 point favorites in that Orange Bowl against Miami. We win that game, the whole Hurricane/Florida State thing might not ever happen?

We convert that 2 point pass, and the Butterfly Effect... ha. Only took about 30 years to come to terms with that loss as a fan.

 

[TheLonestarDUCK]

'00 Virginia Tech wins the title easy if there is a playoff.

Only lost to Miami in a game without Vick and our #1 WR.

This is the correct answer

 

[HuskerOC]

This is the correct answer

How so?

They got pretty well whipped in the title game by Florida State 46-29.

Both teams were undefeated.

 

[TheLonestarDUCK]

How so?

They got pretty well whipped in the title game by Florida State 46-29.

Both teams were undefeated.

Huh? Year 2000 only loss V Tech had was against Miami w/o Vick

 

[Janus]

I'm going with 71 Oklahoma because nobody else is

 

[foster4prez]

How so?

They got pretty well whipped in the title game by Florida State 46-29.

Both teams were undefeated.

That was the '99 team.

That lead at the end of the 3rd quarter without their entire starting secondary and only lost because Peter Warrick went god mode.

In no way was that a whipping. I know because I was there.

 

[HuskerinBig10]

I'm going with 71 Oklahoma because nobody else is

This.

1971 Nebraska beat Oklahoma in the Game of the Century.

Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado finish 1, 2, 3 in the polls.

Nebraska blows out Alabama 38-6 in the Orange Bowl

Oklahoma blows out Auburn 40-22 in the Sugar Bowl It was 40-6 in the 4th quarter when Auburn scored 2 garbage TDs.

Oklahoma rushed for over 400 yards when they finally pulled the starters out. Auburn garbage TDs were against the OU third string.

The final polls have it as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alabama. Nebraska beat the 2nd ranked, the third ranked, and the fourth ranked teams.

 

[RobToxin]

It was crazy hype. And they lived up to it almost every weekend.

17 point favorites in that Orange Bowl against Miami. We win that game, the whole Hurricane/Florida State thing might not ever happen?

We convert that 2 point pass, and the Butterfly Effect... ha. Only took about 30 years to come to terms with that loss as a fan.

I was 16.

Had zero rooting interest.

But I was glued to the tv the entire time.

That was a fun football game!

 

[Janus]

This.

1971 Nebraska beat Oklahoma in the Game of the Century.

Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado finish 1, 2, 3 in the polls.

Nebraska blows out Alabama 38-6 in the Orange Bowl

Oklahoma blows out Auburn 40-22 in the Sugar Bowl It was 40-6 in the 4th quarter when Auburn scored 2 garbage TDs.

Oklahoma rushed for over 400 yards when they finally pulled the starters out. Auburn garbage TDs were against the OU third string.

The final polls have it as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alabama. Nebraska beat the 2nd ranked, the third ranked, and the fourth ranked teams.

I get that. The question was not who was the best that year or National Champion it was the best that didn't win it. All the others listed didn't win it either. I went with Oklahoma

 

[Janus]

This.

1971 Nebraska beat Oklahoma in the Game of the Century.

Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado finish 1, 2, 3 in the polls.

Nebraska blows out Alabama 38-6 in the Orange Bowl

Oklahoma blows out Auburn 40-22 in the Sugar Bowl It was 40-6 in the 4th quarter when Auburn scored 2 garbage TDs.

Oklahoma rushed for over 400 yards when they finally pulled the starters out. Auburn garbage TDs were against the OU third string.

The final polls have it as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alabama. Nebraska beat the 2nd ranked, the third ranked, and the fourth ranked teams.

I'm sorry, I took your post wrong. I wasn't thinking that was what you meant.

 

[foster4prez]

This.

1971 Nebraska beat Oklahoma in the Game of the Century.

Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado finish 1, 2, 3 in the polls.

Nebraska blows out Alabama 38-6 in the Orange Bowl

Oklahoma blows out Auburn 40-22 in the Sugar Bowl It was 40-6 in the 4th quarter when Auburn scored 2 garbage TDs.

Oklahoma rushed for over 400 yards when they finally pulled the starters out. Auburn garbage TDs were against the OU third string.

The final polls have it as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alabama. Nebraska beat the 2nd ranked, the third ranked, and the fourth ranked teams.

Counterpoint - Any team from 1971 would go 8-4 in a typical mid-major conference in 2025.