Alabama Football: National Championship Club Top 10 CFB Programs
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Football: Top Ten National Championship Club
No. 9 (tie) – LSU Tigers
Four LSU Bengal Tigers National Championships
The LSU National Championship story is interesting. Chosen retroactively, LSU shared a 1908 National Championship with Penn. Half a century later, the Bengal Tigers managed to win another. Of the four, LSU championship coaches, three either decided to leave Baton Rouge or were fired.
- 1958 – Paul Dietzel was a very good football coach, who also understood marketing. He named his defensive unit the ‘Chinese Bandits’ who became a national topic in college football. The 1958 team was 11-0 and beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. After three more seasons a dissatisfied Dietzel left to be head coach at West Point.
- 2003 – Nick Saban – After another almost 50-season interval, Nick Saban, in his fourth LSU season, led the Bengal Tigers to a National Championship. The Tigers went 13-1, including beating Oklahoma in the BCS Championship. Two seasons later, Saban was the coach of the Miami Dolphins.
- 2007 – Les Miles – Still benefitting from the program build by Saban, Miles led his 2007 team to a 12-2 record and a win over Ohio State in the BCS Championship. Miles would have eight more, full seasons in Baton Rouge before being fired after four games in the 2016 season.
- 2019 – Ed Orgeron completely flipped his weak career resume with a stunning 15-0 season. Along with besting Clemson in the Championship game, the Tigers won over Alabama football for the first time since 2011.