Monday, August 28, 2017

The Championship of Life

On November 21, 2016, as Tennessee was already out of contention for the national and SEC championships, Butch Jones referred to his team as "Champions of Life".  Of course, he didn't wait until the season was over, having made this claim prior to the regular season finale against Vanderbilt.

Naturally, Vanderbilt won that game, and became the new "Champions of Life".  We're here to track the "Champions of Life" as they defend that title game by game.

A group of college football fans created "The Belt" in the 1980s to determine who the true college football champions were.  Since they could not create new matchups, they decided that no one could claim the Belt without defeating the current holder of the Belt on the field.  The full history of the Belt is explained at the site, but basically, they track who the current Belt champion is week by week, and season by season.

Here, we will be attempting to do the same thing with the Championship of Life.  Blue text indicates games in which the Championship of Life and the Belt were contested at the same time.



Current Life Champion:  Pop Tarts!

DateDefendersChallengersOutcomeNotes
11/26/16TennesseeVanderbilt Vandy, 45-34
12/26/16VanderbiltNC StateNC State, 41-17Independence Bowl
9/2/17NC StateS. CarolinaUSCe, 35-28Belk Kickoff Game
9/9/17S. CarolinaMissouriUSCe, 31-13
9/16/17S. CarolinaKentuckyKentucky, 23-13
9/23/17KentuckyFloridaFlorida, 28-27
9/30/17FloridaVanderbiltFlorida, 38-24
10/7/17FloridaLSULSU, 17-16
10/14/17LSUAuburnLSU, 27-23
10/21/17LSUOle MissLSU, 40-24
11/4/17LSUAlabamaAlabama, 24-10
11/11/17AlabamaMississippi StateAlabama, 31-24Butch Jones fired
11/18/17AlabamaMercerAlabama, 56-0
11/25/17AlabamaAuburnAuburn, 26-14Iron Bowl
12/2/17AuburnGeorgiaGeorgia, 28-7SEC Champ.
1/1/18GeorgiaOklahomaGeorgia, 54-48Sugar Bowl (CFP)
1/8/18GeorgiaAlabamaAlabama, 26-23Nat'l Champ.
9/1/18AlabamaLouisvilleAlabama, 51-14Camp. World Kickoff
9/8/18AlabamaArkansas StateAlabama, 57-7
9/15/18AlabamaOle MissAlabama, 62-7
9/22/18AlabamaTexas A&MAlabama, 45-23
9/29/18AlabamaLouisianaAlabama, 56-14
10/6/18AlabamaArkansasAlabama, 65-31
10/13/18AlabamaMissouriAlabama, 39-10
10/20/18AlabamaTennesseeAlabama, 58-21
11/3/18AlabamaLSUAlabama, 29-0
11/10/18AlabamaMississippi StateAlabama, 24-0
11/17/18AlabamaThe CitadelAlabama, 50-17
11/24/18AlabamaAuburnAlabama, 52-21Iron Bowl
12/1/18AlabamaGeorgiaAlabama, 35-28SEC Champ.
12/29/18AlabamaOklahomaAlabama, 45-34Orange Bowl (CFP)
1/7/19AlabamaClemsonClemson, 44-16Nat'l Champ.
8/29/19ClemsonGeorgia TechClemson, 52-14
9/7/19ClemsonTexas A&MClemson, 24-10
9/14/19ClemsonSyracuseClemson, 41–6
9/21/19ClemsonCharlotteClemson, 52–10
9/28/19ClemsonNorth CarolinaClemson, 21–20
10/12/19ClemsonFlorida StateClemson, 45–14
10/19/19ClemsonLouisvilleClemson, 45–10
10/26/19ClemsonBoston CollegeClemson, 59–7
11/2/19ClemsonWoffordClemson, 59-14
11/9/19ClemsonNC StateClemson, 55-10
11/16/19ClemsonWake ForestClemson, 52-3
11/30/19ClemsonSouth CarolinaClemson, 38-3
12/7/19ClemsonuvaClemson, 62-17ACC Champ.
12/28/19ClemsonOhio StateClemson, 29-23Fiesta Bowl (CFP)
