There have been many memorable and historic teams in the annals of college football, and some of those have come by way of THE Ohio State University. On the shortlist of the best college football programs of all time, the Buckeyes claim eight national titles to their credit.
But some of those national-title-winning teams stand out from the rest, just like the rest of the college football programs that can claim national supremacy for a season.
Ranking all of those national championship teams can be quite the undertaking, and certainly, a lot of opinion goes into that, but College Football News set out to rank the top 150 national championship-winning teams.
We must first keep in mind that doing this exercise necessitates some guidelines and parameters. After all, some programs like to “claim” national championships without a reputable, external publication agreeing (we’re looking at you Alabama and UCF).
According to Pete Fiutak of College Football News, he believes there are six Ohio State teams among the top 150 national championship winners. First, we’ll get the guidelines out of the way, then run through the teams noted for making the list.
FIRST … The Ground Rules
The Criteria For Ranking
The Criteria Used By College Football News
1. Wins. Obviously, winning matters. Just win lots of games, and all is fine. 1 point per win.
2. Losses. Don’t lose. -1 point per loss
3. Ties. Yeah, there used to be those. 0.5 points per tie.
4. Quality Wins. The wins over the good teams. 1 point per win over a team that finished with a winning record.
5. Elite Wins. The wins over the great teams. 1 point per home win over a team that finished with two losses, or a road, bowl, or neutral site win over a team that finished with three losses. An extra 0.5 added to a road win over a team that finished with two losses.
6. Bad Losses. The soul-crushers. -1 point per loss to a non-FBS/D-I team, or a team that finished with three wins or fewer. An extra 0.5 is added to a home loss to a “bad” team.
7. Bad Wins. The layups. -0.25 for a win over a team that finished with three wins or fewer.
8. Elite Losses. The forgivable defeats. 0.25 added for a loss to a team that finished with two losses of fewer.
9. Point Differential. They keep score for a reason. Points scored minus points against divided by 100.
10. Winning Percentage. A sort of tie-breaker, taking into account how good the season was beyond the raw wins and loss.
No. 150 - 1942 Ohio State team
🏈Bill Willis, @OhioStateFB
A member of the 1942 National Championship team, Willis' efforts on and off the field secured ballots in both the college football and pro football halls of fame.
More➡️https://t.co/NXgbKZ7MST#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/fB6E1iB3DN
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) February 10, 2019
What Fiutak Says
The Buckeyes suffered a loss to a strong Wisconsin team in Madison, but they still managed to win the national title thanks to three terrific wins over Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa Pre-Flight teams that all finished 7-3.
The Breakdown
All-Time Season Score: 14.3800
Key Season Score Element: 114 points allowed the most by anyone in the bottom 25 (but scored 337 points)
Best Win: Ohio State 41, Iowa Pre-Flight 12
Worst Game: Wisconsin 17, Ohio State 7
No. 131 - 1957 Ohio State (UPI)
1957 Rose bowl Woody Hayes Ohio State #TFormation #Toss @rockpoltrock pic.twitter.com/rzth8vlurQ
— bruce eien (@bruceeien) November 25, 2019
What Fiutak Says
Auburn and Ohio State split the national title. Auburn won the AP, Ohio State won the UPI … but Auburn went unbeaten and had the better year. Ohio State lost the season opener to TCU at home. There was a good win over a strong Iowa team – the Hawkeyes’ only loss – and things finished off with a 10-7 win over a mediocre Oregon squad.
The Breakdown
All-Time Season Score: 16.9000
Key Season Score Element: 5 Quality Wins
Best Win: Ohio State 17, Iowa 13
Worst Game: TCU 18, Ohio State 14
No. 119 - 1954 Ohio State (AP)
#OTD in 1954, future @HeismanTrophy winner Hopalong Cassady returned a fumble 68 yards for a TD in @OhioStateFB's 28-0 season-opening win vs. Indiana. #TouchdownTuesday pic.twitter.com/5xzGAXDPCM
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 25, 2018
What Fiutak Says
UCLA won the UPI national title, but Ohio State’s 1954 season was far, far stronger. The blowout win over Wisconsin was outstanding, and taking down USC 20-7 in the Rose Bowl helped. But there weren’t a whole slew of amazing victories – there were plenty of good ones.
The Breakdown
All-Time Season Score: 17.9900
Key Season Score Element: The D allowed 7 points or fewer in seven games.
Best Win: Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 14
Worst Game: Ohio State 21, at Northwestern 7
No. 105 - 1968 Ohio State
What Fiutak Says
The legendary team had a whole lot of easy games, and there were a few more fights than it should’ve had to deal with. Iowa and Michigan State weren’t anything special, and both games were tight. Northwestern, Illinois and Wisconsin combined to win just two games, but the Buckeyes pasted a great Michigan team 50-14 and gave USC its only loss with a 27-16 win in the Rose Bowl.
The Breakdown
All-Time Season Score: 18.9800
Key Season Score Element: 3 Elite Win Score
Best Win: Ohio State 27, USC 16 (Rose Bowl)
Worst Game: Ohio State 25, Oregon 20
No. 35 - 2002 Ohio State
What Fiutak Says
At the time, the national championship was among the most impressive runs of all-time. The Buckeyes won 14 games – only three all-time national champs won more – the most of any of the national champions since Penn won 15 in 1897. There was one problem in these rankings, though – the Buckeyes didn’t have any Elite Wins until taking out Miami for the national title in one of the greatest games of all-time. The defense allowed nine points or fewer six times.
The Breakdown
All-Time Season Score: 25.5200
Key Season Score Element: 1 Elite Win Score (lowest in the top 31)
Best Win: Ohio State 31, Miami 24 (Fiesta Bowl/BCS Championship)
Worst Game: Ohio State 23, at Illinois 16
No. 6 - 2014 Ohio State
What Fiutak Says
And to think, the season was supposedly over after a 35-21 debacle at home against Virginia Tech.
Everything had to go perfectly for Ohio State just to get into the College Football Playoff, and that included TCU not converting on a late fourth down play in a shootout loss to Baylor.
The Buckeye offense kicked it in after the loss to the Hokies – scoring 42 points or more in 11 of the final 13 games – with the 59-0 destruction of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship the final statement to the CFP committee.
Once the Buckeyes got in, they took care of business with a terrific 42-35 win over Ohio State, and a 42-20 win over Heisman winner Marcus Mariota and Oregon to become the first ever College Football Playoff national champion.
Only three champions (2013 Florida State and 1886 and 1888 Yale) scored more than 2014 Ohio State, and only three (2015 Alabama, and 2016 and 2018 Clemson) had more wins over teams that finished with winning records.
The Breakdown
All-Time Season Score: 31.6033
Key Season Score Element: 672 points
Best Win: Ohio State 42, Alabama 35 (Sugar Bowl/College Football Playoff)
Worst Game: Virginia Tech 35, at Ohio State 21
NEXT … The Top Ten
The Top Ten National Title Teams
Top Ten National Championship Teams According to College Football News
- 2019 LSU Tigers
- 1894 Yale
- 2018 Clemson
- 2015 Alabama
- 2022 Georgia
- 2014 Ohio State
- 2016 Clemson
- 2013 Florida State
- 2009 Alabama
- 2021 Georgia
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