Ranking every National Champion in the four-team College Football Playoff era

The College Football Playoff will be expanding to 12 teams in 2025. Let's take a look back at each National Champion that made it through the four-team playoff and find out who was the best.

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive lineman Trevor Keegan (77) and quarterback J.J. McCarthy hold up the National Championship trophy after their win over the Washington Huskies. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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College football playoff rankings. . 2016 National Champions. . . 10. 432. . .

The 2016 Clemson Tigers team led by Deshaun Watson and Dabo Sweeney had a close 35-31 win over Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. In the National Championship Watson went 36/56 for 420 yards and three touchdowns for Tigers.

January 9, 2017: Deshaun Watson finds Hunter Renfrow for a TD with one second left to give Clemson a 35-31 win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. pic.twitter.com/YRyb5aq7r1
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) January 9, 2021

I have this Clemson ranked 10 based on how their season went as a whole. This Tigers team struggled through the season winning a number of their games by one score. They beat an Auburn team that went 8-5 by six points. They had to go to double overtime against NC State which finished the season 7-6. Their lone loss on the season came from a Pitt team that finished second in the ACC with an 8-5 record.

This was Clemson's first championship since 1981 and started their reign of dominance for the coming years. However, this Clemson team was definitely at the bottom of the National Champions in the playoffs.

523. Final. 35. 432. 2016 College Football Playof. 31

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