The 50 Most Badass College Football Teams of All Time

It's that time of year once again. No, we're not talking about giving gifts, singing songs, and eating so much food you fall into a coma. We're talking about the college football bowl season. A great excuse to watch some relevant pigskin, especially if your pro team is already eliminated from playoff contention. Sorry Jets fans. It never gets old, does it? We love 'em for so many reasons: the fans, the colors, the atmosphere, the competition, and perhaps most of all, the names. Who doesn't want to watch the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl? Well, maybe we won't be DVRing that one, but it's still live football.

The Discover BCS National Championship between top-ranked Notre Dame and runner-up Alabama, isn't until January 7. And, while there may be plenty of games to keep you busy in the days leading up to the big game, we thought we'd sneak another little gift under your tree. In celebration of this year's bowl season we've searched the record books and Halls of Fame to come up with some of the best college football teams to ever grace the gridiron. So, from the 1899 Sewanee Tigers, to the 2006 Boise State Broncos, we proudly present the 50 Most Badass College Football Teams of All Time.

Written by Adam Silvers (@silversurfer103) and David Whitely (@DavidWhitely)

50. 2005 Texas Longhorns

Record: 13 - 0
Finish: 2005 National Champions, Rose Bowl: Won
Coach: Mack Brown
Best Player: Vince Young

The 2005 Texas Longhorns went up against what many believe to be some of the greatest college football teams of all time and conquered. Led by All-American Vince Young, the Longhorns went undefeated during the regular season beating No. 4 ranked Ohio State 25-22, on their way to the Big 12 Championship Game where they would take on Colorado. In one of the most lopsided bowl games ever, Vince Young guided Texas to a 70 - 3 beat down of the Buffaloes, throwing three touchdowns.

The game that everyone remembers. though, is the 2005 Rose Bowl where the No. 2 ranked Longhorns took on No. 1 USC. The Trojans, who hadn't lost in 54 games dating back to their 2004 championship, had Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush returning to defend their throne as the best team in college football. Adding fuel to the fire, ESPN ran a month-long series special that declared the '05 Trojans team as the second best college football team of all time.

Not a problem right? Wrong. These Longhorns didn't make the list. Vince Young delivered one of his greatest plays ever by running for the game-winning touchdown on a 4th and 5 with 19 seconds to go. We're thinking ESPN would like a do-over for their list.

49. 1959 Syracuse Orange

Record: 11 - 0
Finish: 1959 National Champions, Cotton Bowl: Won
Coach: Ben Schwartzwalder
Best Player: Ernie Davis

The '59 Syracuse Orange capped off an undefeated season with a national championship, and Cotton Bowl victory over Texas behind running back Ernie Davis. This game was about the North vs the South as the South was still segregated at the time. The racial tension in the air was capped off by a massive brawl on the field instigated by what Syracuse players felt were cheap shots taken by Texas on Davis. Davis would get the last laugh, though, as he would go on to become the Cotton Bowl MVP, running for one touchdown, catching a Cotton Bowl record 87-yard touchdown pass, and intercepting a pass for his third touchdown. Victory is always the sweetest revenge.

48. 1960 Minnesota Golden Gophers

Record: 8 - 2
Finish: 1960 National Champions, Rose Bowl: Lost
Coach: Murray Warmath
Best Player: Tom Brown

You can take losing for only so long. After three straight losing seasons, with 1958 being their worst, going a combined 1 - 8, the 1960 Golden Gophers were fed up. With a slew of veteran players like First Team All-American Tom Brown, Minnesota started the season, 6-0, beating top ranked teams like Iowa and Michigan before losing to No. 1 Purdue. The Gophers would go on to win the National Championship, but would lose to Washington in the Rose Bowl, going 8-2 on the year. They may not have gone undefeated, but they turned around a sinking ship without overthrowing the captain. Lesson learned, never question the heart of a champion.

47. 1966 Florida Gators

Record: 9 - 2
Finish: Orange Bowl: Won
Coach: Ray Graves
Best Player: Steve Spurrier

When you've got a quarterback who throws for over 2,000 yards you're bound to win some games. The '66 Florida Gators took home the Orange Bowl that year behind Heisman winner Steve Spurrier, who threw for 2,012 yards and 16 touchdowns with a completion rate of 61 percent. What really makes Spurrier badass is when he waived off the place kicker to boot a 40-yard field goal to beat Auburn 30-27. Why throw the ball when you're kicking 40-yarders? #justsaying

46. 1980 Georgia Bulldogs

Record: 12 - 0
Finish: 1980 National Champions, Sugar Bowl: Won
Coach: Vince Dooley
Best Player: Herschel Walker

The 1980 Georgia Bulldogs weren't one of the most dominating teams of all time, but they won with style (and they won every game). The Junkyard Dog defense held when it had to, and the 'Dawgs' had an 18-year old Georgia native in its backfield. Anybody question the badassness of one Herschel Walker? Ask two-time All-SEC safety Bill Bates what he thinks.

