I’ll do championship games to add further context
4 yr avg. class rankings:
2014 -
OSU (4th) v. UO (17th)
2015 -
Bama (1st) v. Clemson (15th)
2016 -
Clemson (12th) v. Bama (1st)
2017 -
Bama (1st) v. UGA (6th)
2018 -
Clemson (11th) v. Bama (2nd)
2019 -
LSU (8th) v. Clemson (11th)
2020 -
Bama (2nd) v. OSU (4th)
2021 -
UGA (T-2nd) v. Bama (T-2nd)
2022 -
UGA (2nd) v. TCU (32nd)
2023 -
UofM (14th) v. UW (33rd)
Out of the last 20 participants in the CFPCG:
60% had a team composition being in the top 10 of recruiting
40% had a team composition being outside the the top 10
70% of the eventual Nat’l Champions had top 10 classes
30% of the eventual Nat’l Champions were outside the top 10
Talent matters; however, to think winning the recruiting wars automatically = a CFP birth and/or a Nat’l Title is foolish. One of the most haterish narratives to justify, pacify, & excuse our struggles is this theory that teams like Bama, OSU, & UGA win so much is just b/c of their roster make up. This is a back handed theory to diminish the coaching abilities of these guys.
I’ve taken a look at classes that rounded out a top 10 composition class over a 4 yr during each of these Nat’l Title Runs, for every Bama, OSU, UGA, we had USC, Texas, Texas A&M, UF, Auburn that were perennial 6-9 win teams. Recruiting is essential, sure, but u need a coach that can coach’em up.