The 95 Cornhuskers clearly had the best championship of the decade. First, they demolished every team on their schedule, with an average win of 53-15. The only "squeaker" was a not-as-close-as-it-sounds 35-21 win over Washington State. The squad was loaded with stars on both sides of the ball, and the offense was led by the option team of Tommie Frazier and Lawrence Phillips. The bowl game win was a 62-24 thrashing of then-undefeated, #2 Florida, a team that had beaten Florida State and Tennessee during the regular season.

The 99 Seminoles, unlike the 93 team that also won a national title, went through the regular season undefeated. Less dominating than the 95 Cornhuskers, the Noles won by an average score of 38-17. Early season consistency gave way to mid and late season scares, including second half pull aways from Virginia and Miami, and down to the wire classics at Clemson and at Florida. But the 46-29 masterpiece against then-undefeated, #2 Virginia Tech, a more-than-worthy adeversary, put the exclamation mark on FSU's best season.

The 92 Crimson Tide was bursting with defensive superstars and an offensive wunderkind named David Palmer. This exceptional unit took the SEC and NCAA by surprise, going 13-0 with an average win of 28-9. Two 17-0 wins and perplexing wins over Southern Miss (17-10) and Louisiana Tech (13-0) hid from the nation just how good this team was. Like when Antonio Langham made a game-saving interception return in the SEC championship game against Florida, Alabama could emerge victorious from any scenario. Like a Trojan Horse or a pool shark, the Tide exploded in a 34-13 Sugar Bowl win over favored and undefeated Miami.

I once argued that the 97 Cornhuskers were more worthy of the 1997 championship than were the 97 Wolverines, but for this list I will disagree with myself. The Wolverines were certainly a surprise team, led by gutty QB Brian Griese and a terrific defense anchored by Charles Woodson. With an average victory of 27-10, the Maize and Blue closed the season with four strong statements against Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and a very talented 10-1 Washington State team (led by Ryan Leaf). In that Rose Bowl classic, the Michigan pass rush was outrageous and Griese uncorked two bombs that belied Michigan's season-long conservative attack.

The first team on the list with a loss, 12-1 Florida erases all doubts by beating every team on its schedule. The answer to the implied riddle is that Florida, a 24-21 loser to FSU during the regular season, crushed the still-undefeated Seminoles 52-20 in the bowl game. Including that regular season hiccup, the Gators laid waste their competition by an average margin of 47-17. Led by Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel, the Gators negotiated a very difficult schedule en route to their championship.

The nucleus of the amazing 95 team was in place in 94. That unit won its first of two back-to-back titles by beating teams an average of 35-12, most notably an early statement game against UCLA they won 49-21. That no game was really all that close was partially due to a weak Big 8 conference slate, but a 24-17 win over 10-1 Miami helped to assuage voter's concerns. A higher ranking on the list could have occured if not for the doubt in my mind about whether undefeated, consensus #2 team Penn State should have gotten the nod.

From out of nowhere, the 97 Huskers impressed pollsters with a 42-7 undressing of 11-1 Tennessee in their bowl game to pass undefeated Michigan in one of two polls. Their 13-0 season record was earned with average wins of 47-16, including trashing Texas A&M in the Big Twelve championship. The only dent in the Husker resume in an otherwise dominating season was an overtime victory against a mediocre Missouri team, set up by a controversial regulation-ending touchdown. An illegal advertant kick of a Scott Frost pass enabled Nebraska to reach overtime.

With one of the best Pac Ten defenses of the year, the 91 Huskies dominated their conference by winning 12 games at a 41-10 average. Except for a narrow 24-17 win over conference rival Cal, the Huskies were never tested throughout the season, beating Nebraska handily and sweeping through the conference slate. Concerns about a weak schedule were erased when the Huskies crushed a good Michigan team 34-14 in the Rose Bowl. Michigan that year had gone undefeated in the Big Ten, losing just once, to Florida State. The Huskies shared the title with the Miami Hurricanes.

Appropriately, the Hurricanes and Huskies, who shared the 1991 title, rank close together on my list. The Canes had a fearsome, fast defense in 91, with opponents averaging just 8 points to the Hurricanes' 31. An undefeated season was saved in the famed Wide Right I game against Florida State, when kicker Gerry Thomas missed a short field goal to relinquish a 17-16 win for Miami. The impressive Miami defense showed up in a brilliant 22-0 pasting of Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The Canes lose points on my list, and most importantly sit behind Washington, precisely because of the bowl opponent: choosing to play at home in the Orange Bowl against a weak 9-1-1 Nebraska team, instead of signing up for a natural Sugar Bowl game against 10-1 Florida. Cowardice wins you a national title, but not a high ranking from the Webmaestro.

Destiny's team, or so they called themselves. National champions that credit destiny, of course, often have a big debt to good fortune. Such was the case for the Volunteers, who stormed through a very difficult schedule and won 23-16 over a 10-1 Florida State team in the bowl game, winning at a 33-15 clip. The Vols fearsome defense, power running game, and crafty QB Tee Martin did what better Tennessee teams (under Peyton Manning and Heath Shuler) could not: win it all. Chinks in the resume come from lucky wins over Syracuse, Florida, and Arkansas, and an ugly football game against the Seminoles. No team that won all their games ranks lower on my list.

What? How can I place what many people (at the time) called the "Team Of The Century" as just the 11th most worthy champion of the 90s? The so-called "Team Of The Century", led by Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, freshman phenom Warrick Dunn, and a host of future NFL stars, slogged through a tough schedule winning an average of 41-10. They were the team that finally beat Miami. They were the first team to beat Steve Spurrier's Gators in the Swamp. They toughed it out against an 11-0 Nebraska team that would claim two straight national titles afterward. But to me, they had an unjustified title, as great as their season and their team was. Finishig 11-1, they finished ahead in the polls to Notre Dame, also 11-1, and who had beaten FSU head to head by a touchdown earlier that year. It is also worth noting that Auburn finished 11-0 and had beaten then-number 1 Florida at the Swamp earlier that season.

Ah 1990. The year no one wanted the national championship, so they gave out two. Doubling up opponents by an average score of 32-16, Georgia Tech cruised through a weak ACC (remember, no Florida State at the time) with a 10-0-1 record. The tie came against a decent but not great North Carolina team; battles came from Virginia and Clemson. The Ramblin' Wreck did make a statement with a terrific 45-21 win over Nebraska, but the Huskers were just 9-2 at the time. So unwilling to award the national title to the Citrus Bowl champions were the voters, that one poll committed the absurdity of voting for Colorado.

Ah, Colorado. It is hard to imagine a national champion so perfectly opposite the 1995 Cornhuskers for worthiness and satisfaction, but the Buffs are the bottom of the barrel. First, there is the record: 11-1-1. The tie came against a Tennessee team that was in fact pretty good, but which would lose 3 games that season. The loss came to Illinois, a bowl team that year, but not a Rose Bowl team. Five of their wins were won by less than a touchdown, in spite of an overall average win of 31-18. The most egregious close game came against Missouri, when Colorado scored on fifth down. Despite video evidence, Colorado refused to forfeit the game. Even the bowl game wasn't convincing: a 10-9 victory against a Notre Dame team that was just 9-2 at the time. And the Irish appeared to win the game on the last play of the game, a Rocket Ishmail kick return that was called back for a clipping penalty. All of this might be acceptable if their wasn't an undefeated team (Georgia Tech at 11-0-1) who was clearly more qualified for the title. I mean, yeesh!