The College Football Playoff has been highly acclaimed since its debut in the 2014 season. In every season starting in 2014, the nation's top four teams have advanced to play in a playoff to decide the national champion. Prior to that, national champions were made with the Bowl Championship Series, Bowl Alliance, Bowl Coalition, and many more selection processes. The College Football Playoff has been the best format in the eyes of most fans and experts.
The College Football Playoff as we know it is ending this season, though. Starting next season, 12 teams – rather than four – will enter the College Football Playoff. The extension to the tournament will add a whole new dynamic and make for even more thrilling moments. It will also prevent a similar situation to this season, where an undefeated Florida State team was left out of the postseason tournament. As the four-team version of the playoffs will end this season, we decided to look back and rank every iteration of the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014.
This ranking will take into account the quality of the teams that made the playoffs, the entertainment value and competitiveness of the games in the tournament, and the end results of how each College Football Playoff turned out. There have been plenty of iconic moments and games throughout the College Football Playoff's history, and this list will show that.
9. 2020-21 College Football Playoff
None of the games in the 2020-21 College Football Playoff were all that close. The Rose Bowl was the closest, but Alabama still beat Notre Dame in decisive fashion with a 31-14 victory. That game was uninspiring enough, but it wasn't even played in Pasadena, California, because of COVID-19.
The Sugar Bowl started out on an exciting note. The first four drives all ended in touchdowns, but Justin Fields started to take over after that. Ohio State's 49-28 victory over Clemson prevented Trevor Lawrence from reaching the National Championship for a third straight year.
The National Championship game was a blowout win for Alabama, but DeVonta Smith produced one of the most legendary games ever. Smith had 12 receptions, 215 yards, and three touchdowns. Not only were those championship game records, but he did all of that in only the first half before going down with an injury. It was arguably the best single-half performance of all time.
8. 2021-22 College Football Playoff
The 2022 National Championship game turned the tide in college football. Georgia was finally able to overcome Alabama, and the Bulldogs established themselves as the new top dogs in the sport. Georgia's defense was their strong point, as they had a number of NFL players, including Travon Walker, Jordan Davis, Quay Walker, and Devontae Wyatt, who were all first-round picks that year. Kelee Ringo even had a 79-yard pick-six in this gamer. Stetson Bennett displayed he could carry his own weight, too, as he had two touchdown passes.
The Cotton Bowl was unique in that a Group of Five team – Cincinnati – made the playoffs, but they unfortunately didn't do anything and were blown out by a score of 27-6. The Orange Bowl was also a blowout. Georgia beat Michigan 34-11.
7. 2018-19 College Football Playoff
The 2019 National Championship game put an end to the epic battles between Alabama and Clemson. Each had a championship victory over the other over the previous three seasons, and in the year prior, Alabama beat Clemson in the semifinals. A fourth straight playoff matchup between the two legendary programs meant that Alabama and Clemson had officially become hated rivals despite only playing a handful of times before the creation of the College Football Playoff. The fact that these two dominant teams were able to play each other in these winner-moves-on games is a big reason that fans fell in love with the College Football Playoff because we may have never seen these matchups without this format. Clemson evened the postseason record between the two when they won the National Championship, 44-16.
The 2019 National Championship at first appeared like we were going to get another classic. There were a bunch of massive yardage plays in the first quarter, including an A.J. Terrell pick-six to kick off the scoring. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was not close, and Clemson won by a big margin.
The Clemson and Alabama storyline was the biggest part of the College Football Playoff this year, and we got a satisfying ending to their rivalry, as Clemson officially established themselves as one of the nation's most elite schools. However, there were also some big moments in the semifinals. Clemson and Notre Dame's game was a blowout, as the Tigers won 30-3, but Alabama and Oklahoma's game featured an epic quarterback clash. Tua Tagovailoa had already established himself in College Football Playoff glory, and he was set to take on Kyler Murray, the Heisman Trophy winner.
Alabama started off hot with an early 28-0 lead. Oklahoma inched back and was on the path of a legendary comeback, though. That never came to fruition, and Alabama won 45-34. This College Football Playoff only doesn't rank higher because both they Cotton bowl and National Championship games were blowouts.
6. 2016-17 College Football Playoff
Like the 2018-19 season, the 2016-17 College Football Playoff National Championship was better than the rest of the series. Alabama scored 24 straight points on the back of an incredible defense in the Peach Bowl against Washington, and Clemson beat Ohio State 31-0 with their star quarterback Deshaun Watson leading the way.
That National Championship, on the other hand, was arguably the best ever. Alabama had beaten Clemson in the previous championship, but Clemson got their revenge this year and won their second national title after beating the Crimson Tide by a score of 35-31. Both teams traded blows in the fourth quarter, and the end of the game was a back-and-forth contest that could have gone either way. Watson threw a touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow with only one second left in the game that won it all for Clemson, and the game-winner went down as one of the most memorable plays in college football history.
5. 2015-16 College Football Playoff
Alabama and Clemson always delivered classic games in the College Football Playoff. We didn't find out that was going to be the case until their first battle in the 2016 National Championship. The game was an offensive explosion by both teams, and neither was able to pull away. Nick Saban is a coaching genius, though, and he shocked the world by calling an onside kick. The Crimson Tide executed, and they scored just two plays after recovering the onside kick. That gamble was enough to give Alabama a win, as they won 45-40 in a shootout.
