Greastest Big East College Football Teams
2001 Miami, 12-0: The only knock on the 2001 Hurricanes was that it didn't have to face one of the really big boys in the college football world that year. It wouldn't be until the following year when Miami would face Tennessee and Florida, but those teams were simply shadows of the monsters of 2001. Other than that, this was one of the great teams of all-time obliterating No. 14 Syracuse 59-0, No. 12 Washington 65-7 and No. 4 Nebraska 37-14. The only scare the Canes had was against No. 14 Virginia Tech coming away with a 26-24 win. On talent, this team has to be considered among the best with eleven players taken in the 2002 NFL Draft with five going in the first round.
1987 Miami, 12-0: The 1987 Hurricanes broke a four year string of futility after the 1983 national championship season. Miami had boasted some of the best teams in college football during that time, but couldn't win the national title. This team got it done highlighted by a classic 26-25 win over Florida State and a 20-14 Orange Bowl win over No. 1 Oklahoma. The Canes beat six ranked teams and finished the season outscoring opponents 412-125.
1988 Miami, 11-1: The Canes were on a 16 game winning streak before suffering a 31-30 loss to Notre Dame in a classic game. This Miami team beat five ranked teams including a 31-0 pasting of No. 1 Florida State. Miami finished the season No. 2.
1959 Syracuse, 11-0: Led by the running of the great Ernie Davis, Syracuse capped off a national title winning season by beating No. 2 Texas 23-14 for the Orangemen's first bowl win. On the year, SU shut out five teams with the only regular season close call coming in a 20-18 win over Penn State. No one else in the regular season got closer than 14 points of SU.
1916 Pittsburgh, 8-0: Pop Warner's Pittsburgh team won the national title by outscoring teams by a total of 255-25. Pittsburgh allowed 19 points in a 20-19 win over Navy, and allowed a mere six points in the other seven games.
1991 Miami, 12-0: The 1991 Hurricanes split the national title by beating four ranked teams including No. 1 Florida State 17-16 in Wide Right I. Miami closed the season beating No. 11 Nebraska 22-0 in the Orange Bowl. On the year, the defense gave up a mere 100 points holding six teams to single digit points.
1986 Miami, 11-1: The 1986 Hurricanes might have been the most talented Miami team ever to take the field. Miami boasted Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde, running back Alonzo Highsmith, defensive tackle Jerome Brown, wide receiver Michael Irvin, safety Bennie Blades and many more that'd be drafted. The highlight was a 28-16 win over No. 1 Oklahoma, but a 14-10 loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl killed the national title dreams.
1917 Pittsburgh, 10-0: This might have been the best of all the Pittsburgh teams and it didn't even win a national title. Pop Warner's team had one slight scare against a decent Washington & Jefferson team and beat West Virginia 14-9. It blew away everyone else with six shutouts including a 28-0 win handing Syracuse its only loss. The combined records of the six Division I teams (or at least the equivalent at that time) was 42-9-2 against everyone else.
1937 Pittsburgh, 9-0-1: Pittsburgh was known as a national powerhouse by the late 1930s. Other than a 0-0 tie against Fordham, Pittsburgh blew away most of the other top teams on the slate to win the national title. Pittsburgh didn't allow a point over the first five games of the year and gave up 34 points on the season.
1976 Pittsburgh, 12-0: The national title winning team, led by Heisman winner Tony Dorsett, had little trouble rolling over everyone in its path. Only Syracuse and West Virginia were able to get within ten of the Panthers. The only problem with this team was the light schedule. Pittsburgh beat a good Notre Dame team, Georgia and Penn State. No one else on the slate finished with a winning season.
1983 Miami, 11-1: After a 28-3 season opening loss to Florida, Miami went on an 11-game run finishing with an improbable win over No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The Canes gave up a mere 106 points over the course of the regular season.
1999 Virginia Tech, 11-1: For eleven games and three quarters, Virginia Tech owned the 1999 college football season. Forgetting the show Peter Warrick put on against the Hokie secondary late in the 2000 Sugar Bowl, this was a magical year for the program. Everyone remembers how electrifying Michael Vick was with his miraculous play against West Virginia and how he dominated Florida State, but it was the defense that was the signature of this season allowing 116 points in the regular season. Tech beat Pittsburgh 30-17 and West Virginia 22-20. Other than those two games, no one came closer than twenty points of the Hokies until the Sugar Bowl.
1992 Miami, 11-1: Everyone remembers this team as the one that got thumped 34-13 by Alabama in the national title game, but it had a sensational season. Led by Heisman winner Gino Torretta, the Canes had a great year beating No. 3 Florida State in Wide Right II, No. 7 Penn State and No. 8 Syracuse.
1940 Boston College, 11-0: The Eagles finished a great season with a win over previously unbeaten Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl. "Chuckin" Charlie O'Rourke gave Georgetown its first loss in three years by escaping several defenders to run out the clock by taking a safety for the 19-18 win. The Eagles shut out six teams and finished unbeaten and untied, but Minnesota ended up getting the national title.
2000 Miami, 11-1: This was Miami's resurgent team. After a 34-29 road loss to Washington, Miami went on a roll including a 27-24 win over Florida State in Wide Right III. Other than the Washington and Florida State games, no one else came within ten points of the Canes.
1981 Pittsburgh, 11-1: Dan Marino led the Panthers to nine straight wins to open the season including wins over Illinois, West Virginia and Florida State before losing 48-14 to a great Penn State team. The Panthers made up for it by beating Herschel Walker and Georgia on a last second pass in the Sugar Bowl.
1987 Syracuse, 11-0-1: The Orangemen, led by quarterback Don McPherson, went 11-0 in the regular season earning a trip to the Sugar Bowl and an outside shot at the national title. It was SU's first New Year's Day bowl game since 1965. The Orangeman season came to a halt with a 16-16 tie against Auburn. The highlight of the season was a thrilling last second win, helped by a late two-point conversion, over West Virginia. On the year, SU only beat three teams that finished with winning records.
1999 Virginia Tech, 11-1 Even with star quarterback Michael Vick injured for part of the season, the Hokies still had a huge season scoring 484 points while beating eight teams that finished with winning records. The only blip was a 41-21 loss to a Miami team that probably should've been playing for the national title. The season culminated with a dominating 41-20 win over Clemson in the Gator Bowl.
1922 West Virginia, 10-0-1: The 1922 Mountaineers won their first ever bowl game beating Gonzaga 21-13 to finish the only unbeaten season in school history. Head coach Clarence Spears molded a club that put West Virginia football on the map outscoring teams 264-37.
1988 West Virginia, 11-1: It's debatable as to whether or not the 1993 Mountaineer team was better than the 1988 since the 1988 squad had a much easier schedule with its biggest win coming in a 31-9 victory over Syracuse. The 1993 team ended up beating five teams that finished with winning records on its way to an 11-0 regular season and a berth against Florida in the Sugar Bowl losing 41-7. The 1988 squad, led by quarterback Major Harris, gave Notre Dame a little bit of a game in the Fiesta Bowl losing 34-21 and had the far more dominating season