ESPN/Bill Connelly ranks every team that has made the current playoff format

ESPN.com / Bill Connelly has ranked all 36 teams that have made the College Football Playoff since the current format started in 2014.  Probably something that would make more sense to make after this season is completed to see how the current 4 teams play, but it's a fun type of list nonetheless. 

 

It is paywalled, but I'll put some of the write-ups for the notable ones, as I believe mods tend to be a bit more lenient with ESPN+ stuff. 

https://www.espn.com/college-football/insider/story/_/id/35233838/ranking-all-36-teams-made-college-football-playoff

 

36. 2015 Michigan State (12-2)

CFP result: Lost to Alabama 38-0

Mark Dantonio's 2015 Spartans are definitive proof that no matter what the committee says, it is picking the four "most deserving" teams rather than the "best" -- MSU was definitively the former and in no way the latter. And that's fine! The Spartans finished 18th in FPI and 20th in SP+ but beat a dynamite Ohio State team and outlasted unbeaten Iowa to win the Big Ten. Then they did exactly what was expected of them against Alabama in the Cotton Bowl: They lost big.

 

35. 2018 Notre Dame (12-1)

CFP result: Lost to Clemson 30-3

The Fighting Irish earned their spot in the playoff with increasingly dominant wins over quality Michigan, Stanford and Syracuse teams. Their defense was solid and exciting (10th in defensive SP+), but their offensive limitations were made crystal clear when they had to face Clemson in the Cotton Bowl. The game was tied after one quarter, but it got much, much worse from there.

 

31. 2016 Ohio State (11-2)
CFP result: Lost to Clemson 31-0

After what might have been Urban Meyer's most talented Ohio State team missed the CFP in 2015, the most offensively limited one made it the next year. The defense was strong enough to limit Deshaun Watson and Clemson to just two touchdowns in the Tigers' first 10 drives in the semifinal, but the Buckeyes' offense, which ranked just 32nd in offensive SP+, got embarrassed and shut out.

 

27. 2021 Michigan (12-2)
CFP result: Lost to Georgia 34-11

A loss to Michigan State set Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines back early on, but they took down Ohio State for the first time in a decade, then stomped Iowa to win their first outright Big Ten title since 2003. This was an excellent team and the champion of an excellent conference, but the Wolverines ran into a slight problem in the Orange Bowl: They weren't better than Georgia at anything. That will catch up to you.

 

14. 2022 Michigan (13-0)
CFP matchup: vs. TCU in Vrbo Fiesta Bowl

From an SP+ perspective, Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines grade out around the 99th percentile and right in line with quite a few recent CFP runners-up. They appear to be even better at the manball routine that brought them to the 2021 CFP, ranking among the nation's best in most rushing categories and clocking in at fourth in defensive SP+ and sixth in special teams. This is a beautifully well-rounded team.

 

5.  2021 Georgia (14-1)

4. 2022 Georgia (13-0)

3. 2018 Clemson (15-0)

 

2. 2019 LSU (15-0)
CFP result: Beat Oklahoma 63-28; beat Clemson 42-25

Plenty of coaches have attempted to modernize their offense in the hopes of giving their program a shot in the arm. Ed Orgeron's 2019 team set the bar impossibly high for any future modernizers. With help from an elite skill corps, Joe Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns (!!!). Once LSU's defense got healthy late in the year, the Tigers were untouchable, beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa, then winning their last six games by an average of 30 points.

 

1. 2020 Alabama (13-0)
CFP result: Beat Notre Dame 31-14; beat Ohio State 52-24

The Crimson Tide had the Nos. 1, 3 and 5 finishers in the Heisman voting. They played one game decided by fewer than 14 points. They bested an SEC-only schedule by an average of 30.2 points per game. Their defense struggled early but allowed only 15 points per game after mid-October. This was the best Nick Saban team ever and quite possibly the best of the 21st century.

Best team ... from the best coach ... with the best dynasty of the 21st century (at the very least)? Sounds like the best team of the CFP era.