The National Championship came after Alabama beat Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl. The game was a blowout, and it was boring, but the Spartans played better in the first half than the score would make you believe as neither team scored for nearly 25 minutes of action.
The Orange Bowl was a better game. The first half was very entertaining and very closely contested. Oklahoma led Clemson 17-16 at halftime. In the second half, we got to experience a masterclass, as the Tigers scored all 21 of the second-half points.
4. 2014-15 College Football Playoff
The inaugural College Football Playoff set the precedent of things to come as it was one of the best versions of the College Football Playoff ever. Oregon was at their peak in popularity at this point, and they backed it up with a game as beautiful as their jerseys in the Rose Bowl. Marcus Mariota's high-powered offense scored 59 points to Florida State's 20. However, it was the defense that sealed the deal for the Ducks. Oregon forced five turnovers in the second half.
Before the playoffs even started, there was controversy on the teams that made the postseason. Some didn't think that Ohio State belonged, and they seemed destined for a loss against Alabama. The Buckeyes were even down by 15 points early in the Sugar Bowl against the Crimson Tide. Ohio State fought back, though, and they not only won that game by a score of 42-35, but they ended up winning the National Championship game. Ohio State did this with Cardale Jones at quarterback, who was the team's third-stringer behind center. The first Cinderella run in the College Football Playoff happened in its first year. Ezekial Elliot was especially dominant in this playoff run. He had 476 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in his two playoff games this year.
3. 2022-23 College Football Playoff
Last season's College Football Playoff was also one of the best ever, and this was despite a blowout in the championship game. A dominant Georgia team beat TCU 65-7 in that game. That game went down as the biggest blowout in any bowl game ever. While the outcome was never in question, it was a sight to behold to see such an unbelievably impressive game by the Bulldogs.
Both semifinal games were thrillers and some of the best College Football Playoff games we have ever gotten, though. Both Stetson Bennett of Georgia and C.J. Stroud of Ohio State had massive games in the Peach Bowl. Bennett threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns, while Stroud had 348 yards and four touchdowns. Ohio State ended up missing a would-be game-winning field goal, and the miss allowed Georgia to advance to the next round with a 42-41 victory.
The Fiesta Bowl was equally as exciting. TCU had a miraculous and unexpected run to making the playoffs, but they had to face an undefeated juggernaut in Michigan. There were a number of big plays in this game, and TCU walked away with a 51-45 victory.
2. 2019-20 College Football Playoff
Everybody remembers LSU's iconic run during the 2019 season. Joe Burrow had one of the best seasons in college football history that year, and that was illustrated during an impressive performance in the Peach Bowl. Burrow had seven first half touchdowns en route to a 63-28 win over Oklahoma. While it wasn't a close game, it was a jaw-dropping performance.
The Fiesta Bowl was a better game in the typical sense of the definition. Clemson trailed 16-0 early against Ohio State, but they clawed their way back before both teams exchanged lead changes in the fourth quarter. Clemson came out on top with a 29-23 win that was sealed with a Nolan Turner interception.
The National Championship game pitted Burrow against Trevor Lawrence. LSU's offense was just too much to overcome, and the team won, 42-25, as Burrow capped off one of the best single seasons in college football history.
1. 2017-18 College Football Playoff
The 2017-18 season had the best iteration of the College Football Playoff. Two of the games in this College Football Playoff both have a case as the best College Football Playoff game ever. The first was the Rose Bowl between Georgia and Oklahoma. That game lasted four hours and five minutes, but the action was so electric that it never felt like it lasted that long.
There were a number of momentum swings as both teams went on runs at various points. A Nick Chubb touchdown sent that game to overtime, and in the extra period, both teams made a field goal. The game went to a second overtime period, and Oklahoma had a chance to go up with a field goal, but Lorenzo Carter had other plans. Carter blocked the field goal and gave Georgia the ball back. Sony Michel then ran the ball 27 yards to end the game and give the Bulldogs a 54-48 victory.
The other semifinal game wasn't as exciting, but the Sugar Bowl between Alabama and Clemson still had massive implications as it was the rubber match of the last two season's National Championship games. This game was a defensive battle, and Alabama ended up getting the win. However, it was the least entertaining of Alabama/Clemson's four-part storyline.
The National Championship was just as entertaining as the Rose Bowl, though. Georgia carried their momentum from the Rose Bowl into this game and took a 13-0 lead by halftime as Kirby Smart was coaching against his former team and mentor. At halftime, Nick Saban made one of the biggest decisions in the history of the sport. He replaced Jalen Hurts – a quarterback who already had National Championship game experience – with a true freshman in Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa wasn't perfect, and he and he made some rookie mistakes, but the decision proved to be the right one.
The freshman made a number of big plays, and he threw three touchdowns in just one half of play. He even put the team in the position to win the game with a field goal, but Andy Pappanastos missed wide right. In overtime, Georgia went up with a field goal. On the ensuing possession, Georgia's defense came up with a clutch sack that took Alabama out of field goal range. Alabama was faced with second down and 26 yards to go. Tagovailoa threw a deep ball to DeVonta Smith, and the freshman receiver took the ball in for a game-winning score. The two freshman players were heroes and made the 2018 National Championship game arguably the greatest game ever.
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