There are a lot of different criteria that needs to be determined before someone can fairly choose what is the greatest team in the history of college football. Certain things constitute grounds for bumping them from consideration.

First and foremost, the team needs to have won the national championship unanimously. That eliminates the 2005 Auburn Tigers and USC Trojans. Sorry, folks, but if there is a question as to who the best team in one year is, neither of those teams are good enough to be considered the best ever.

Secondly, the team needs to have finished undefeated. There have been a lot of great teams, even dominant teams who have won national championships, but along the road lost focus and lost a game to someone they shouldn't have. You lose and you are out. There have been too many teams that finished undefeated.

Thirdly, when you get down to the undefeated national champions, you need to delve even further and look at dominance. This means yards allowed on defense, points scored on offense, and most importantly, average margin of victory. Nothing quantifies dominance like how badly you thrashed the teams you played.

Finally, if you are still struggling to pick the best, look at the talent level on the teams. How many All-Americans? How many future NFL players? How many future NFL stars?

Based on this criteria, the team you have to choose is the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. They weren't just good in every facet of the game; they were unstoppable. They crushed opponents on their way to an undefeated season and national championship.

When looking at the criteria here is how Miami stacks up.

In 2001, there was no question who was the best team in the country and national champion.

All season long people were anticipating a Nebraska and Miami showdown. Miami had switched between No. 1 and No. 2 in the polls all season, and the Cornhuskers, led by Heisman trophy winner Eric Crouch, were No. 1 for most of the second half of the season.

However, like every year with the BCS, the end of the season was marred by controversy.

The Huskers were 11-0 going into their final game of the regular season against Colorado, who was a great team but was not expected to beat the feared Huskers.

Unfortunately for the Huskers, Colorado stomped them 62-36, and set up controversy between Nebraska (11-1), Oregon (11-1), and Colorado (10-2). In the end, the Cornhuskers were able to hold the lead over Oregon by a slim margin and earn the right to play Miami.

Miami destroyed them 37-14, but it was 34-0 at the end of the first half. While some critics may say Miami didn't play the second best team that year, everyone thought Nebraska was the No. 1 team until they lost to Colorado, so it's safe to say that Oregon has no beef about who wins the national title in 2001.

In regards to being undefeated, the Hurricanes did indeed finish the season undefeated. They were only undefeated team in the country, so nobody will be able to fight that point.

The place where this Miami team stands out the most is in the last two categories. Their dominance in the 2001 season was unheard of in modern college football with the amount of talent that gets spread throughout the country.

Their offense was run professionally. A steady and balanced diet of run and pass, and why not: they had the talent to do both. Bryant McKinnie and Joaquin Gonzalez, the two All-American tackles, were road graders that led the best offensive line in the country and allowed Miami's talented backs to run free.

Their running game featured Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Jarrett Payton, Najeh Davenport, and Willis McGahee. McGahee and Payton received limited to no playing time, but Portis ran for well over 1,000 yards, and Gore averaged almost nine yards per carry (8.83).

The passing game was just as talented. Ken Dorsey was in his junior season at the University of Miami, and while he may not have had all the tools, he was without a doubt one of the best in the country, and his numbers supported it.

Dorsey finished the season completing nearly 60% of his passes for 3,029 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only 10 interceptions.

It didn't hurt that he had All-Americans to throw the football to, either. Andre Johnson was without a doubt the best wide receiver in the entire country, and with Jeremy Shockey at tight end, Dorsey had plenty of options.

The offense as a whole averaged 42.6 points per game while racking up over 5000 total yards of offense.

Their defense was fast and full of play-makers, led by consensus All-American Ed Reed. The defensive unit led allowed only 9.4 points per game, the best in the country. They also led the country in pass defense and turnover margin, thanks in part to 46 takeaways, also good for tops in the country.

The defense scored eight touchdowns by themselves, and the return game had three touchdowns for a total of 11 non-offensive touchdowns. The defense of Miami allowed 13 offensive touchdowns by the opposition all season long.

Just 13.

