Deciding a college football national champion was a complicated endeavor for decades. The sport finally implemented the College Football Playoff in 2014 to simplify the process.
Only one FBS team (Georgia) has won back-to-back national titles in the College Football Playoff era. Alabama and USC are the only teams that claimed back-to-back national championships during the Bowl Championship Series era beginning in 1998.
USC has a rightful claim to the 2003 title despite not playing in the Sugar Bowl (that season's designated national championship game). The Trojans were one of three one-loss teams vying for a spot in the title game, but were held out despite finishing No.