In today’s college football world, it’s a bit of a shock to see a team that is not in a conference. However, throughout the course of the sport’s history it is not uncommon. In fact, some of the best teams in the sport’s history did not have a conference home. But, when was the time an FBS Independent team won the national championship?
The Last Time an FBS Independent Won a College Football National Championship
You have to go all the way back to 1989 when a storm swept through the country and dominated the 1980s. That would be the Miami Hurricanes. This star-studded team ran through the competition and got their third national title.
The Dennis Erickson-led squad went 11-1 in 1989. The Hurricanes started 6-0 before picking up their lone loss of the year at the Florida State Seminoles. They rebounded to win the final five, which included defeating three ranked opponents, their first coming in convincing fashion at the 14th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers.
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After a big win over the San Diego State Aztecs, Miami (FL) got revenge for the “Catholics vs. Convicts” loss the previous year in South Bend by taking care of business at home against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 27-10. They capped their national championship season with a 33-25 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl.
The Hurricanes were led by the quarterback tandem of Craig Erickson and Gino Toretta, who combined for over 3,300 yards passing and 24 touchdowns. Stephen McGuire led a balanced rushing attack with 519 yards and 10 scores. Leonard Conley chipped in with 529 yards and four touchdowns. The leading receiver was Wesley Carroll, who had 770 yards on 53 catches and five touchdowns.
The defense was the dominant force for the Hurricanes during that season. They gave up just 229 yards of total offense a game. They also helped opposing passing attacks to a 48.1 completion percentage. They also racked up 21 interceptions on the year, led by Roland Smith (6).
The Hurricanes win capped a good decade for FBS Independents. They took six national titles, including the last four. Miami had three, the Penn State Nittany Lions won two, and Notre Dame claimed one.
FBS Independent’s Record in the National Championship Game
During the BCS/College Football Playoff era, an FBS Independent has only made it to the national championship game once, and it didn’t go well back in 2012. That team was Notre Dame, who made a lot of headlines that season, for all the right and wrong reasons.
The Fighting Irish, led by head coach Brian Kelly, finished the regular season a perfect 12-0 and earned a berth in the BCS Championship Game in Miami, Florida. They faced top 25-ranked squads four times in the regular season. Three of those four games were won by one score. Their most impressive was a 30-13 shellacking of the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman.
They were led by Theo Riddick on the ground, who had 917 yards rushing to go along with five touchdowns. Quarterback Everett Golson finished with 2,405 yards passing with 12 touchdowns to six interceptions. Their leading receivers were Tyler Eifert and T.J. Jones who had had over 650 yards receiving and four scores.
The story of the 2012 Fighting Irish team was the defense led by linebacker Manti Te’o. He finished with a team-high 113 tackles and seven interceptions, winning the Maxwell, Nagurski, Walter Camp, and Bednarik Awards. He was named a consensus All-American and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting.
The defense as a whole gave up 305 total yards off offense per game and averaged just under two turnovers forced per game. But the team’s strength was tested against one of the best teams of the decade and of all time.
Notre Dame faced off with Alabama in the title game, and it wasn’t pretty from the start. The Crimson Tide scored the first 35 points of the game en route to a convincing 42-14 romp. The Bama defense only allowed 16 first downs and just 302 yards of offense.
AJ McCarron finished 20-28 passing for 264 yards and four touchdowns. TJ Yeldon and Eddie Lacy combined for 248 yards rushing and a pair of scores. While Amari Cooper finished with 105 yards off of six catches with two touchdowns.
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