Ranking the 30 Greatest National Championship Games

19. 2015 CFP National Championship

#4 Ohio State d. #2 Oregon 42-20

BEFORE THE GAME

This was the first year of the College Football Playoff, providing four teams an opportunity to play for the national title. There was inevitably some controversy in the final weekend, as TCU went from third to sixth in the final committee rankings and Ohio State was elevated ahead of both the Horned Frogs and Big 12 co-champion Baylor. It was really the only question left in an otherwise straightforward selection process.

The Buckeyes faced Alabama in the Sugar Bowl semifinal as a heavy underdog. The Crimson Tide had lost on the road against a ranked Ole Miss team in early October and struggled the following week in a narrow victory at Arkansas. Otherwise they won every game on the way to the SEC title. Playing in the Crimson Tide’s home territory, Urban Meyer’s team stunned top-seeded Alabama 42-35. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns and third-string quarterback Cardale Jones had 243 passing yards on the Tide secondary to reach the title game.

Oregon squared off against defending national champion Florida State in the Rose Bowl. The game featured the past two Heisman winners, 2013 victor Jameis Winston and that season’s recipient Marcus Mariota. The reigning Heisman outshone his predecessor in Pasadena, finishing the game with 400 total yards (338 passing, 62 rushing) and three touchdowns. Winston passed for 348 yards and a touchdown, but the Ducks defense forced four fumbles and an interception on the first six Seminoles drives of the second half to run away with the game. Oregon set records for most points (59) and total yards of offense (638) in Rose Bowl history in taking down the defending champs.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Thus the championship game technically featured the teams that entered the playoff seeded second and fourth, the only game on this list to not feature the teams ranked one and two prior to the postseason. The Ducks came out and scored on the opening drive, using just 2:39 to run 11 plays for 75 yards. Then Oregon’s defense started allowing Elliott and Jones to begin working the Buckeyes downfield. The score was still 21-10 at halftime, though, and the Ducks had plenty of reason to think they could reverse their fortunes in the second half.

Oregon intercepted Jones on the first drive of the third quarter, and on the next play Mariota hit Byron Marshall for a 70-yard touchdown. They sacked Jones on the next drive, forcing a fumble that was converted into three points. But it ended up being the last points Oregon would score on the night, as Elliott began going to work. The workhorse back carried 36 times for 246 yards and four touchdowns. Ohio State ran away with the 42-20 victory, winning the first College Football Playoff national championship as a fourth seed.