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

Best college football teams without a national championship: 1959 Ole Miss Rebels

The 1959 Johnny Vaught-led Ole Miss Rebels are one of the greatest teams in SEC history and narrowly missed out on a shot at a national championship. The margins in college football have always been razor-thin. Standing in front of Ole Miss and a potential share of the title turned out to be one of the most iconic plays in the history of the sport.

Billy Cannon’s Halloween run kept Ole Miss from perfection. The Rebels led 3-0 late in the fourth quarter on Halloween night against then-No. 1 LSU in what was billed as the game of the year in college football.

Despite Vaught’s instructions that his punter kick the ball out of bounds to avoid the dangerous Cannon, the ball was instead booted into Cannon’s hands, who fielded it at the 11-yard line. He promptly returned the ball 89 yards for the game’s decisive, and only, touchdown.

That was one of just three touchdowns that Ole Miss allowed all season long, with the dominant Rebels outscoring their opponents, 350-21.

Syracuse ultimately was named the national champions in 1959, but Ole Miss got an opportunity for redemption in the Sugar Bowl against the same LSU team that ended its quest for perfection.

Angered by their defeat a couple of months prior, Ole Miss humiliated LSU in New Orleans, holding the Tigers to just 74 yards of total offense, rolling to a 21-0 win to clinch a No. 2 finish in the polls behind Syracuse.