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

Best college football teams without a national championship: 2010 Oregon Ducks

Chip Kelly’s second Oregon team came within agonizing seconds of a national championship against an Auburn team led by a generational talent at quarterback.

Before the Ducks could go on their run to a conference title and a berth in the national title game, Kelly had to deal with some off-the-field controversy. 2009’s starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli had been kicked off the team in the offseason, fresh off leading the Ducks to a 10-win campaign the year before.

With Masoli gone, the door was open for sophomore Darron Thomas, who ended up being a glove-like fit in Kelly’s system. Thomas combined with star running back LaMichael James and his understudy Kenjon Barner to form a devastating backfield trio that overwhelmed its PAC-10 opposition.

The Ducks ran through their non-conference slate, rolling past New Mexico, Tennessee, and Portland State by a combined score of 189-13. Their 48-13 win in Neyland Stadium over Tennessee announced the Ducks as a legitimate contender in September.

On the opening weekend of October, with College Gameday visiting Eugene, Oregon took control of the PAC-10 by blitzing No. 9 Stanford 52-31 in Autzen. James, that season’s Doak Walker award winner, piled up 250 yards on the ground, as the Ducks outscored the Cardinal 28-0 in the second half for a comfortable victory over Andrew Luck and Stanford.

Oregon was dominant during the regular season, rolling past all but one of their opponents by multiple scores. The lone exception was a November visit to Berkeley against a pesky Cal squad who was itching for an upset.

The Golden Bears wouldn’t even garner bowl eligibility in 2010, but Clancy Pendergast’s defense frustrated Thomas and company and held Oregon to a season-low 15 points. Oregon managed only one offensive touchdown in the game, with Cliff Harris’s punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter providing the difference in a nail-biting win.

Oregon ultimately advanced to the BCS National Championship game against Cam Newton-led Auburn, and ultimately saw Tigers kicker Wes Byrum boot through a 19-yard field goal as time expired to snatch the title away from the Ducks.