Atlantic Coast

5 best college football teams to never win BCS or CFP championship

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:23 p.m. ET

Fansided, Zach Bigalke/FanSided via Saturday Blitz

As we enter the 20th season of a national championship game at the FBS level, let's look back at the five best college football teams that came close.

When the Bowl Championship Series started in 1998, it launched a new era for college football. There has been plenty of drama and questionable selections over the years, to be sure. Not every championship game got the showdown it deserved. Sometimes it felt as though the wrong team was selected in a given year.

After 16 years, the BCS was sidelined in favor of the College Football Playoff. As a plus-one model, the CFP provides double the access. That does not necessarily mean that the system reduces the questions about methodology or the final results. Penn State can attest to that, as can TCU and Baylor a few years back.

But as we enter the 20th season of a fairly unified and definitive national championship system at the FBS level, it is worth looking back at those teams that came oh-so-close to contending for a national championship. Whether due to conference affiliation, an inopportune loss at the worst time, or falling flat in a title game, some teams have simply been snakebitten when it comes to getting over the final hurdle.

Click through to see the five best teams of the BCS and CFP eras who failed to win the biggest prize over the past two decades.

GLENDALE, AZ – JANUARY 04: The Boise State Broncos enter the field to take on the TCU Horned Frogs before the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at the Universtity of Phoenix Stadium on January 4, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Boise State Broncos

202-43 (.824), 0 BCS/CFP appearances

No team has won more games since 1998 than Boise State. Over that period, the Broncos finished with at least 10 wins in 14 of 19 seasons. That matches Oklahoma and Ohio State for the most double-digit winning seasons over the span. Despite undefeated regular seasons in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009, Boise State has never played for the national championship.

That is because the Broncos have played in the Big West, the WAC, and the Mountain West over the past 20 years. Always affiliated with a mid-major conference, Boise State has been glossed over for power-conference contenders. What sets Boise State apart from other smaller schools, though, is its consistence across time. The Broncos have enjoyed 10-win seasons under four different head coaches over that period.

Boise State has had to settle for three wins in three Fiesta Bowl appearances. The closest the Broncos came was finishing sixth in the final BCS standings in 2009. They capped that season with a Fiesta Bowl win over TCU while Alabama and Texas played for the championship.

PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 01: The Wisconsin Badgers takes the field before playing the Stanford Cardinal in the 99th Rose Bowl Game Presented by Vizio on January 1, 2013 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Wisconsin Badgers

178-70 (.718), 0 BCS/CFP appearances

At first glance, Wisconsin seems an odd choice for this list. But the Badgers are one of just six non-championship teams with a winning percentage over .700. They have won five Big Ten titles since 1998, and have been a consistent national threat over that period.

But the Badgers have always peaked in a year where other teams are rated more highly. In 1998, they finished ninth in the final BCS standings — behind several two-loss teams, no less. The following year, 9-2 Wisconsin finished seventh. 2010 yielded a situation similar to what Baylor and TCU faced four years later, as 11-1 Wisconsin was just fourth after sharing the Big Ten championship with Ohio State.

Multiple losses eliminated Wisconsin during conference titles each of the following two years as well. Though they have been consistent, the Badgers have never reached the summit. Their path to the Big Ten title game is easier in the West, but the competition from East teams will only get tougher moving forward.

MIAMI – JANUARY 01: Virginia Tech Hokies Orion Martin #90 celebrates his interception against the Cincinnati Bearcats with Nekos Brown #47 during the FedEx Orange Bowl at Dolphin Stadium on January 1, 2009 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

Virginia Tech Hokies

180-69 (.723), 1 BCS/CFP appearance

Led by freshman sensation Michael Vick, Virginia Tech went undefeated to win the Big East in 1999. Their reward was an invitation to take on Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship. After falling behind by two touchdowns in the second half, the Hokies came back to take a fourth-quarter lead. But the Seminoles eventually prevailed, and Virginia Tech has failed to return to a national championship game.

Few schools have been as consistently relevant as the Hokies, who have been bowling every year since 1993. Virginia Tech has won four conference championships since moving to the ACC in 2004. But the Hokies have never managed to party like it's 1999 again, as they have always incurred multiple losses in each of those championship years.

Over decades with Frank Beamer patrolling the sidelines, the Hokies came close but never were able to capture a national title. Justin Fuente returned Virginia Tech to the ACC championship game in 2016, but they fell in a 42-35 shootout with eventual national champion Clemson.

ATLANTA – JANUARY 2: Russ Tanner #50 of the Georgia Bulldogs and teammates walk onto the field to play the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Nokia Sugar Bowl game at the Georgia Dome on January 2, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia. The West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 38-35. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty images)

Georgia Bulldogs

179-67 (.728), 0 BCS/CFP appearances

Like Wisconsin, Georgia never has managed to play for the national title over the past two decades. But the Bulldogs have been right there in the thick of things throughout the period. For them, the biggest problem has been membership in a loaded SEC that has seen five of its schools win BCS or CFP titles.

The one SEC school that has been in the mix but unable to make that final leap has been Georgia. It has been over a decade since the Bulldogs last won a conference title. In 2002, a loss to Florida kept Georgia out of the BCS championship. Three years later, the Bulldogs lost twice during the regular season. Returns to the SEC championship in 2011 and 2012 only yielded more heartache as Georgia lost to LSU and Alabama respectively.

Ultimately, the failure to keep up with other SEC powerhouses cost Mark Richt his job as head coach. Georgia has had the misfortune of being good during a time when the SEC became the most cutthroat league in the country.

ARLINGTON, TX – JANUARY 12: The Oregon Ducks take the field prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium on January 12, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Oregon Ducks

177-65 (.731), 2 BCS/CFP appearances

Only one team without a national title has played in both a BCS championship game and the College Football Playoff final. That team, of course, is Oregon. The Ducks were a Michael Dyer tackle away from the championship after the 2010-2011 season. They also made the inaugural CFP title game in 2014-2015, but were blown out by Ohio State.

Oregon's rise started in 2001, when they were passed over by the BCS in favor of Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were routed by Miami, while the Ducks clobbered Colorado at the Fiesta Bowl. Over the past two decades, Oregon has built its brand not just with wacky uniform combinations but also high-stakes competition and a frenetic pace. While other teams have expanded color combinations and up-tempo offenses, though, Oregon remains the vanguard of this movement.

Unfortunately, though, being a trendsetter doesn't always equate to a championship. Whether under Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly, or Mark Helfrich, the Ducks just haven't been able to fly over that last obstacle in their path to the top of college football.