1/13/20ClemsonLSULSU, 42-25Nat'l Champ.
9/26/20LSUMississippi StateMiss State, 44-34
10/3/20Miss. StateArkansasArkansas, 21-14
10/10/20ArkansasAuburnAuburn, 30-28
10/17/20AuburnSouth CarolinaUSCe, 30-22
10/24/20USCeLSULSU, 52-24
10/31/20LSUAuburnAuburn, 48-11
11/21/20AuburnTennesseeAuburn, 30-17
11/28/20AuburnAlabamaAlabama, 42-13Iron Bowl
12/5/20AlabamaLSUAlabama, 55-17
12/12/20AlabamaArkansasAlabama, 52-3
12/19/20AlabamaFloridaAlabama, 52-46SEC Champ.
1/1/21AlabamaNotre DameAlabama, 31-14Rose Bowl
1/11/21AlabamaOhio StateAlabama, 52-24Nat'l Champ.
9/4/21AlabamaMiamiAlabama, 44-13
9/11/21AlabamaMercerAlabama, 48-14
9/18/21AlabamaFloridaAlabama, 31-29
9/25/21AlabamaSouthern MissAlabama, 63-14
10/2/21AlabamaOle MissAlabama, 42-21
10/9/21AlabamaTexas A&MTAMU, 41-38
10/16/21Texas A&MMizzouTAMU, 35-14
10/23/21Texas A&MSouth CarolinaTAMU, 44-14
10/30/21Texas A&MAuburnTAMU, 20-3
11/13/21Texas A&MOle MissOle Miss, 29-19
11/20/21Ole MissVanderbiltOle Miss, 31-17
11/25/21Ole MissMiss StateOle Miss, 31-21Egg Bowl
1/1/22Ole MissBaylorBaylor, 21-7Sugar Bowl
9/3/22BaylorAlbanyBaylor, 69-10
9/10/22BaylorBYUBYU, 26-20
9/17/22BYUOregonOregon, 41-20
9/24/22OregonWashington StateOregon, 44-41
10/1/22OregonStanfordOregon, 45-27
10/8/22OregonArizonaOregon, 49-22
10/22/22OregonUCLAOregon, 45-30
10/29/22OregonCalOregon, 42-24
11/5/22OregonColoradoOregon, 49-10
11/12/22OregonWashingtonWashington, 37-34
11/19/22WashingtonColoradoWashington, 54-7
11/26/22WashingtonWashington StateWashington, 51-33
12/29/22WashingtonTexasWashington, 27-20Alamo Bowl
9/2/23WashingtonBoise StateWashington, 56-19
9/9/23WashingtonTulsaWashington, 43-10
9/16/23WashingtonMichigan StateWashington, 41-7
9/23/23WashingtonCaliforniaWashington, 59-32
9/30/23WashingtonArizonaWashington, 31-24
10/14/23WashingtonOregonWashington, 36-33
10/21/23WashingtonArizona StateWashington, 15-7
10/28/23WashingtonStanfordWashington, 42-33
11/4/23WashingtonUSCWashington, 52-42
11/11/23WashingtonUtahWashington, 35-28
11/18/23WashingtonOregon StateWashington, 22-20
11/25/23WashingtonWashington StateWashington, 24-21
12/1/23WashingtonOregonWashington, 34-31Pac-12 Champ.
1/1/24WashingtonTexasWashington, 37-31Sugar Bowl (CFP)
1/8/24WashingtonMichiganMichigan, 34-13Nat'l Champ.
8/31/24MichiganFresno StateMichigan, 30-10
9/7/24MichiganTexasTexas, 31-12
9/14/24TexasUTSATexas, 56-7
9/21/24TexasULMTexas, 51-3
9/28/24TexasMississippi StateTexas, 35-13
10/12/24TexasOklahomaTexas, 34-3
10/19/24TexasGeorgiaGeorgia, 30-15
11/2/24GeorgiaFloridaGeorgia, 34-20
11/9/24GeorgiaOle MissOle Miss, 28-10
11/23/24Ole MissFloridaFlorida, 24-17
11/30/24FloridaFlorida StateFlorida, 31-11
12/20/24FloridaTulaneFlorida, 33-8Gasparilla Bowl
8/30/25FloridaLIUFlorida, 55-0
9/6/25FloridaSouth FloridaUSF, 18-16
9/13/25South FloridaMiamiMiami, 49-12
9/20/25MiamiFloridaMiami, 26-7
10/4/25MiamiFlorida StateMiami, 28-22
10/17/25MiamiLouisvilleLouisville, 24-21
10/25/25LouisvilleBoston CollegeLouisville, 38-24
11/1/25LouisvilleVirginia TechLouisville, 28-16
11/8/25LouisvilleCalCal, 29-26
11/22/25CalStanfordStanford, 31-10
11/29/25StanfordNotre DameND, 49-20vacated by ND
12/27/25Georgia TechBYUPop Tarts Bowl


