College Football 2012: The 19 Best Teams That Never Won a Title

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Not all the best teams in college football were able to hoist the crystal football.

Sometimes, a great team lost their concentration in single game. Other times, great teams had the bad luck of playing at the same time as some of the elite teams in college football history.

And others simply got snubbed by the powers that be, which in today's world means the BCS.

So, who are the best teams who never won it all? Read on.

1939 Tulane Green Wave

Long before Tulane found itself in the sorry shape it is today, it was a proud member of the SEC and a national championship contender.

The Green Wave shutout teams like Alabama and Columbia. But a tie against North Carolina gave Texas A&M the national championship, and the Aggies would reaffirm their superiority in the Sugar Bowl by the tight score of 14-13.

Amazing to think what might have been had Tulane been able to stay in the SEC...

1943 Navy Midshipmen

Army and Navy never had better years than during World War II. In '43, Navy got the upper hand over Army 13-0. 

Too bad Notre Dame also had one of their best years in their storied history at the same time. The Midshipmen lost to the Fighting Irish by the score of 33-6.

This team had three players elected to the College Football Hall of Fame: G Don Whitmire, E Roe Johnston and C Jack Martin.

1940 Michigan Wolverines

In 1940, a single point was the difference between at least a share of the national championship to no share at all. 

That was the margin that the Wolverines lost by at then-No. 2 Minnesota, as the Golden Gophers won that game 7-6.

Which is a pity. The rest of the season, Michigan blasted their opponents by a combined score of 190-27.

1959 LSU Tigers

As it turns out, 2011 isn't the first time that LSU fell in a rematch game in a major bowl game. LSU had beaten Ole Miss 7-3 during the regular season. The Rebels got their sweet revenge, much like Alabama did this season, by winning 21-0.

Of course, this was in the days that national championships were awarded before bowl season. 

All that separated the Tigers from their second straight national championship was a single foot. LSU decided to go for two against Tennessee while down 14-13, but they came a foot short of the end zone.

Oh, and don't forget Heisman Winner Billy Cannon...

1961 LSU Tigers

College football has always been a game where a single loss early on can doom a team's national championship hopes.

Such is the case for the 1961 LSU squad.

An early loss against Rice by the score of 16-3 knocked the Tigers out of national championship contention in September. Despite that, LSU outscored its opponents by a combined score of 259-57. Oh, and they handled No. 7 Colorado easily by the score of 25-7 in the Orange Bowl that year.

1962 Alabama Crimson Tide

Joe Namath chose a bad time to have one of the worst games of his career. The Crimson Tide were on a 19-game winning streak before traveling to Georgia Tech. Namath threw four picks and failed on a critical two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to give the Yellow Jackets the win 7-6.

Otherwise, Alabama won all the rest of their games by an average score of 28-3. No team was able to score more than a single touchdown all season on the Crimson Tide defense. This team shut out four teams, including the highly-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.

Just goes to show what one bad day can do to a team.

1971 Alabama Crimson Tide

The Crimson Tide dominated everyone they played during the 1971 regular season. They won every game by an average score of 33-8. 

And 1971 was a historic year for Alabama. It was the first year that an African-American would play for the Crimson Tide, and John Mitchell was a natural at defensive tackle. 

Too bad they played the same year as the 1971 Nebraska. The Cornhuskers beat Alabama by the score of 38-6 in the Orange Bowl with the national championship on the line.

1972 Oklahoma Sooners

These Sooners were able to rise to No. 2 after their first four wins as they blasted Utah State, Oregon, Clemson and Texas by a combined score of 196-6.

But their 20-14 loss against Colorado would prove fatal to their national championship hopes, and this despite winning the rest of their games by a combined score of 189-48. This included an impressive 14-0 win over Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.

1973 Oklahoma Sooners

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Barry Switzer couldn't win a major national championship because the Sooners where on NCAA probation. Besides a 7-7 tie against USC, Oklahoma beat their opponents by a combined 393-126, and that included the likes of Miami, Texas, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, all of whom where ranked in the Top 25 at the time they played.

It was certainly a sign of the wins, and championships, to come.

