Source: BroBible
Summary
A list of 11 college football teams that failed to maintain success after winning a national championship. The teams all finished .500 or worse the following season. LSU, Notre Dame, Yale, and others are included. The 1934 Michigan Wolverines had the worst record, finishing 1-7. The article notes that losing key players and coaching changes contributed to the decline.
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The routine arrives with confidence.
Winning a title is just the start.
Next year, everything falls apart.
Players leave, coaches get fired, and the magic disappears.
Champions become also-rans in a heartbeat.
Author: Evan Null
The 11 worst reigning college football national champions.
The article discusses the 11 college football teams that failed to maintain success after winning a national championship. These teams all finished .500 or worse the following season. The list includes LSU, Notre Dame, Yale, and others. The 1934 Michigan Wolverines had the worst record, finishing 1-7. The article notes that losing key players and coaching changes contributed to the decline.
2020 LSU Tigers
The 2019 LSU football team is arguably the greatest of all time. The Tigers were a perfect 15-0 behind an offense that set multiple NCAA records. Quarterback Joe Burrow won the Heisman trophy as a result. Unfortunately, the performance wasn’t replicated the following year. LSU had 14 players drafted, five of which went in the first round. Replacements were unable to match success. The Tigers went 5-5 in the 2020 COVID season. Head coach Ed Orgeron would be fired the next year. LSU is the most recent defending national champion to finish .500 or worse.
1950 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The 1949 Fighting Irish went 10-0 led by head coach Frank Leahy with wins over the likes of USC, UNC, Michigan State, Iowa, and fourth-ranked Tulane. Notre Dame averaged 36 points per game to rank fifth in the nation. Every win was decided by double-digits. They held the No. 1 spot for the final eight weeks of the season. In 1950, the program took a major step back. Despite starting the year at No. 1 in the preseason poll, they were unranked by Week 4. Notre Dame was beaten soundly by Purdue and Indiana. They also tied Iowa. The Irish finished the year 4-4-1.
1928 Yale Bulldogs
In 1927, Yale won its most recent of 18 (or 27 depending on who you ask) college football national championships. It was rated as the nation’s top team by both the Boand System and the College Football Researchers Association. While Illinois and Georgia were voted as the true champs by most accounts, Yale still claims its title. There would be no debate the following year surrounding the Bulldogs. After going 7-1 with a loss to UGA in ’27, Yale went 4-4 in ’28. That came despite a 3-0 start. After beating Maine, Georgia, and Brown, the Bulldogs dropped four of their final five games. The season ended with a 17-0 shutout at the hands of Harvard.
1923 Princeton Tigers
Princeton went 8-0 in the 1922 campaign to earn a vote as national champion. It split that honor with Cal and Cornell. The Tigers shut out six of their eight opponents. They allowed just 4.2 points per contest. The next year, however, was full of struggles. The offense couldn’t score, being held to three points or less on four occasions. While they did pick up wins over Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and Swarthmore, the Tigers were embarrassed by Yale and Notre Dame. They finished the year 3-3-1.
