When you run down the greatest college football teams of the modern era, a few come to mind: 2001 Miami, 2008 Florida, 2020 Alabama. Another team that can’t be neglected in that discussion was LSU’s 2019 team, which was led by Heisman Trophy-winner [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag] and a litany of future NFL stars.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more talented team in the College Football Playoff era, but in a recent ranking from ESPN of the best CFP teams, the Tigers’ 2019 group was snubbed in favor of the Alabama team that won the title the following season.
Here’s the justification from ESPN’s Bill Connelly.
CFP result: Beat Oklahoma 63-28; beat Clemson 42-25
Plenty of coaches have attempted to modernize their offense in the hopes of giving their program a shot in the arm. Ed Orgeron’s 2019 team set the bar impossibly high for any future modernizers. With help from an elite skill corps, Joe Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns (!!!). Once LSU’s defense got healthy late in the year, the Tigers were untouchable, beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa, then winning their last six games by an average of 30 points.
In Connelly’s defense, he does make a fairly compelling argument on the Tide’s behalf.
The Crimson Tide had the Nos. 1, 3 and 5 finishers in the Heisman voting. They played one game decided by fewer than 14 points. They bested an SEC-only schedule by an average of 30.2 points per game. Their defense struggled early but allowed only 15 points per game after mid-October. This was the best Nick Saban team ever and quite possibly the best of the 21st century.
Best team … from the best coach … with the best dynasty of the 21st century (at the very least)? Sounds like the best team of the CFP era.
Still, given the talent on the field and how good that team looked in 2019 with Burrow at the helm, you’ll have a hard time convincing me we’ve seen a better team in college football, either before or since.
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