45. 1969 Penn State Nittany Lions

Record: 11 - 0
Finish: Orange Bowl: Won
Coach: Joe Paterno
Best Player: Mike Reid

Turns out Richard Nixon could be nearly as grimy in gridiron matters as he was in politics. Penn State was riding high off of their second consecutive undefeated regular season when Tricky Dick handed the National Championship to the winner of the Texas Longhorns and Arkansas Razorbacks game in early December, before any bowl games were even played. No matter, the '69 Nittany Lions were legitimately badass on their own.

Led by Outland Trophy and Maxwell Award winner Mike Reid, as well as a couple guys who would make names for themselves elsewhere in the Keystone State (Jack Ham and Franco Harris), they gave up more than two touchdowns only once during the season. And coach Joe Paterno got a chance to clap back at Nixon while speaking at the 1973 PSU commencement saying, "I'd like to know how could the president know so little about Watergate in 1973 and so much about college football in 1969?" Ether!

44. 1994 Alcorn State Braves

Record: 8 - 2 -1
Finish: No Bowl Appearance
Coach: Cardell Jones
Best Player: Steve McNair

When you've got a QB who's so explosive and talented he puts your tiny, unknown school on the map, that's badass. Steve McNair had 6,000 yards total offense in his senior year at Alcorn State, and broke a slew of records along the way. RIP big homie.

43. 1986 Miami Hurricanes

Record: 11 - 1
Finish: Fiesta Bowl: Lost
Coach: Jimmy Johnson
Best Player: Vinny Testaverde

Possibly the best Miami team ever, the '86 squad ushered in the Thug "U" Era in Miami, and began the tradition of questionable military metaphors (see: Winslow, Kellen). Arriving for the National Championship Game at the Fiesta Bowl in combat fatigues, Vinny Testaverde, Michael Irvin, Jerome Brown and co. offended even more folks when they walked out of a promotional dinner because their opponent Penn State was there. Jerome Brown explained, "Did the Japanese go sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor before they bombed them?" Good question. The '86 Canes would've ranked much higher on this list if they'd, you know, actually beaten PSU.

42. 2004 Auburn Tigers

Record: 13 - 0
Finish: Sugar Bowl: Won
Coach: Tommy Tuberville
Best Player: Ronnie Brown

Don't think competition in the SEC is tough? Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville was nearly fired after going 8-5 in 2003. Not 5-8, but 8-5. So how did Tuberville bounce back? By leading his team to a 13-0 season, and a victory in the Sugar Bowl against Virgina Tech in 2004. The Tigers won some ugly games, but swept ranked SEC rivals LSU, Georgia, and Tennessee (topping the Volunteers twice), before becoming another victim to the bullshit college standings (BCS), which left them out of the National Title Game. Auburn's talent was later recognized when four of their players were selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft., three of whom were taken in the top nine.

41. 1951 San Francisco Dons

Record: 9 - 0
Finish: No Bowl Appearance
Coach: Joe Kuharich
Best Player: Ollie Matson, Bob St. Clair, Gino Marchetti

To go undefeated, produce 10 NFL players, 5 Pro-Bowlers, and three Hall of Famers will undoubtedly make you a badass. But sticking up for your teammates and fighting against racism secured the '51 Dons' spot on this list. The '51 Dons were invited to play in bowl games that year on one condition: they had to leave their black teammates Burl Toler and Ollie Matson at home. Without thinking about it, the team declined. Turning down those disrespectful invites is how the '51 Dons got the moniker "Undefeated, Untied, Uninvited." Going undefeated and producing great players from your program is badass, but standing up for what's right is legendary.

