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10 Biggest Cinderella college football national champions of all time

By Michael Collins

Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jake Coker (14) celebrates on the field after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jake Coker (14) celebrates on the field after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jake Coker (14) celebrates on the field after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jake Coker (14) celebrates on the field after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

A college football national championship isn’t easy to win, and these ten teams came out of nowhere to win theirs in Cinderella fashion.

The Alabama Crimson Tide were crowned college football national champions for the 2015-16 season. While this came as a surprise to few (it rarely does when Alabama wins), there have been instances of times when teams took home the title when no one expected them to do so.

When someone mentions a “Cinderella Team”, you probably think about the NCAA basketball tournament and mid-major schools who upset the powerful programs to go on unlikely March Madness runs. Although college football hasn’t reached the point of a 64-team tournament with schools like Pepperdine or Butler taking part, there have been some Cinderella stories over the years.

Looking back over the list of college football champions since the ranking era began, there are some schools who entered seasons without even a consideration of a ranking (or a very low one) that fought their way to the top and won it all.

Here are ten teams who were named consensus national champions (being named champs by more than one of the major selectors or winning the BCS title) who nobody ever believed would end up hoisting a trophy when the season was done – some with legendary coaches at the helm.

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