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

Best college football teams without a national championship: 1945 Alabama Crimson Tide

When you talk to Alabama fans about the best teams to not win a national championship, the first mention would likely be the 1966 team that finished third as the only unbeaten/un-tied team in the country behind Notre Dame and Michigan State.

But the 1945 Crimson Tide squad was one of the most dominant teams in school history in what was the last great team of legendary coach Frank Thomas’s tenure in Tuscaloosa.

The outcry about the 1945 team isn’t as high as for the 1966 team because national champion Army was easily the most dominant team in college football that season, outscoring its opponents by a 412-46 margin.

In any other year, this Alabama team would have captured the title. It wasn’t Army dominant, but the Crimson Tide outscored its opponents by an average margin of 35 points per game.

Alabama earned quality regular-season wins over the likes of LSU, Tennessee, and Georgia en route to the SEC Championship. Alabama accepted an invite to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl, and 20 years after its landmark victory over Washington, the Crimson Tide once again conquered the tournament of roses by rolling to a 34-14 win over USC to finish off a perfect season.

The 1945 Crimson Tide team was led by one of the best players in school history in Harry Gilmer, a do-it-all Swiss army knife for Thomas’s team that had a brilliant sophomore season at The Capstone.

Gilmer led the nation with 13 touchdown passes while adding nine rushing touchdowns on a 7.0 yards-per-carry clip. Gilmer was second in the nation in total offense and was a constant threat as a return man as well.

Gilmer finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting for his efforts.