40. 1920 California Golden Bears

Record: 9 - 0
Finish: 1920 National Champions, Rose Bowl: Won
Coach: Andy Smith
Best Player: Brick Muller

When college football fans talk about legacy, the 1920 California Golden Bears are clearly the blueprint. Andy Smith's 1920 Golden Bears were the start of the Golden Bears' Wonder Teams, who would go on to win 50 straight games from 1920-1925, and four straight National Championships. What really made this team badass was how they demolished opponents. The 1920 Golden Bears won their games by a combined score of 510-14. It's bad when you can't stop a team from scoring, but even worse when you can't put any points on the board yourself, just ask the 1920 St. Mary's team who lost to the Golden Bears 127-0. #suckstobeyou

39. 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions

Record: 12 - 0
Finish: 1986 National Champions, Fiesta Bowl: Won
Coach: Joe Paterno
Best Player: Shane Conlan

Who's more badass, State College or South Beach? Joe "Coke bottle glasses" Paterno or Jimmy "Grecian Formula" Johnson? For one night at least, the answer was rural Pennsylvania and Coke-bottle Joe Pa. The '86 Nittany Lions had been ranked in the top 10 all season, had beaten then-No. 2 Alabama on the road, and took a perfect 11-0 record into the National Championship Game. But they were an afterthought to the swaggering Miami Hurricanes: an afterthought that is, until they intercepted the U's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback five times en route to a 14-10 stunner. Needless to say, the parties in State College were considerably more badass than those in South Beach that night.

38. 1982 Southern Methodist Mustangs

Record: 11 - 0 - 1
Finish: Cotton Bowl: Won
Coach: Bobby Collins
Best Player: Eric Dickerson

The Mustangs went 11-0-1 in '82. Their lone blemish was a tie with rival Arkansas in the final game of the regular season. The squad featured the running back duo of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, nicknamed the "Pony Express" (yes, that Craig James). Oh, and the best part? They got paid to do it!

37. 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes

Record: 14 - 0
Finish: 2002 National Champions, Fiesta Bowl: Won
Coach: Jim Tressel
Best Player: Maurice Clarett

In just his sophomore season with the team, Jim Tressel made all of college football fear the power of the sweater vest. With a little help from freshman Maurice Clarett, OSU went undefeated, tying the record of most wins (14) in a season and winning the chip against the highly-favored defending champion Hurricanes at the Fiesta Bowl. At the time, Clarett's game-winning touchdown in the National Championship Game against the U seemed to be a sign of good things to come for the young star. Unfortuatley, it wasn't and since, Clarrett has had multiple high-profile run-ins with the law. Seriously, who thought Craig Krenzel would have the more illustrious NFL career?

36. 1980 North Carolina Tar Heels

Record: 11 - 1
Finish: Bluebonnet Bowl: Won
Coach: Dick Crum
Best Player: Lawrence Taylor

When your best player blew off steam by scaling high-rise dormitories and eating glass, you're going to make a list of the most badass teams of all time. Lawrence Taylor, the aforementioned amateur Spider-Man/pusher of gastro-intestinal boundaries, led the best team in Tar Heel pigskin history—a squad that featured five All-Americans. LT anchored a Carolina D that allowed more than 10 points in only four games, and didn't allow six of their 11 opponents to score a touchdown.

35. 1961 Alabama Crimson Tide

Record: 11 - 0
Finish: 1961 National Champions, Sugar Bowl: Won
Coach: Paul "Bear" Bryant
Best Player: Pat Trammell

They say the first one's always the best, and in the case of legendary Alabama coach Paul Bryant, they might be right. The Bear got his first title in style. 'Bama went 11-0, scoring 297 points and giving up a laughable 25. Saying the '61 squad was Bryant's best is saying something too. The "Bear" nickname would prove to be fitting, as the coach went into beast mode and would go on to win six (half of 'Bama's 12) National Championships.

34. 1985 Oklahoma Sooners

Record: 11 - 1
Finish: 1985 National Champions, Orange Bowl: Won
Coach: Barry Switzer
Best Player: Brian Bosworth

At the time, the Sooners (along with Notre Dame and Nebraska) were seen as the wholesome alternative to the "antics" at the University of Miami. But it turns out OU was doing its own young and thuggin' thing out in Norman. Coached by the swashbuckling Barry Switzer, Oklahoma left a path of destruction in its wake, culminating with Brian Bosworth's infamous "National Communists Against Athletes" t-shirt mocking the NCAA at the '87 Orange Bowl. (Why was he wearing a t-shirt? 'Cause he'd been suspended for steroid use.) When the Boz's book came out a few years later detailing rampant drug use and other assorted debauchery, the Sooners badass legend was cemented. Oh, and they were good too, going 33-3 in '85-'87 and winning the chip in '85.

33. 1899 Sewanee Tigers

Record: 12 - 0
Finish: SIAA Champions
Coach: Billy Sutter
Best Player: Henry "Diddy" Seibels

Beating Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU in the same season is quite a feat. Pitching shutouts against those traditional powerhouses by a combined score of 56-0 on the road (in the span of five days) is badass. The 1899 Tigers were undefeated, outscoring their opponents, which included Tennessee, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Auburn, and North Carolina in addition to the aforementioned power trio, 322-10. They went on a five stop, six day road trip in November of that year, beating Texas, Texas A&M, and Tulane in three consecutive days. They then took a day off, and beat LSU and Ole Miss in another back-to-back. All while taking grueling, long distance trains. Badass.

