The Athletic is looking back at the best of the first 25 years of the 21st century in college football. Who's the best team?

LSU football has a loaded 2026 recruiting class. After a recent rankings shake-up, the Tigers are back on top.

Instead, the four highest-ranked teams regardless of conference championships won will receive that bye into the quarterfinals. In the case that one or more of the five top-ranked conference champions rank outside the top 12 of the final playoff rankings,