College football fans went with the moment instead of using logic in voting the 2019 LSU National Championship team ahead of the 2001 Miami football team in Yahoo Sports 16 best team ever college football bracket semifinals.
Anytime the debate over the best team in the history of college football is mentioned naming anyone but the 2001 Miami football team creates discussion that brings ratings or views to the media outlet providing the list. No team in college football history can come close to the talent that the 2001 Miami football team had.
The 2001 Miami football team had 38 players from its roster selected in subsequent NFL Drafts with 17 being taken in the first round. Letting fans decide the vote takes the decision away from those that know college football best. The 2019 LSU National Champions received 60 percent of the vote over 2001 Miami on Yahoo Sports.
The offenses between the 2001 Miami football team and 2019 LSU are fairly even. Miami averaged 42.7 points per game to finish third nationally, 250.2 yards passing and 204.6 yards rushing. LSU averaged 48.4 PPG, 401.6 passing yards and 167.3 rushing. LSU averaged six more points and 114 more yards per game.
Changes in the play clock and game clock since 2001 made a difference in LSU having a more productive offense. The difference on defense between the 2001 Miami National Championship team and the 2019 LSU champions is significant. Miami allowed 9.8 PPG in 2001 to lead the country.
The Hurricanes surrendered an anemic 138.2 passing yards per game 3.1 yards per carry, 132.7 rushing yards per game. When you consider that Miami had large leads in virtually every game with two exceptions the passing yards allowed becomes even more impressive. LSU allowed 21.9 PPG which was 32nd in the nation.
The Tigers gave up 222.7 passing yards per game, 121.5 yards rushing and 3.8 YPC. Defenders of LSU will point to the big leads the Tigers had in every game but so did Miami. LSU defeated seven top 10 teams during the season. Miami did not have the benefit of playing those teams in the Big East or a College Football Playoff.
"2001 Miami vs. 2019 LSUNo. 2: 2001 MiamiMiami moved into the Final Four by a comfortable margin, topping the 2005 Texas Longhorns, our No. 10 seed. The 2001 Hurricanes received 68 percent of the votes in Round 2.Miami was perhaps the greatest collection of talent in college football history. The team had 17 future first-round picks and 38 NFL draftees in all. That group included the likes of Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Andre Johnson, Jeremy Shockey and Willis McGahee.The team averaged 42.7 points per game, allowed just 9.8 and beat its opponents by an average of 32.9 points. The year 12-0 season was capped off by a 37-14 beatdown of Nebraska in the BCS title game.No. 3: 2019 LSULSU, college football’s most recent national champions, advanced to the Final Four by dispatching a divisional rival. The 2019 Tigers received 70 percent of the votes against the 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide, the No. 6 seed in our bracket.The 2019 season marked the fourth national title for LSU. The Tigers exploded offensively behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, who threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns.The Tigers beat seven top-10 teams on the way to a 15-0 record, a season that concluded with commanding 42-25 victory over defending champion Clemson in the College Football Playoff title game."
While Yahoo Sports mentioned the seven teams LSU defeated in the top 10 during their championship season they neglected to discuss recording setting back to back weeks Miami had in November 2001 when they defeated number 12 Washington and number 14 Syracuse by a combined margin of 124-7.
That was the biggest winning margin over top 25 teams in back to back weeks in the history of college football. Nineteen years later that margin still stands. Miami won it’s five games against ranked teams in 2001 by an average margin of victory of 28 points. LSU won its seven games against ranked opponents by 15.4 PPG.
Included in those seven victories by LSU over top 10 teams was a 45-38 victory over number nine Texas in September. The Longhorns finished the season 8-5. The Tigers 23-20 victory over number nine Auburn in October was over the other Tigers team who finished the 2019 season 9-4.
It’s tough to quantify era to era. But when the facts are examined the 2001 Miami football team that won the National Championship was the most dominant and talented team in the history of college football. The Hurricanes 12-0 run through the 2001 season was in the middle of a 34 game winning streak.