32. 1915 Washington Huskies

Record: 7 - 0
Finish: No Bowl Appearance
Coach: Gil Dobie
Best Player: Ray Hunt

For a lot of programs, a four-loss season represents a very respectable showing. Last year, four teams in the final AP top 25 poll had four losses; the University of Washington lost six games. A previous Huskies football squad lost four games—in the span of a decade. In the 1910s, Washington had perhaps the most dominant decade of any team in college football history. From 1907-1917, the Huskies won 63 consecutive games with their head coach Gil Dobie retiring with an undefeated 58-0-3 record. The '15 squad had an unconscious 39-2 average margin of victory during the season.

31. 1947 Michigan Wolverines

Record: 10 - 0
Finish: Rose Bowl: Won
Coach: Fritz Crisler
Best Player: Bump Elliot

The National Champion 1947 Michigan team pitched five shutouts (including 55-0 and 21-0 drummings of Michigan State and Ohio State, respectively), but it was their offense that made them a badass squad for the ages. With coach Fritz Crisler introducing the radical concept of specialized offensive and defensive players (prior to Crisler, almost all players were two-way), the Wolverine offense employed reverses, double reverses, "buck-reverse laterals" (whatever that is), and other trick plays on their way to scoring 35 or more points in seven consecutive games. All capped off by a 49-0 pasting of USC in the Rose Bowl. Very badass.

30. 1999 Virginia Tech Hokies

Record: 11 - 1
Finish: Sugar Bowl: Lost
Coach: Frank Beamer
Best Player: Michael Vick

It's not often a redshirt freshman scores three rushing touchdowns in under one quarter of play in his first collegiate game ever. It's even less often that the same redshirt freshman leads his team to an undefeated regular season and into the BCS Title Game. Three words: Michael Vick, badass. As a team, the Hokies failed to score more than 30 points only once during the regular season (holding all but two opponents to fewer than 20 in the process). Uh, who let the dogs out?

29. 1916 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Record: 8 - 0
Finish: No Bowl Appearance
Coach: John Heisman
Best Player: J.H. Preas

Bullying is not nice; running up the score is unsportsmanlike. It's important to respect your opponent, show mercy, and...OK, we won't lie, sometimes it's fun to just beat the shit out of somebody. Like 222-0. Georgia Tech coach John Heisman (yup, that's where the trophy gets its name) was mad about something when Tech (then called the Engineers) took on Cumberland College in October of 1916. Mad that Cumberland had run up the score on Tech in a baseball game earlier that year, mad that the rankings of the day were determined by scoring margin—mad about something. Or maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning.

The numbers are mind-boggling: 1,620 yards rushing on 40 attempts with 32 touchdowns for Tech, -96 yards rushing on 27 attempts with nine fumbles for Cumberland. And Tech didn't attempt a pass! Why get fancy when you're putting the bloody gums and missing teeth in the phrase Smash Mouth football?

28. 1976 Pittsburgh Panthers

Record: 12 - 0
Finish: 1976 National Champions, Sugar Bowl: Won
Coach: Johnny Majors
Best Player: Tony Dorsett

It might seem easy to call the '76 Panthers a one-man team (that man being Tony Dorsett, who had 1,948 yards rushing and won the Heisman, Maxwell, and Walter Camp awards), but a closer look reveals a team that was truly badass. Starting with a 31-10 whupping of Notre Dame in South Bend where TD broke off for 61 yards on his first run on his way to 181 on the day; Pitt ran off 12 consecutive victories, allowing only one opponent to score more than 20 points (Duke, of all teams), and putting up 23 on all but one (Temple, of all teams, against whom the Panthers notched only three touchdowns). They capped the season with a 27-3 manhandling of No. 5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, with Dorsett rushing for 202.

27. 1966 Michigan State Spartans

Record: 9 - 0 - 1
Finish: 1966 National Champions
Coach: Duffy Daugherty
Best Player: Bubba Smith

The Spartans '66 Co-National Title team is badass for a couple of reasons. One being that they weren't the pansy ass '66 Notre Dame Co-National Title team that didn't even make an attempt to score in the closing moments of a tie ballgame between the two schools' end of season tilt, resulting in a split National Championship. The other is that MSU produced four of the first eight players in the following year's NFL Draft, none of them more badass than defensive end Bubba Smith. The Michigan State student body's chant for their star defensive lineman? "Kill Bubba, Kill." Fortunately, Bubba was far nicer in all those Police Academy movies.