1975 Alabama Crimson Tide

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For one reason or another, Alabama wasn't ready for their first game of the 1975 season. They lost 20-7 to Missouri at Legion Field.

I'm sure Paul "Bear" Bryant used that defeat to spur his Crimson Tide on to much better things. Alabama outscored their opponents 367-52, including a 13-6 win over Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.

Too bad that Alabama didn't get a crack at redemption against Oklahoma or Ohio State in the postseason.

1986 Miami Hurricanes

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The Hurricanes were unstoppable through the regular season. They beat Oklahoma in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup during the regular season by the score of 28-16. Miami scored 284 points more than their opponents through the course of the regular season.

But Miami tripped over the finish line. The Hurricanes threw five interceptions, and Penn State won 14-10.

2000 Miami Hurricanes

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Miami was one of the first teams the BCS left out unjustly. Despite beating in-state rival Florida State 27-24, the Hurricanes got snubbed in favor of the Seminoles. 

Which is a pity. Miami beat teams by an average of 42-16. 

Still, Miami didn't do themselves any favors by losing to a very good Washington squad 34-29. It would have been interesting to see how the Hurricanes would have matched up against the Sooners.

2002 Miami Hurricanes

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Here's the 2002 Miami Squad celebrating what they thought would be their second national championship in a row as Ohio State QB Craig Krenzel's pass fell incomplete on 4th-and-3 in overtime.

But a controversial late flag for pass interference sent the Hurricanes back to the sideline, and they would go home losers as the Buckeyes won in double overtime 31-24.

Before this loss, Miami hadn't lost a game since September 9th, 2000 at Washington.

2004 Auburn Tigers

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It seems almost impossible now, but there was a time that winning the SEC wasn't an automatic ticket to play for the national championship. 

And that was despite the fact that the Tigers beat four teams ranked in the final AP Top 25, including two that finished in the Top 10. Oh, and there's the fact that Auburn didn't lose a single game in 2004.

This Auburn squad never even got a shot to prove that they were the nation's top team.

2005 USC Trojans

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This is the squad that ESPN commentators Kirk Herbstreit and Mark May called the second-best college football team in the last 50 years before the 2006 Rose Bowl against Texas.

And for good reason. These Trojans were the defending national champions, had two* Heisman Trophy winners and were on an amazing 34-game winning streak.

All that came crashing down as Vince Young led the Longhorns to victory in one of the best national title games ever, winning 41-38.

It's just as well. Thanks to the NCAA violations of former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, this title would have been tainted had the Trojans won...

2006 Michigan Wolverines

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The last No. 1 vs. No. 2 game during the regular season we were treated to before Alabama vs. LSU this season was Ohio State vs. Michigan. The Wolverines lost in a thriller 42-39. Many thought that perhaps the BCS National Championship Game should be a rematch.

It's probably for the best that the rematch didn't happen. Both Ohio State and Michigan lost in their BCS Bowls.

Still, this is the best Michigan squad in the last 10 years and one of the better overall Michigan squads.

2008 Utah Utes

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Many people thought that with Urban Meyer gone to Florida, Utah wouldn't be able to produce another undefeated season.

If anything, the 2008 Utes were better than the squad that Meyer coached to a perfect season in 2004.

Utah was able to make it to the Sugar Bowl, but no one thought that they had a shot against the Crimson Tide. But Utah won in a stunning victory, 31-17. 

This season is a large reason why Utah is in the Pac-12 today.

2010 TCU Horned Frogs

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This TCU squad didn't just run the table.

They hardly broke a sweat doing it.

The Horned Frogs beat their opponents by an average score of 43-6. They were able to rise to No. 2 after beating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

But the glass ceiling holding teams from non-AQ conferences held firm as they were not invited to the BCS National Championship Game. 

2011 LSU Tigers

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LSU seemed unstoppable this last season. The Tigers went undefeated against a tough schedule and won by an average score of 42-11. 

LSU beat three teams that went to and won BCS Bowls: Oregon, West Virginia and Alabama.

It was a quite a shock to see them perform so poorly against the Crimson Tide in the national championship game. Despite having the best defense around, the offense just wasn't up for the challenge.