NCAA Team of the decade?

There are three teams from '00 to '09 that stand out above the rest, in my opinion. The '01 Miami Hurricanes, '04 USC Trojans, and '05 Texas Longhorns. Here's a look at the key players and results for each team.



The key players are mostly currently playing in the NFL or were All-Americans in college.





2001 Miami Hurricanes



This team was loaded with 1st round draft picks and future NFL stars, including guys like Kellen Winslow, Sean Taylor, and Antrelle Rolle who were just freshman and low on the depth chart, so I don't have them listed as key players.



Florida State, Syracuse, Washington, and Virginia Tech were all ranked in the top 15 when Miami beat (or destroyed) them.



Nebraska should not have been in the championship game. They were coming off a 62-36 loss to Colorado in their last regular season game and did not win the Big 12 North division. Miami cruised to a 37-14 win, and led 34-0 at halftime.



Schedule/Results

W 33-7 @ Penn State

W 61-0 vs Rutgers

W 43-21 @ Pittsburgh

W 38-7 vs Troy

W 49-27 @ Florida State

W 45-3 vs West Virginia

W 38-0 vs Temple

W 18-7 @ Boston College

W 59-0 vs Syracuse

W 65-7 vs Washington

W 26-24 @ Virginia Tech

W 37-14 vs Nebraska (National Championship game)



Key Players

QB - Ken Dorsey

RB - Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee

WR - Andre Johnson

TE - Jeremy Shockey

OL - Bryant McKinnie

DL - Jerome McDougle, William Joseph, Vince Wilfork

LB - DJ Williams, Jonathan Vilma

DB - Ed Reed, Mike Rumph, Phillip Buchanon (all drafted in 1st round)





2004 USC Trojans



The offense was a year away from reaching their full potential, but they were still sick and they also had a great defense with tons of talent.



They did have some games that were closer than you would expect, but they also dominated some really good teams, like Arizona State who was top 15. Cal was in the top 10 and led by Aaron Rodgers. They embarrassed a good Oklahoma team, who was undefeated, in the title game.



Schedule/Results

W 24-13 vs Virginia Tech

W 49-0 vs Colorado State

W 42-10 @ BYU

W 31-28 @ Stanford

W 23-17 vs Cal

W 45-7 vs Arizona State

W 38-0 vs Washington

W 42-12 @ Washington State

W 28-20 @ Oregon State

W 49-9 vs Arizona

W 41-10 vs Notre Dame

W 29-24 @ UCLA

W 55-19 vs Oklahoma (National Championship game)



Key Players

QB - Matt Leinart, Matt Cassel

RB - Reggie Bush, LenDale White

WR - Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith

TE - Dominique Byrd, Fred Davis

OL - Sam Baker, Ryan Kalil, Deuce Lutui

DL - Sedrick Ellis, Lawrence Jackson, Mike Patterson, Shaun Cody, Frostee Rucker

LB - Dallas Sartz, Keith Rivers, Lofa Tatupu

DB - Darnell Bing, Terrell Thomas





2005 Texas Longhorns



This team will forever be known for Vince Young's heroics in the title game victory over USC. That USC team could easily be considered one of the greatest of all time instead of Texas.



The Horns scored 40 or more points in every single game except the Ohio State game (one of the most heartbreaking losses I've seen as an OSU fan). That Ohio State team went on to finish #4 in the country.



Schedule/Results

W 60-3 vs Lousiana-Lafayette

W 25-22 @ Ohio State

W 51-10 vs Rice

W 51-20 @ Missouri

W 45-12 vs Oklahoma

W 42-17 vs Colorado

W 52-17 vs Texas Tech

W 47-28 @ Oklahoma State

W 62-0 @ Baylor

W 66-14 vs Kansas

W 40-29 @ Texas A&M

W 70-3 vs Colorado (Big 12 Championship game)

W 41-38 vs USC (National Championship game)



Key Players

QB - Vince Young

RB - Selvin Young, Jamaal Charles

WR - Limas Sweed, Quan Cosby

TE - David Thomas

OL - Justin Blalock, Lyle Sendlein, Kasey Studdard, Jonathan Scott

DL - Brian Robison, Brian Orakpo, Rod Wright

LB - Aaron Harris

DB - Cedric Griffin, Aaron Ross, Michael Griffin, Michael Huff, Tarell Brown

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Other teams that could be considered, in my opinion...