26. 1974 Oklahoma Sooners

Record: 11 - 0
Finish: 1974 National Champions
Coach: Barry Switzer
Best Player: Rod Shoate

The '74 Sooners were the definition of hard-nosed, on both sides of the ball. The defense gave up an average of fewer than nine points a game, and the offense, which led the nation in scoring, averaged a staggering 73.9 rushing attempts a game, simply mauling opponents in the process. Featuring eight All-Americans, OU began the season No. 1 in the AP poll. After dipping to third after a lackluster opening game against Baylor, they managed to finish undefeated giving Barry Switzer the first of three chips as the Sooners head coach.

25. 1968 Ohio State Buckeyes

Record: 10 - 0
Finish: 1968 National Champions, Rose Bowl: Won
Coach: Woody Hayes
Best Player: Rex Kern

In college football history there are a few coaching legends who become just as identifiable with the teams they coach as the logos on the jerseys. Woody Hayes was one of them. In probably his most memorable season, Hayes led another undefeated Buckeyes team to the Rose Bowl by beating USC, 27-16. However, the National Title Game wasn't the highlight of the season for Buckeye fans. That came against rival Michigan when late in the game, already emasculating the Wolverines 50-14 on a decisive touchdown, Hayes went for the two-point conversion. When asked later why he went for two, Hayes said, "Because I couldn't go for three!" Rational? Nah. Gully and badass? Yes.

24. 1997 Michigan Wolverines

Record: 12 - 0
Finish: 1997 National Champions, Rose Bowl: Won
Coach: Lloyd Carr
Best Player: Charles Woodson

Michigan entered the '97 season ranked No. 14 with the toughest schedule in the nation. They proceeded to turn in one of the most impressive campaigns in school history. Behind Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson (still the only primarily defensive player to take the award), the Wolverines went undefeated, beating seven ranked teams, including four in the top 10, highlighted by a 34-8 thrashing of No. 3 ranked Penn State on the road, and a tough 20-14 defeat of No. 4 ranked arch rival Ohio State at home. In addition to Woodson, the '97 Wolverines would eventually "graduate" 31 players to the National Football League, including a junior backup quarterback named Tom Brady.

23. 1955 Grambling State Tigers

Record: 10 - 0
Finish: 1955 Black College Football National Championship
Coach: Eddie Robinson
Best Player: Willie Davis

The '55 Grambling State Tigers didn't just go a perfect 10-0, they never gave up more than seven points to any of their opponents along the way, aside from Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic. While achieving their best record in school history, the Tigers were able to outscore their opposition by a 356-61 margin. Coach Robinson was no one hit wonder either. After racking up his 100th career coaching win in 1957 he moved his Tigers to the SWAC in 1959. In just their second season there, the Tigers won the first of 17 SWAC titles under Robinson. That's nearly two decades of chips. #don'tknockthehustle

22. 1983 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Record: 12 - 1
Finish: Orange Bowl: Lost
Coach: Tom Osborne
Best Player: Mike Rozier

For 11 seasons Tom Osborne had coached in the shadow of his predecessor and mentor Bob Devaney, fielding top-notch Nebraska teams that nonetheless failed to take home any National Championships. '83 appeared to be the year he'd bring home a chip, as he took a powerhouse undefeated No. 1 'Huskers squad into the Orange Bowl against an upstart Miami team, only to fall behind 17-0 in the first half. Nebraska dominated the second stanza though, and scored a touchdown with less than a minute remaining to pull to 31-30. An extra point and tie would have secured the title for Nebraska, but Osborne went for the 2-point conversion, only to fail. Failure usually isn't badass, but when it involves a decision this gritty, it most certainly is.

21. 2006 Florida Gators

Record: 13 - 1
Finish: 2006 National Champions, BCS Championship
Coach: Urban Meyer
Best Player: Chris Leak

The '06 National Championship was supposed to have been settled back in November, when No. 1 Ohio State squeaked by No. 2 Michigan in yet another classic in the rivalry's legendary history. Problem is, somebody forgot to tell the Florida Gators. Substantial underdogs to the Buckeyes going into the National Championship Game, The Gators dominated OSU behind a stifling defense, Player of the Game Chris Leak, and a freshman flexback named Tim Tebow, asserting the SEC's dominance over the Big Ten. And proving that, if nothing else, much-maligned former Florida coach Ron Zook sure could recruit with 22 of the 24 starters for the Gators being his kids.

