Ranking the 28 College Football Playoff Teams (2014-20)

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Lots of coaches through the years have attempted to modernize their offense in the hopes of giving their program a shot in the arm. LSU's 2019 team set the bar impossibly high for any future modernizers. New passing game coordinator Joe Brady added a few extra tricks for quarterback Joe Burrow and his elite skill corps, and Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns (!!!). Once LSU's defense got healthy and up to speed late in the year, LSU was untouchable. Ed Orgeron's squad beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, then won its last six games by an average of 30 points.

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The Case For: The resumé is flawless. It hung up 45 at Texas – who wasn’t in the final College Football Playoff rankings – that set the tone, and the offense never slowed down from there.

Joe Burrow and the attack led the nation in total offense, was second in passing behind Washington State, and was third in scoring. It didn’t just put up big numbers, it put up big numbers against the biggest and best teams.

The Tigers took down a then-unbeaten Alabama (13) in Tuscaloosa, rolled Georgia (5) in the SEC Championship, put up 42 on Florida (9), got past Auburn (12), and beat nine bowl teams in all.

The Case Against: There’s no knocking the schedule – especially considering what a big deal it was to beat Alabama on the road – but the defense was a bit soft at times, and the team got pushed way too hard by Texas and Ole Miss teams that put up massive numbers.

Final Decision: The high-end of the schedule is just too strong. The committee loves big wins and performances in the biggest of games, and it likes it when teams turn it on late in the year. LSU’s defense flipped the switch against Texas A&M before stuffing Georgia.

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