This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/expected_noles on 2025-08-21 02:27:30+00:00.
The discourse over national championships stirred up by Auburn had me in the mood to review claims by teams in the Poll Era (1936 to current). The below table highlights the schools that may or may not claim a national title for a particular year. Teams listed in bold claim the national championship for that year; those in italics do not. I’ve defined the categories/criteria as follows:
Perfect Season: A team won (no losses, no ties) every game on its schedule, and wasn’t on probation or later made to vacate wins. I’ve tried to only show teams that are currently D1 (sorry Hardin-Simmons and Middlebury and so many more), but may have missed some.
Poll Champion: A team was selected by the AP or Coaches Poll as the national champion. Starting in 1968 the AP Poll held their last poll after the bowls, and for the Coaches Poll this started in 1974. Prior to this, the polls were held before the bowl games.
Bowl Champion: This is the highest ranked team going into bowl season that won their bowl game. This is applicable mainly to the era where polls were done before bowls and when many teams did not attend bowls for academic considerations or no-repeat rules.
Other Poll Selector: This includes the FWAA and NFF polls, which are considered consensus selectors by the NCAA. The winner of one of these polls is only listed when it differs from the AP or Coaches.
Dubious: These are teams who claim the national title but who don’t fit into one of the previous categories.
| Year | Perfect Season | Poll Champion | Bowl Champion | Other Poll Selector | Dubious |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | none | Minnesota | Pitt | ||
| 1937 | Santa Clara | Pitt | Cal | ||
| 1938 | TCU, Tennessee, Georgetown | TCU | TCU | ||
| 1939 | Texas A&M, Cornell | Texas A&M | Texas A&M | USC | |
| 1940 | Minnesota, Stanford, Boston College, Lafayette | Minnesota | Stanford | Tennessee | |
| 1941 | Minnesota, Duquesne, Western Michigan, East Carolina | Minnesota | Fordham | Alabama | |
| 1942 | Central Michigan, Grambling State | Ohio State | Georgia | ||
| 1943 | Purdue | Notre Dame | Georgia Tech | ||
| 1944 | Army, Ohio State | Army | USC | ||
| 1945 | Army, Oklahoma State, Alabama | Army | Alabama | ||
| 1946 | Georgia | Notre Dame | Georgia | Army | |
| 1947 | Michigan, Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Michigan | ||
| 1948 | Michigan, Clemson | Michigan | Oklahoma | ||
| 1949 | Notre Dame, Army, Oklahoma | Notre Dame | Oklahoma | ||
| 1950 | Princeton, Wyoming, Lehigh | Oklahoma | Tennessee | Kentucky | |
| 1951 | Michigan State, Maryland, Bucknell, Princeton | Tennessee | Maryland | Illinois | |
| 1952 | Georgia Tech, Michigan State | Michigan State | Georgia Tech | ||
| 1953 | none | Maryland | Michigan State | ||
| 1954 | Ohio State, UCLA, Oklahoma | Ohio State, UCLA | Ohio State | ||
| 1955 | Oklahoma, Miami (OH) | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Michigan State | |
| 1956 | Oklahoma, Wyoming | Oklahoma | Iowa | ||
| 1957 | Arizona State | Auburn, Ohio State | Ohio State | Michigan State | |
| 1958 | LSU | LSU | LSU | Iowa (FWAA) | Auburn |
| 1959 | Syracuse | Syracuse | Syracuse | Ole Miss | |
| 1960 | Missouri, Yale, New Mexico State | Minnesota | Ole Miss | Ole Miss (FWAA) | Iowa, Washington |
| 1961 | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Ohio State (FWAA) | |
| 1962 | USC, Ole Miss, Dartmouth | USC | USC | ||
| 1963 | Texas | Texas | Texas | ||
| 1964 | Arkansas, Princeton | Alabama | Arkansas | Notre Dame (NFF) | |
| 1965 | Dartmouth | Alabama, Michigan State | Alabama | ||
| 1966 | Alabama | Notre Dame | Alabama | Michigan State (NFF) | |
| 1967 | none | USC | USC | Tennessee | |
| 1968 | Ohio State, Penn State | Ohio State | Ohio State | ||
| 1969 | Texas, Penn State, Toledo, San Diego State | Texas | Texas | ||
| 1970 | Dartmouth, Toledo, Arizona State | Nebraska, Texas | Nebraska | Ohio State (NFF) | |
| 1971 | Nebraska, Toledo | Nebraska | Nebraska | ||
| 1972 | USC | USC | USC | ||
| 1973 | Notre Dame, Miami (OH), Penn State | Notre Dame, Alabama | Notre Dame | ||
| 1974 | none | Oklahoma, USC | USC | ||
| 1975 | Arizona State, Arkansas State | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | ||
| 1976 | Pitt, Rutgers | Pitt | Pitt | ||
| 1977 | none | Notre Dame | Alabama | ||
| 1978 | none | Alabama, USC | Alabama | ||
| 1979 | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | ||
| 1980 | Georgia | Georgia | Georgia | ||
| 1981 | Clemson | Clemson | Clemson | SMU | |
| 1982 | none | Penn State | Penn State | SMU | |
| 1983 | none | Miami (FL) | Auburn | ||
| 1984 | BYU, Cal State Fullerton | BYU | BYU | ||
| 1985 | none | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | ||
| 1986 | Penn State | Penn State | Penn State | ||
| 1987 | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | ||
| 1988 | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | ||
| 1989 | none | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | ||
| 1990 | none | Colorado, Georgia Tech | Colorado | ||
| 1991 | Miami (FL), Washington | Miami (FL), Washington | Miami (FL), Washington | ||
| 1992 | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | ||
| 1993 | none | Florida State | Florida State | Auburn | |
| 1994 | Nebraska, Penn State | Nebraska | Nebraska | ||
| 1995 | Nebraska | Nebraska | Nebraska | ||
| 1996 | none | Florida | Florida | ||
| 1997 | Michigan, Nebraska | Michigan, Nebraska | Michigan | ||
| 1998 | Tennessee, Tulane | Tennessee | Tennessee | ||
| 1999 | Florida State, Marshall | Florida State | Florida State | ||
| 2000 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | ||
| 2001 | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | Miami (FL) | ||
| 2002 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State | ||
| 2003 | none | USC, LSU | USC | ||
| 2004 | Auburn, Utah | USC | Auburn | ||
| 2005 | Texas | Texas | Texas | ||
| 2006 | Boise State | Florida | Florida | ||
| 2007 | none | LSU | LSU | ||
| 2008 | Utah | Florida | Florida | ||
| 2009 | Alabama, Boise State | Alabama | Alabama | ||
| 2010 | Auburn, TCU | Auburn | Auburn | ||
| 2011 | none | Alabama | Alabama | ||
| 2012 | none | Alabama | Alabama | ||
| 2013 | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | ||
| 2014 | none | Ohio State | Ohio State | ||
| 2015 | none | Alabama | Alabama | ||
| 2016 | none | Clemson | Clemson | ||
| 2017 | UCF | Alabama | Alabama | ||
| 2018 | Clemson | Clemson | Clemson | ||
| 2019 | LSU | LSU | LSU | ||
| 2020 | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | ||
| 2021 | none | Georgia | Georgia | ||
| 2022 | Georgia | Georgia | Georgia | ||
| 2023 | Michigan | Michigan | Michigan | ||
| 2024 | none | Ohio State | Ohio State |