'05 USC - Perhaps the best offense of all time with Leinart, Bush, White, Jarrett and company a year older than the '04 team, but they had to replace a lot of defensive players. They were really only a play away from winning the game against Texas.

'08 Florida - They did lose to Ole Miss by a point, but after that game they were unstoppable on both sides of the ball. Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, plus all the other great players that will be drafted in a few months.


'09 Alabama - There were a couple games they should have lost, but they elevated their game on the biggest stage. They dominated Florida, and handily beat Texas in the title game.

'02 Ohio State - Half of their games were decided by 7 points or less, but they always found a way to win. Everybody expected Miami to beat them by 40 points, but Ohio State proved they had the athletes to compete with anyone and they won in double overtime to win the title. Tons of NFL talent on this team.


'02 Miami - Returned a ton of talent from the '01 team, including Dorsey, McGahee, Johnson, Vilma, Williams. The guys they lost to the draft, like Reed and Shockey, they replaced with Taylor and Winslow.


'04 Auburn - Nobody will ever know how good this team really was. They ran the table and finished #3 in the BCS rankings, missing out of the title game. However, I think USC would have run circles around them. The Tigers had a lot of good players though that are now in the NFL. Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown, Cadillac Williams, Carlos Rogers, etc

 

not sure who i'd pick but with the length of that post i just wanted to see if the first reply would go to page 2. BTW why do you mention the guys who were just "freshman" and not the starters.

 

Michigan produced a lot of all american talent from 04 to 06 but they could never win big games. Broken down by key players, they completely belong.

2004 team off hand
Henne, Manningham, Breaston, Long, Woodley, David Harris, Alan Branch, Gabe Watson... some damn fine NFL talent.

 

The 2005 USC team was fatally flawed. The close calls they had against Notre Dame (38-35, IIRC) and Fresno State (50-48) showed that if you could keep up with the offense -- which was phenomenal -- you had a shot. That's how Texas beat them. They just outscored them. Even though USC's offense was better in 2005, they had a more complete team in '04.

I'd go with the 2001 Miami squad as team of the decade. So much talent, and they rolled over people. That squad might be in the discussion for best of all-time.

 

Honestly I think last year's USC team - the one with Mark Sanchez and all those linebackers that lost to Oregon State -- and beat the snot out of most everyone else, was the best Trojans team.

But they didn't win all their games so they can't qualify for this list.

So that being said, I have to agree with Batman that the Canes from 2001 were the team of the decade.

 

Cassel was not a key player for USC, he barely played at all.

And for the record the 01 Canes were the best.

 

As much as it pains me to say it.. yeah, that team woul be it.

 

Nice work, Imago.

I'd go Miami 01, Texas 05, Bama 09.

 

Thanks guys, here are my thoughts. I put a lot of research in this thread, hopefully you guys appreciated it.

I am going with the '01 Canes. I think it's close between them and the '04 Trojans, but the Canes' defense was just nasty. They had a dominant offensive line and ridiculous talent at the skill positions. What really sets them apart from the other teams was their intimidation factor. They were downright frightening. I don't think you can say that about any of the other teams of the decade.

 

You made the right choice. And thirty years from now, you can go to Canton, Ohio and see why.

 

It's close, but I'd go with 2001 Miami over 2004 USC.

 

I'd take '01 Canes, just on sheer volume of NFL-caliber talent.
But that '04 USC team, what it did to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, was simply jaw-dropping.
That OU team was pretty damn good. Peterson, Clayton, M.Bradley, Jammal Brown, Dan Cody, Donte Nicholson, Dvoracek, A. Perkins. Good enough to make Jason White into a Heisman Trophy winner and eventual college football Hall of Famer.
And USC just peed all over them. Pushed around an offensive line that I think had four senior starters.
The Trojans were making all these sensational catches.
And then at halftime, they bopped up and danced to OutKast's 'Hey Ya' while waiting for OU to drag it's ass back to the locker room.
Turns out, that ended up being the zenith of the USC dynasty.