ParticipantAppearancesRecord
Alabama3128-3
Washington1918-1
Clemson1615-1
Florida116-5
Oregon107-3
Auburn95-4
LSU94-5
Ole Miss94-5
Texas85-3
Georgia74-3
Texas A&M74-3
Louisville63-3
South Carolina62-4
Mississippi State61-5
Miami53-2
Stanford41-3
Cal41-3
Arkansas41-3
Vanderbilt41-3
Michigan32-1
Baylor32-1
BYU31-1
NC State31-2
Tennessee30-3
Washington State30-3
Oklahoma30-3
Florida State30-3
Notre Dame21-1
Kentucky21-1
USF21-1
Georgia Tech20-1
Missouri20-2
Ohio State20-2
Mercer20-2
Colorado20-2
Arizona20-2
Boston College20-2
Arkansas State10-1
Louisiana10-1
The Citadel10-1
Syracuse10-1
Charlotte10-1
North Carolina10-1
Wofford10-1
Wake Forest10-1
uva10-1
Southern Miss10-1
Mizzou10-1
Albany10-1
UCLA10-1
Boise State10-1
Tulsa10-1
Michigan State10-1
Arizona State10-1
USC10-1
Utah10-1
Oregon State10-1
UTSA10-1
ULM10-1
Tulane10-1
LIU10-1
Virginia Tech10-1

Because the Championship of Life is such a meaningful experience that transcends football, we have determined that even teams banned from postseason play are eligible for this title. We ran into a little trouble when Alabama grabbed it in 2018 and sucked the fun out of it, but then Clemson gloriously whipped them into submission in the national title game and took two championships from them.

The Championship of Life coincided with the Belt starting with the 2019 Fiesta Bowl in the College Football Playoff.  Ohio State came into the game as holders of the Belt while Clemson were reigning Champions of Life.  Clemson took both titles into the national championship game, and the two titles stayed together until the end of the 2025 regular season.

COVID-19 also greatly affected the Championship of Life during the 2020 season, as it was not contested during the first three weeks of September and was guaranteed to stay in the SEC for the duration of the regular season due to lack of non-conference games.  The CoL stayed in play each week until Auburn claimed it on Halloween and then went into their bye week.  They were originally scheduled to play Mississippi State on November 14, but that game was postponed, thus allowing original Champion of Life Tennessee to challenge for the title once more.  As usual, Tennessee has not been able to claim the Championship of Life on the field.

In the final game of the 2025 regular season, Notre Dame claimed the title from Stanford in the regular season finale.  At that time, they held a 10-2 record and were ranked #10 in the College Football Playoff rankings and expected to make the tournament.  One bit of controversy surrounding their ranking had involved Miami who also had a 10-2 record but was ranked #12.  Both teams had similar metrics, but Miami had defeated Notre Dame in the opening week of the season, so many fans and pundits believed that the head-to-head victory should play a factor in the rankings.  For some reason, the committee ignored the head-to-head result until after the conference championship games, at which time they ranked Miami #10 and Notre Dame #11.  Miami just made it into the playoff bracket, where Notre Dame was left out.  Upset by this decision, Notre Dame opted to skip the postseason entirely and chose to not participate in a bowl game.  As we felt that such actions were not becoming of a Champion of Life, the title was stripped from Notre Dame and awarded to the winner of the Pop Tarts Bowl, which is where Notre Dame was projected to play.
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