I was going to respond with this in the other thread on the 7th year anniversary of the evisceration of Alabama, but it seems thread worthy as I'm expecting some heavy disagreement and debate here...
I have always viewed the 2001 Miami Hurricanes as the greatest college team of all time and have looked at that team's Wikipedia page probably 100 times over the years. But I would say the 2018 Alabama team was the greatest accumulation of talent in the history of college football. 2001 Miami would be runner up. I was initially going to say that the gap actually wasn't close, but I reran the numbers and Miami wasn't far behind. Miami's defense was a cut above, but Alabama's overall offensive talent is unmatched.
You can view the entire roster here, with some more data here, but some notables include:
3 starting NFL QBs: Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones
5 starting NFL RBs: Joshua Jacobs, Najee Harris, Brian Robinson Jr., Jerome Ford, Damien Harris
4 starting NFL WRs: DeVonte Smith, Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, Henry Ruggs
Elite NFL DBs: Patrick Surtain II, Trevon Diggs, Xavier McKinney
Other notables: Quinnen Williams, Raekwon Davis, Irv Smith Jr.
As you can see, this is not just a team made up of NFL players, but this is a team made up of multiple pro-bowlers and all-pros. You could win a fantasy championship with only players from that offense, although Irv Smith Jr hasn't quite cut it in the league.
What's even crazier is that in the draft ahead of the 2018 season - Alabama broke the record for the most players in a draft class with 12, meaning they absorbed the most losses to the NFL draft in history and still put this roster together for 2018. Simply unbelievable.
Fortunately for Clemson - talent accumulation is simply that. Only 11 can see the field at a time, and they still have to play the games. Alabama was the best team in the history of college football, until they weren't. What does that make 2018 Clemson?
I have always viewed the 2001 Miami Hurricanes as the greatest college team of all time and have looked at that team's Wikipedia page probably 100 times over the years. But I would say the 2018 Alabama team was the greatest accumulation of talent in the history of college football. 2001 Miami would be runner up. I was initially going to say that the gap actually wasn't close, but I reran the numbers and Miami wasn't far behind. Miami's defense was a cut above, but Alabama's overall offensive talent is unmatched.
You can view the entire roster here, with some more data here, but some notables include:
3 starting NFL QBs: Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones
5 starting NFL RBs: Joshua Jacobs, Najee Harris, Brian Robinson Jr., Jerome Ford, Damien Harris
4 starting NFL WRs: DeVonte Smith, Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, Henry Ruggs
Elite NFL DBs: Patrick Surtain II, Trevon Diggs, Xavier McKinney
Other notables: Quinnen Williams, Raekwon Davis, Irv Smith Jr.
As you can see, this is not just a team made up of NFL players, but this is a team made up of multiple pro-bowlers and all-pros. You could win a fantasy championship with only players from that offense, although Irv Smith Jr hasn't quite cut it in the league.
What's even crazier is that in the draft ahead of the 2018 season - Alabama broke the record for the most players in a draft class with 12, meaning they absorbed the most losses to the NFL draft in history and still put this roster together for 2018. Simply unbelievable.
Fortunately for Clemson - talent accumulation is simply that. Only 11 can see the field at a time, and they still have to play the games. Alabama was the best team in the history of college football, until they weren't. What does that make 2018 Clemson?
