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

Best college football teams without a national championship: 2000 Miami Hurricanes

2000 was another year of BCS controversy, one that paved the way for adding a human element to deciding the two teams to play in the national championship after Miami was surpassed by a Florida State team it had beaten in the regular season. The computer models inexplicably favored the ‘Noles, and Miami was left out in the cold.

Butch Davis’s final Miami team was loaded with talent, ultimately paving the way for one of the best teams in the history of college football the very next season.

The 2000 Hurricanes suffered an early-season road loss to eventual Pac-10 champion Washington by five points, another team that had a gripe about being left out of the BCS title game with its one loss being on the road at Oregon.

Miami rebounded after the loss in Seattle to win its last 10 games, including wins over then-No. 1 Florida State and then-No. 2 Virginia Tech, capturing the Big East championship along the way.

The Hurricanes ultimately ended up in the Sugar Bowl against Florida in what was effectively a consolation game, while Florida State advanced to play Oklahoma for the title at the Orange Bowl.

The Sooners won what is largely regarded as one of the worst national championship games in the history of the sport, knocking off the ‘Noles, 13-2. Miami pulled away for a 37-20 win over the Gators, and likely would have been favored over the Sooners in Miami.

While the 2001 ‘Canes are remembered as college football royalty with the gluttony of NFL talent on the roster, a lot of that talent was prevalent on the 2000 team as well. The 2001 team was highlighted by the likes of Reggie Wayne, Andre Johnson, Najeh Davenport, Clinton Portis, Bryant McKinnie, Jeremy Shockey, and Ed Reed.