The 25 best college football teams to not win a national championship

Best college football teams without a national championship: 1994 Penn State Nittany Lions

It’s always tougher to accept coming up short in the national title race when your team wins every one of its games. Penn State not getting the opportunity to play for a national title in 1994 has long been tough to deal with for fans in Happy Valley.

This was still during the era where No. 1 and No. 2 weren’t contractually obligated to meet in the bowl game. Penn State, as the Big Ten champion, ultimately faced off with Pac-10 champion in No. 12 Oregon, while top-ranked Nebraska played and defeated No. 3 Miami in the Orange Bowl.

The Nittany Lions had a couple of close games but largely overwhelmed its competition led by a triumvirate of eventual Top-10 draft picks in quarterback Kerry Collins, running back Ki-Jana Carter, and tight end Kyle Brady.

Penn State’s quality wins in 1994 included a three-touchdown win over USC in September, a close road win over Michigan, and a blowout win over Ohio State at home. Penn State had little trouble dispatching with Oregon in the Rose Bowl but was left pondering “what if?”, as the Cornhuskers were crowned national champions and Penn State’s perfect season wasn’t enough to earn even a split of the title.

Penn State versus Nebraska was the national championship game that fans deserved in 1994. While it’s tough to argue that the Huskers weren’t the best team, it’s also completely understandable for fans in State College to put an asterisk by Nebraska’s championship.