Ohio State makes rare history joining short list of national champions to not win conference title

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Ohio State became just the fifth team in the AP poll era to win the national championship without winning its conference’s title as the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame 34-23 on Monday in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Buckeyes not only failed to win the Big Ten championship, but they didn’t even appear in the league title game.

While a stunning 13-10 home loss to rival Michigan in the regular season finale robbed Ohio State of the opportunity to compete for a Big Ten trophy, it set the stage for a remarkable CFP run. The Buckeyes beat each of their playoff opponents by double digits en route to the program’s first national championship since 2014.

The other teams to win the national championship after failing to win their conference championship are:

1936 Minnesota2011 Alabama2017 Alabama2021 GeorgiaNotre Dame’s national championships are not included since the Fighting Irish do not play in a conference.

Alabama followed a similar script on its way to a national championship in the 2017 season. By closing the regular season with a loss to rival Auburn, the Crimson Tide were knocked out of the SEC Championship Game. However, their 11-1 record was good enough to secure the No. 4 seed in the four-team playoff. From there, Alabama beat Clemson and Georgia to claim the national title.

Georgia got revenge on Alabama at the end of the 2021 season. After losing to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game, the Bulldogs outlasted them 33-18 in the CFP National Championship for coach Kirby Smart’s first national title.

The other two national champions not to win their conference championship came prior to the CFP era. Alabama lost to LSU 9-6 in a classic 2011 regular season game only to trounce the Tigers 21-0 in a BCS Championship rematch two months later.

Minnesota finished No. 1 in the AP poll to conclude the 1936 season after suffering a 6-0 loss to Northwestern in the regular season. The Wildcats won the Western Conference over the Gophers but finished No. 11 in the final poll after getting trounced 26-6 by Notre Dame to close the season.

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