20. 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes

Record: 9 - 1
Finish: 1942 National Champions
Coach: Paul Brown
Best Player: Charles Csuri

1942 was the first consensus National Championship for the storied OSU program. Behind a dominating line featuring All-Americans Charles Csuri and Lindell Houston, the Buckeyes were truly dominating, winning their games by an average score of 37-11, and dropping their only game when half the team fell ill after drinking contaminated water. The '42 squad was noteworthy and badass for another reason as well. That reason being undersized (at 202 lb.) lineman Bill Willis, the first African-American on a National Championship team, who had been recruited off the Buckeye track team the year before by pioneering coach Paul Brown.

19. 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Record: 13 - 0
Finish: 1971 National Champions, Orange Bowl: Won
Coach: Bob Devaney
Best Player: Johnny Rodgers

Sure, the lack of a playoff in college football sucks, but every few years, the National Champ is pretty clear, brackets or no brackets. Case in point? 1971, when Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alabama finished No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Why were the 'Huskers the clear No. 1? Well, they beat the other three teams, whupping Colorado and 'Bama in the process. The Cornhuskers showed no mercy on opponents in '71, winning by an average of more than 30 points per game, and beating the Sooners in the "Game of the Century" on Thanksgiving Day. Undefeated + Winning the "Game of the Century" = Pretty badass.

18. 1956 Oklahoma Sooners

Record: 10 - 0
Finish: 1956 National Champions
Coach: Bud Wilkinson
Best Player: Jim Harris

Between 1954-56, the Sooners reeled off a still-unmatched streak of 47 consecutive wins, and the '56 edition was OU at its ass-kicking best. They played 10 teams and allowed only two of them to score touchdown, giving just four TDs on the year and pitched six shutouts. They failed to score more than 40 points just three times AND they started the season with 36-0, 66-0, and 45-0 thrashings of North Carolina, Kansas State, and Texas, respectively. They also steam rolled Iowa State 44-0, Missouri 67-14, Nebraska 54-6, and Oklahoma State 53-0 within a three-week span during November and December.

17. 2004 Southern Cal Trojans

Record: 11 - 0
Finish: 2004 National Champions, Orange Bowl: Won
Coach: Pete Carroll
Best Player: Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush

There's nothing quite as badass as kicking ass while you're young in L.A. After getting passed over by the BCS in 2003, the 2004 Trojans left no room for debate. After an undefeated season in which they never relinquished the No. 1 ranking, USC beat Oklahoma 55-19 in the BCS Championship Game to cap off their "Leave No Doubt" campaign. Oh, and they got paid to do it (well, at least Reggie Bush did—allegedly!).

16. 2001 Miami Hurricanes

Record: 12 - 0
Finish: 2001 National Champions, Rose Bowl: Won
Coach: Larry Coker
Best Player: Ed Reed

Completing the resurrection of the U begun the year before when they were passed over for the BCS title game for a Florida State team they had beaten. The '01 'Canes turned in one of the truly dominating performances in college football history. They outscored their opponents 512-117 (a 43-10 average) and featured an assemblage of talent that may not be repeated. Three future Pro Bowlers at one position (running backs Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Frank Gore), future All-Pros inAndre Johnson and Ed Reed, and underclassmen backups that included Kellen Winslow and Sean Taylor.

It's safe to say that 2001 Miami team was stacked and they would've probably been even more badass except that they did it all in a more or less dignified fashion. Except for when backup running back Najeh Davenport defecated in a woman's laundry basket three months after Miami crushed Nebraska in the Rose Bowl.

15. 1984 Brigham Young Cougars

Record: 13 - 0
Finish: 1984 National Champions, Holiday Bowl: Won
Coach: LaVell Edwards
Best Player: Robbie Bosco

Fresh off 11 straight consecutive victories during the '83 season and a win at the Holiday Bowl, the Cougars came back to continue the streak throughout the '84 season by winning another 13 straight, ncluding another Holiday Bowl against Michigan. Through hard work (and maybe a little divine intervention) the major conference teams all picked each other off throughout the season. BYU was the only undefeated team standing and declared the National Champion, becoming the last team outside of today's BCS to date to win a I-A or FBS National Title. Plus, they all got to celebrate by doing missionary work in places with rampant disease. What's more badass than that?

14. 1993 Florida State Seminoles

Record: 12 - 1
Finish: 1993 National Champion, Orange Bowl: Won
Coach: Bobby Bowden
Best Player: Charlie Ward

There are teams that are stacked, then there's the '93 Florida State Seminoles. Led by Heisman winner, Charlie Ward, (who, by the way, played basketball, baseball and tennis at high levels during his collegiate career), the Seminoles scored an average of over 40 points per game. Their only loss came at the hands of Notre Dame on their road to the National Championship. Florida State featured three consensus All-Americans in addition to six players being selected in the 1994 NFL Draft. Charlie Ward chose basketball and was a first round pick of the New York Knicks in the1993 NBA Draft.

