Best 1-year wonders of the CFP Era.

iowajerms

iowajerms

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Possibly turn this into a poll tourney but for now, I will keep it as it's own thread.

Ideal one-year wonder would be a team that had a 10+ win season between < .500 seasons, without NCAA violations or major injuries.
 
2014 Georgia Tech is a candidate. 2014 GT went 11-3 and finished in the top 10. In 2013 they went 7-6 and in 2015 they went 3-9.
 
I would put 2020 Northwestern.

2019 - 3-9 (1-8) - 7th in B1G West
2020 - 7-2 (6-1) - 1st in B1G West
2021 - 3-9 (1-8) - 7th in B1G West
 
2019 Baylor would also get consideration. They went 11-3 in 2019. In 2018 they went 7-6 and in 2020 they went 2-7.

Now of course we know they bounced back in 2021 and won the Big 12 but they fit the OPs description.
 
2014 Mississippi State reached #1 in the polls at one time and went 10-3 as well. Mississippi State was 7-6 in 2013, 9-4 in 2015, and 6-7 in 2016.

Not sure if that qualifies them or not.
 
Volbound1700 said:
2014 Mississippi State reached #1 in the polls at one time and went 10-3 as well. Mississippi State was 7-6 in 2013, 9-4 in 2015, and 6-7 in 2016.

Not sure if that qualifies them or not.
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I would say no. They went 10-3 in 2014 and then went 9-4 in 2015. Not a big enough to fall off to call it a one hit wonder IMO.
 
duckboy33 said:
I would say no. They went 10-3 in 2014 and then went 9-4 in 2015. Not a big enough to fall off to call it a one hit wonder IMO.
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Understood. They are the closet example that I had in the SEC. Auburn has had some great teams and then fell apart the following season but they keep coming back.

Perhaps 2019 LSU fits this bill since they have totally collapsed after that title run.
 
Volbound1700 said:
Understood. They are the closet example that I had in the SEC. Auburn has had some great teams and then fell apart the following season but they keep coming back.

Perhaps 2019 LSU fits this bill since they have totally collapsed after that title run.
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2019 LSU definitely had the fall off but didn't they win a NY6 bowl against UCF in 2018?
 
duckboy33 said:
2019 LSU definitely had the fall off but didn't they win a NY6 bowl against UCF in 2018?
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Correct, they went 10-3 and won the Fiesta Bowl that season. Their only losses in 2018 were to Alabama, Florida, and Texas A&M. So even they don't 100% fit the bill. I am thinking no one in the SEC fits this description in the Playoff era. However, there were teams in the past.

1999 Alabama is a great one. They went 7-5 in 1998, 10-3 in 1999 and won the SEC Championship, and 3-8 in 2000.
 
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iowajerms said:
I would put 2020 Northwestern.

2019 - 3-9 (1-8) - 7th in B1G West
2020 - 7-2 (6-1) - 1st in B1G West
2021 - 3-9 (1-8) - 7th in B1G West
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thats standard issue for Northwestern tho
2011 6-7
2012 10-3
2013 5-7
 
I’m not sure if this qualifies but OSU wining a title with their 3rd string QB was something else.
 
MAIZEandBLUE09 said:
I’m not sure if this qualifies but OSU wining a title with their 3rd string QB was something else.
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I mean, the year before and the year after they were one Michigan State loss from the National Championship game. They were like 38-4 over those three years.
 
Auburn went from 3-9 ... 0-8 in SEC play ... to 12-1 and SEC Champs in one season. We finished 12-2 after a loss in the BCSNCG.
 
Colorado's 2016 season came out of nowhere. They hadn't been to a bowl game since 2007 and pulled a 10 win season out of their ass, making it to the PAC Championship game (though they got smoked by Washington and then Ok State in their bowl). It's not like they played a soft schedule either, they had the 9th toughest SOS per Sports-Reference and played the likes of Michigan/USC/Utah/Washington/Wazzu/Oklahoma State.

They followed that up with three consecutive 5-7 seasons.
 
Playoff era started in 2014, so that means 2013 doesn’t factor in right?

If so, Missouri went 11-3 in 2014 and won the East and have been dookie since
 
7samurai13 said:
I mean, the year before and the year after they were one Michigan State loss from the National Championship game. They were like 38-4 over those three years.
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In terms of that year though, all things considered, they shouldn't have had a chance. And in all the years before and after where they had all these elite names, they've often come hilariously short.
 
navamind said:
Colorado's 2016 season came out of nowhere. They hadn't been to a bowl game since 2007 and pulled a 10 win season out of their ass, making it to the PAC Championship game (though they got smoked by Washington and then Ok State in their bowl). It's not like they played a soft schedule either, they had the 9th toughest SOS per Sports-Reference and played the likes of Michigan/USC/Utah/Washington/Wazzu/Oklahoma State.

They followed that up with three consecutive 5-7 seasons.
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Good call. Right now I think 2016 Colorado, 2014 Georgia Tech and 2019 Baylor best fit the description. 2020 Northwestern to an extent but I tend to dismiss the covid season, especially for the Big Ten and PAC 12.

Colorado may be the winner because it's probably their only good season in 20 years.
 
duckboy33 said:
Good call. Right now I think 2016 Colorado, 2014 Georgia Tech and 2019 Baylor best fit the description. 2020 Northwestern to an extent but I tend to dismiss the covid season, especially for the Big Ten and PAC 12.

Colorado may be the winner because it's probably their only good season in 20 years.
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Dan Hawkins really ran that program into the ground. They still havent recovered.
 
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