They played two close games. The first came in Chestnut Hill; a game everyone remembers. Ed Reed and Mike Rumph crushed the hopes of BC fans everywhere when Rumph stuffed a screen pass off his knee, and Reed ripped the ball from Matt Walters' hands and took it all the way to the end zone for a 18-7 victory.

The second close call was against Virginia Tech. The 'Canes led 20-3 at the half, and dominated the game all the way through, accumulating 160 more yards, 12 more first downs, and 10 more minutes of time of possession. Two late scores by the Hokies brought them close, but a failed two-point conversion to tie the game was the last chance Tech got, and the game ended 26-24.

The rest of the season Miami just breezed through.

They crushed their bitter rivals Florida State, with the final score standing at 49-27. The feared Seminole pass rush hadn't even put pressure on Ken Dorsey the entire game, allowing him to obliterate the man-to-man coverage the Seminoles were counting on.

The 'Canes started the season in Beaver Stadium against the Nittany Lions in what was supposed to be a good game. Well, ABC televised it, and the Hurricanes went into the half leading 30-0. After halftime, coach Larry Coker pulled his starters and the game ended 33-7, which was the worst loss ever suffered by Joe Paterno at home.

The real statement came when Miami played No. 14 Syracuse and No. 12 Washington in back to back weeks. A portion of the schedule pundits deemed as the true litmus test of their team.

Miami passed the test by beating Syracuse 59-0 and following that win up with another win, this time over Washington 65-7. The blowouts set the NCAA record for margin of victory over consecutive ranked teams (124-7), and cemented Miami as the No. 1 team in the country.

As for future NFL talent and the All-Americans, the 2001 Hurricanes are unrivaled. Phillip Buchanon, Bryant McKinnie, Joaquin Gonzalez, Ed Reed, Jeremy Shockey, and kicker Todd Sievers were all First Team All-Americans.

The NFL talent can only be described by doing a depth chart, so bear with me.

Offense

QB - Ken Dorsey (drafted in the 7th round, non-impact in NFL)

RB - Clinton Portis (2nd round draft pick, 1 Pro Bowl appearance)

        Najeh Davenport (4th round draft pick, good player but no Pro Bowls)

       Frank Gore (3rd round pick, 1 Pro Bowl appearance, 1 All-Pro selection)

       Willis McGahee (1st round pick, 1 Pro Bowl appearance)

WR - Andre Johnson (1st round pick, 2 Pro Bowl appearances, 1 All-Pro selection)

        Roscoe Parrish (2nd round pick, no Pro Bowls but 2 returns for TDs)

TE - Jeremy Shockey (1st round pick, 4 Pro Bowl appearances, 1 All-Pro selection)

       Kellen Winslow Jr. (1st round pick, 1 Pro Bowl appearance)

OL - Bryant McKinnie (1st round pick, no Pro Bowls, has started since selection)

      Joaquin Gonzalez (7th round pick, non-impact player)

      Martin Bibla (4th round pick, non-impact player)

      Vernon Carey (1st round pick, starter at tackle)

Defense

DL - Jerome McDougle (1st round pick, has been injured off and on, no impact)

      William Joseph (1st round pick, starter but not much impact)

       Vince Wilfork (1st round pick, 1 Pro Bowl appearance, 1 All-Pro selection)

LB - John Vilma (1st round pick, 1 Pro Bowl appearance)

      D.J. Williams (1st round pick, no Pro Bowls, second in NFL in tackles in 2007)

DB - Ed Reed (1st round pick, 4 Pro Bowls, 4 All-Pros, former Def. Player of the Year)

       Mike Rumph (1st round pick, non-impact)

       Phillip Buchanon (1st round pick, starter in '07)

       Sean Taylor (1st round pick, 2 Pro Bowls, 1 All-Pro)

       Antrelle Rolle (1st round pick, occasional starter/nickelback)

 

I will do the math for you.

23 total players drafted

16 first round draft picks

18 combined Pro Bowls

9 combined All-Pros

With these criteria, it is fairly simple to show that Miami in 2001 was far and away the best team to ever grace the football field. In fact, I almost believe they could have beaten the worst NFL team.