10 Most Unlikely College Football National Champions Based On Preseason Rankings

Every college football season has a Cinderella story. Some of those unlikely successes finish the year at the top of the sport.

One way to go back and identify these unexpected champions is by looking through past rankings. The AP Poll, which was first released in 1936, began dropping preseason standings in the 1950 season.

Those predictions allowed college football followers to get an idea of which teams were primed for big years, and others believed to be on the outside looking in in terms of national title contention.

10 Most Unlikely College Football National Champions

Since that 1950 season, there have been nine teams ranked 20th or worse that have been named the AP national champ. We’ve added one more that started the year at 19th.

This list will only include AP champs, but we’re adding one honorable mention.

Honorable Mention: 1990 Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets finished the year 11-0-1 after starting the season unranked in the AP Poll. They were named Coaches Poll champion after taking down Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl.

Georgia Tech is recognized by the NCAA as a national champion. It took down No. 1 Virginia, 15th-ranked Clemson, and 25th-ranked South Carolina on its way to an ACC title. A 13-13 tie at North Carolina might’ve prevented them from the AP crown.

Now, to the list.

We’ll start with the unranked squads that surged into the polls before finishing the year as national champions. The list starts in the 1950s with LSU.

1958 LSU

The Tigers were unranked entering the 1958 season but finished as the nation’s top team thanks to a perfect 10-0 mark. LSU won the Sugar Bowl versus Clemson, 7-0, to cap the unblemished campaign.

The team was led by halfbacks Billy Cannon and Johnny Robinson, who led coach Paul Dietzel to adopt the Wing T offense. It resulted in an immediate jump in the win column as the Tigers had gone just 5-5 the year prior.

LSU beat sixth-ranked Ole Miss on its way to an SEC crown. This was the first national championship in program history.

1960 Minnesota

The Golden Gophers were unranked two years later only to follow in LSU’s footsteps. Minnesota was a co-Big Ten champion, sharing the title with No. 3 Iowa.

The team started the season 7-0 with wins over 12th-ranked Nebraska and top-ranked Iowa before dropping two of its last three games.

Despite being upset by Washington in the Rose Bowl, the AP voted the Golden Gophers as its No. 1 team. It represented an incredible turnaround from a last place Big Ten finish in 1959.

1962 USC

The Trojans were the consensus national champs after beginning the year outside of the AP Poll. There may be a bit of an asterisk here as it was the first of a five-season stretch in which the poll only ranked 10 teams.

Still, USC was not among those preseason contenders. They were just 4-5-1 the year before. They ripped off 11 straight wins in a perfect season.

The Trojans won the conference and beat a trio of Top 10 teams, capped with a win over No. 2 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Unlikely College Football National Champions: 1981 Clemson

Clemson’s 1981 team was fresh off a 5-6 campaign the year prior. The Tigers were unranked entering the regular season. That did little to hinder the squad’s outlook.

Danny Ford’s bunch went 12-0 to win the ACC crown. Victories over Top 10 foes Georgia and North Carolina headlined the season.

The Tigers beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl to secure the national title. It was the first of three championships in the program’s history.

1983 Miami

Miami began the season outside of the AP Poll in 1983 but quickly entered the national title conversation. After dropping their opener to rival Florida, the Hurricanes ripped off 11 straight wins.

That included victories over Notre Dame and West Virginia, both of whom were considered Top 15 opponents at the time. The Hurricanes capped the year with a pair of one-point wins over Florida State in the season finale and Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

This was the first of five national championships the program would win over the course of two decades.

1984 BYU

BYU is the last of the unranked national champions as they started the 1984 campaign outside of the preseason AP Poll. They wouldn’t be unknown for long.

The Cougars took down No. 3 Pitt on the road in the season opener on their way to a spotless 13-0 record.

The No. 1 ranking was controversial at the time. The Pitt team expected to be a title contender finished just 3-7-1. Just two opponents on BYU’s slate won seven games or more.

Still, they were the named the top team after beating Michigan in the Holiday Bowl. The Cougars remain the last champion that wasn’t a part of a major conference.

Unlikely College Football National Champions: Lowly Ranked Teams

2010 Auburn Tigers

Auburn owns the title of lowest ranked team to win a national championship after starting 22nd in the 2010 preseason AP Poll. The Tigers, led by Heisman candidate Cam Newton, went 14-0.

There were close calls with along the way with seven victories coming by one score. Still, the Tigers prevailed to lock up an SEC crown with a blowout win over South Carolina in the title game.

Auburn then used a last second field goal to win the BCS National Championship against Oregon, 22-19. It’s one of nine national titles claimed by the school though only two are recognized by the NCAA.

1954 Ohio State

The Buckeyes began the 1954 season ranked 20th in the AP Poll. They’d later fall out of the polls in early September before storming back to take the crown.

Ohio State went a perfect 12-0 to win the Big Ten. They secured victories over ranked foes in Cal, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pitt, Michigan, and USC.

The program split the title with UCLA, who was named the Coaches Poll champ. Unfortunately, due to a “no repeat” rule set for the Rose Bowl, the two top-ranked teams were unable to settle it on the field.

As a result, Ohio State played and beat the PAC’s second-place Trojans 34-0 while the Bruins also finished the year undefeated.

1959 Syracuse

The Orange began the year ranked 20th in the 1959 AP Poll but earned the top spot after an 11-0 season. The year prior, they’d gone 8-2

Led by future Heisman trophy winner Ernie Davis, who was named Cotton Bowl MVP after a two-touchdown performance, Syracuse defeated the likes of Penn State, UCLA, and Texas.

The national championship is still the only one in program history.

2000 Oklahoma

Oklahoma was rated as the 19th-best team in the country by the AP Poll upon entering the 2000 campaign. They’d soon soar up the standings on their way to a BCS National Championship.

The Sooners went 13-0 and won the Big 12 title game over Kansas State, 27-24. They then took down third-ranked Florida State in the Orange Bowl to secure that national crown.

Oklahoma beat six ranked opponents, including a 31-14 victory over No. 1 Nebraska with a blowout win over Texas. It’s the last of seven program titles.