USA Today just rated the national champions in football over the last 15 years. The newspaper put 15-0 Clemson, which beat a pair of undefeated, top-5 opponents in Notre Dame and Alabama in the FBS playoffs, as No. 1 among No. 1’s. That seems correct.
Writer Paul Myerberg didn’t employ any particular metrics, although he did point out the Tigers’ defense was the nation’s best, its offense third. He also ranked Florida State’s 2013 champs, led by reputed repeat sexual molester Jameis Winston, second-best since 2004, citing especially the team’s 42-point average margin of victory.
We’d been thinking of comparisons along similar lines, but rather in regard to the qualities of the eight national champions from the ACC between 1953 and 2018.