13. 1947 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Record: 9 - 0
Finish: 1947 National Championship
Coach: Frank Leahy
Best Player: Johnny Lujack

The Fighting Irish secured the number one spot in the 1947 season and went on to be crowned National Champions for the sixth time in school history. But it's not their ranking that makes them badass. 41 players from this team would go on to the NFL, including Heisman-winning QB Johnny Lujack. 41! Will the Irish bring home another ring this year?

12. 1921 Centre College Praying Colonels

Record: 10 - 1
Finish: Conference Champions
Coach: Charley Moran
Best Player: Bo McMillin

How does a 6-0 game between a tiny Liberal Arts school in Kentucky and Harvard become one of the most memorable games of all time? When the game represents one of the greatest upsets in sports history. Centre visited the Crimson a year after Harvard won the second of two consecutive National Championships. The Praying Colonels had challenged the Ivy Leaguers in 1920 only to come up short in the second half. But in '21 Centre shocked Harvard en route to a 10-1 season, outscoring their opponents 314 to 6. The 6 points being Harvard's.

11. 2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers

Record: 13 - 2
Finish: FCS National Champions
Coach: Jerry Moore
Best Player: Corey Lynch

The University of Michigan Wolverines have the winningest football team in college history. The Appalachian State Mountaineers are an FCS team in a quiet corner of a basketball state. No matter, on September 1, 2007, ASU took down UM 34-32 in one of the biggest upsets in American sports history, becoming the first FCS (formerly I-AA) team to beat a ranked FBS (formerly I-A) squad in history. At the end of the '07 season, App would take home their third consecutive FCS chip, confirming their badass dominance.

10. 2006 Boise State Broncos

Record: 13 - 0
Finish: Fiesta Bowl: Won
Coach: Chris Petersen
Best Player: Ian Johnson

Going for the two-point conversion to win in a regular season game takes balls; going for two in overtime during a bowl game on a trick play? That takes balls of steel. Boise State was already facing long odds when they squared off against Goliath Oklahoma in the '07 Fiesta Bowl, and after scoring a TD in OT to bring the Broncos within a point (after executing a flawless hook and ladder to tie the game in regulation), they could've been forgiven for playing it safe and kicking an extra point. Instead, head coach Chris Petersen opted to run a "Statue of Liberty" play on the two-point conversion, and beat the Sooners 43-42.

If that wasn't enough, Ian Johnson, the running back that ran for the winning score, proposed to his girlfriend, a Broncos cheerleader, during a post-game interview. And, of course, She said, "Yes." Successful proposal and Fiesta Bowl win in a 15-minute span? Ole, ole, ole, ole!

9. 1992 Crimson Tide

Record: 13 - 0
Finish: 1992 National Champions, Sugar Bowl: Won
Coach: Gene Stallings
Best Player: Derrick Lassic

How do you handle a trash-talking bully that disrespects you? Usually beating the shit out of 'em will suffice. Going into the 1993 Sugar Bowl, Miami was the swaggering defending National Champs who had a later curfew than the poor, straight-laced Alabama team they were supposed to easily handle. Coming out of that same game, 'Bama had its first chip in 13 years after smacking the 'Canes 34-13. Maybe Lamar Thomas wishes he'd gotten an extra hour of sleep when George Teague caught him from behind, or maybe it wouldn't have mattered at all.

8. 1971 Marshall Thundering Herd

Record: 2 - 8
Finish: No Bowl Appearance
Coach: Jack Lengyel
Best Player: Reggie Oliver

Most football programs would fold if they lost 37 players and eight coaches in a tragic plane crash. Not Marshall. After nearly the entire football program was wiped out in a charter plane crash in November, Coach Jack Lengyel and others scraped together a replacement team with junior varsity players and athletes from other sports. Even though they ended the 1971 season with a losing record, they were still badass enough to beat rivals Xavier and Bowling Green, setting the foundation for a program that would eventually return to national prominence.

7. (tie) 1987 Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles

Record: 12 - 0 (UM),
Finish: 1987 National Champions, Orange Bowl: Won (UM),
Coach: Jimmy Johnson (UM), Bobby Bowden (FSU)
Best Player: Michael Irvin (UM), Deion Sanders (FSU)

Sometime in the mid-1980s, the center of the football universe packed its bags and left places like Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Bend, and moved to Florida for the next decade and some change. The '87 Hurricanes and '87 Seminoles were the teams it used to officially announce its arrival. They finished 1 (Miami) and 2 (Florida State) in the final rankings (with FSU's only loss coming to the 'Canes), and their game featured ten first round picks and more than 60 players who would go on to various NFL training camps.

