The Top 10 Programs of the 4-Team CFP Era

After 10 years, the 4-team College Football Playoff era has given way to an expanded 12-team format. At the end of the day, more high-stakes football means more excitement and more revenue.Expansion was inevitable, and may still be. However, the 4-team era held some dominant programs at their finest, and those programs deserve to be remembered. Today, I’ll rank the top 10 college football programs from 2014, the 4-team era’s inception, to 2024, it’s death. I’ll consider factors including in-conference dominance, playoff appearances, and of course, national titles.

Honorable Mentions

Cincinnati

To some, Cincinnati was an example of the need for CFP expansion. For others, they were an example of the danger of expansion. The Bearcats were dominant in the American Conference under Luke Fickell, appearing in three straight conference championship games, and winning two. In 2020, they missed out on the 4-team field, causing major controversy. In 2021, they got their chance, and ran into the brick wall that was Alabama, losing by a score of 27-6. Aside from only having one CFP appearance and no playoff wins, Cincinnati misses out on this list because their dominance was so short lived.

Penn State

Consistently on the cusp of a playoff appearance, Penn State never quite had enough during the 4-team era. The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 12 of the final CFP rankings 6 times, but consistently fell short compared to conference rivals like Ohio State and Michigan. Surely Penn State fans will be rejoicing over playoff expansion in hopes that their school will finally get the chance to prove they belong amongst the elite.

TCU

The TCU Horned Frogs are the only program with a playoff win to miss out on a spot in the top 10 of my rankings. TCU beat Michigan in a shootout to become one of the select few schools to make an appearance in the CFP National Championship against Georgia. For the sake of the TCU faithful, I won’t remind you how that championship game went. Aside from a top 6 finish in the first season of the playoff era, the Horned Frogs were unable to show much consistency throughout the last decade.

10. Oregon

Remember the Chip Kelly days? How fun was Oregon back then? Headlined by explosive offenses, the Ducks have consistently been in the conversation as one of college football’s premier programs over the last decade. They have consistently produced top quarterback prospects and have appeared in the Pac-12 championship game five times during this era. However, they have just one playoff appearance to show for it. The Ducks made it to the first ever CFP National Championship, losing to now conference opponent Ohio State.

9. Washington

Washington may be the only program not considered to be elite that made my list. With playoff appearances in both 2016 and 2023 and a CFP National Championship appearance in 2023, they have more than earned their seat at the table. The last decade has shown Husky fans more success than they have seen since the early 90’s (as long as we forget about Jimmy Lake’s disappointing tenure). In Jake Browning and Michael Penix Jr., the Huskies have recently hosted two of their best quarterbacks in school history. Five finishes in the top 12 of the CFP rankings helped them to just edge out conference rival Oregon on my list.

8. Notre Dame

I’ll be honest. I tried to put Notre Dame lower on this list. Two playoff appearances yielded two blowout losses to evidently superior opponents. But with four seasons finishing in the CFP top eight, I simply couldn’t drop them any further. Notre Dame enjoyed consistent success during this era, aside from an abysmal 2016 season. Brian Kelly was one of the coaches that defined this era, and the Irish deserve their spot on this list.

7. Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners are the clear winners of the Big 12 throughout the 4-team CFP era. A whopping four playoff appearances proves their regular season dominance. The Sooners finished in the top 12 of the CFP rankings seven times in ten seasons. Of course, they produced back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. But I just cannot forgive going 0-4 in their playoff games. Oklahoma’s lack of playoff success is a major reason why the Big 12 has been seen as a weak conference in recent years. Their success was undeniable, but their failure when it mattered most limits their ranking in this list.

6. LSU

I know, I know. How does one playoff appearance in 10 seasons put LSU at number six over the likes of Washington, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma? Let me ask you this: Do you remember just how dominant that 2019 LSU team was? The Tigers went 15-0, beating seven top 10 opponents on their way to a convincing National Championship victory over Clemson. That 2019 team is considered by many to be among the greatest college football teams of all time, and rightfully so. That, for me, is enough to forgive a couple of muddy years in what has been a very successful decade for the Tigers.

5. Michigan

Allow me to use this section as a celebration of what Jim Harbaugh did at Michigan. In the two seasons prior to Harbaugh’s arrival in Ann Arbor in 2015, the Wolverines hovered around .500 and failed to win a bowl game. In Harbaugh’s nine seasons as head coach, Michigan posted a record of 86-25, culminating with three straight playoff appearances and a national championship. Harbaugh reinstated the Wolverines among the elite and did more than enough to earn his alma mater a place among the elite programs of college football.

4. Georgia

The decision of where to place Georgia on this list may have been the toughest one I had to make. The Bulldogs have been the most dominant program in the nation over the last three seasons, winning two national championships. Dethroning Alabama as the top program in football seemed an impossible task before the rise of Georgia. So why are they not ranked higher? The three schools I have ranked ahead of the Bulldogs showed more consistency throughout the decade than Georgia did. If I could call my next school 3a and Georgia 3b I would, but the nature of rankings is that one has to fall below another.

3. Ohio State

Here’s my 3a. No one can deny the dominance the Buckeyes have enjoyed during this era. The resume speaks for itself. They have finished within the CFP top seven in every season that the CFP has existed. They have five playoff appearances, which ranks third across the nation. Of course, they won the first ever CFP title game in 2014. Again, we’re splitting hairs between Ohio State and Georgia, but the Buckeyes’ consistency earned them the third spot on my list.

2. Clemson

When I look back on the 4-team era of the College Football Playoff, I will think of two teams. Clemson and Alabama gave us some of the most iconic matchups in recent football memory. The Tigers were the challenger America craved to take on big, bad Bama. Those matchups did not disappoint. Clemson won two national championships during this time to go along with six playoff appearances and two championship game losses. What Dabo Swinney has been able to accomplish at Clemson will forever be remembered.

1. Alabama

If you’re like me, you were probably annoyed by Alabama’s dominance of the last decade at the very least. However, I find it important to recognize greatness when it’s present. Alabama was undeniably the greatest program of the 4-team CFP era. During that time, Nick Saban’s squad made eight playoff appearances, won nine playoff games, and lifted the CFP National Championship Trophy three times, each the most in the nation. With the inception of both NIL and the 12-team playoff, college football is moving into a new era that will have its own titans. But this era was defined by Nick Saban and Alabama’s success.