"How many wins would [INSERT COLLEGE JUGGERNAUT HERE] win in the NFL?" is a favorite bar conversation topic. And while the answer to that question is almost always "none;" it's safe to say an NFL team consisting of the best of these two teams would've been a serious threat to some pro squads.

6. 1945 Army Cadets

Record: 9 - 0
Finish: 1945 National Championship
Coach: Earl Blaik
Best Player: Doc Blanchard

The Black Knights accomplished some incredible things in 1945. Not only did they have an undefeated season—for the second year in a row—but they also outscored their opponents 412-46. At the start of the following season, Army crushed Notre Dame, who were coming off two consecutive undefeated seasons, 48-0 in front of 74,000 people at Yankee Stadium. And they did it all after beating some crazy dude with a bad moustache named Hitler.

5. 1901 University of Michigan

Record: 11 - 0
Finish: 1901 National Championship, Rose Bowl: Won
Coach: Fielding Yost
Best Player: Neil Snow

The '01 Wolverines were notable for a few reasons. They won the first of Michigan's 11 National Titles, they played in the inaugural Rose Bowl, and they so thoroughly dominated their opponents that two of them—national powers themselves—actually invoked the mercy rule on themselves and quit rather than endure a full 60 minutes of punishment against Big Blue. Michigan scored 22 touchdowns in 38 minutes of play against favored Buffalo during the regular season, leading the Bulls to end the game with 15 minutes left on the clock. Fullback Neil Snow scored five touchdowns in the first Rose Bowl, prompting Stanford's captain to ask to have the game called with eight minutes remaining. *cue the soundtrack*

4. 1970 Southern Cal Trojans

Record: 6 - 4 - 1
Finish: No Bowl Appearance
Coach: John McKay
Best Player: Sam Cunningham

While many teams in the SEC remained segregated throughout the '60s, Alabama vs. USC on September 12, 1970 changed all that forever. The all-white Crimson Tide led by Paul "Bear" Bryant took a 42-21 thrashing from a fully-integrated USC team whose six touchdowns that day were scored by black players. This game led to Alabama, and many other teams in the South, integrating their college football teams. This break of the color barrier also fostered a popular saying in the coaching fraternity: "If you can't beat 'em, stop being a racist asshole."

3. 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Record: 12 - 0
Finish: 1995 National Champions, Fiesta Bowl: Won
Coach: Tom Osborne
Best Player: Tommie Frazier

Sometimes simple, good ol' fashioned excellence is the most badass of all. You want domination? How about a 50-plus points per game average? How about winning every game by two touchdowns, and all but one by more than twenty points? How about a 62-24 humiliation of second ranked Florida in the Fiesta Bowl for the National Championship? If we ever did a most badass coaches list, Tom Osborne might crack the top five, dead or alive.

2. 1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Record: 10 - 0
Finish: 1924 National Championship, Rose Bowl: Won
Coach: Knute Rockne
Best Player: Elmer Layden

The 1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish went 10-0, won the first of the school's 11 National Championships, and were coached by the legendary Knute Rockne. But those aren't the reasons they're badass. The '24 Irish featured a backfield of quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Jim Crowley and Don Miller, and fullback Elmer Layden. After Notre Dame defeated Army in October 1924, overwrought sportswriter Grantland Rice (as in the overwrought website of the same name) dubbed the quartet "The Four Horsemen." As in "of the Apocalypse." As in "Death, Destruction, Pestilence, and Famine." Undefeated teams and national titlists are a dime a dozen, but carrying one of the top five sports nicknames of all time is badass.

1. 1990 Miami Hurricanes

Record: 10 - 2
Finish: Cotton Bowl: Won
Coach: Dennis Erickson
Best Player: Russell Maryland

Not the best team of all time (not even the best Miami squad), but the most badass, based on one game: the 1991 Cotton Bowl a.k.a. The Wrongest Game in Football History. With nothing to play for—they'd already lost two games and were out of national championship contention—the 'Canes went into Dallas and humiliated a Texas team that had an outside chance at a chip. Believe it or not, the 46-3 score doesn't tell the full story of the drubbing.

The Longhorns had one passing first down, but gained six via Miami penalties—UM picked up 202 yards in penalties, mostly unsportsmanlike conduct. Before T.O. danced on the star in Dallas, and before touchdown celebrations had to be regulated, Miami was stomping at midfield in the Cotton Bowl and Randal Hill was running halfway up the tunnel firing imaginary pistols after scoring. The quaint part? The announcers are more amused than outraged. Everything was better in the '90s, huh?