Will someone tell CBS Sports it does not have the SEC contracts anymore. They do not have to make up lists to appease SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey if they do not want to.

If you are curious to what I am talking about, I am talking about their list of the best teams of the College Football Playoff four-team era. Writer Dean Straka ranked Clemson’s 2018 team No. 4 on his list, behind 2019 LSU, 2020 Alabama, and yes, you guessed it, 2022 Georgia.

Clemson’s 2018 squad was the first team in major college football to produce a 15-0 record. And it was not that the Tigers just went 15-0. They dominated the opposition that year.

The 2018 Clemson Tigers outscored their opposition by 467 points (664-197). Their average margin of victory was 31.3 points, while outscoring their last 10 opponents by 332 points. That’s an average margin of victory of 33.2 points per game.

And before someone asks, the ole go-to for any SEC argument, “who did they play?” Let’s take a good hard look at who the Tigers played in 2018.

They won at Texas A&M, an SEC school. They also knocked off a top 15 NC State squad and a top 15 Boston College team.

However, the most impressive statistic of them all, 2018 Clemson is the only team in FBS history to beat back-to-back undefeated teams on its way to winning a national championship.

The Tigers knocked off No. 3 and 12-0 Notre Dame in the CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, before blowing out No. 1 Alabama, who was 14-0, in the national championship game. Clemson beat Notre Dame by 27 points (30-3) and Alabama by 28 points (44-16).

By the way, that Alabama team Clemson beat by four scores was considered the greatest team ever assembled heading into the championship game. In case you forget, Dabo Swinney made his offense take a knee inside the 5-yard line after the Tigers went on a 10-minute drive at the end of the game. In other words, Clemson could have won by 35 points.

If you need star power, Clemson had plenty of it. Seven players from the 2018 team were first round selections in the NFL Draft, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He went No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Overall, 20 players from the 2018 squad were drafted into the NFL. Eleven of those players were selected in the first or second round.

However, what makes Clemson’s 2018 team the greatest of the CFP four-team era, in my opinion, is how they complemented each other. No team in the CFP era complemented each other on offense and defense like they did.

The Tigers ranked No. 1 in the country in scoring defense (13.1 ppg). They also ranked No. 4 in scoring offense (44.3 ppg). As for yards, the Clemson defense ranked fifth nationally (285.9 ypg), while its offense was No. 3 (527.2 ypg).

Though LSU had a great offense in 2019—No. 1 in scoring and total offense—the Bayou Bengals were just above average on defense. LSU ranked No. 31 in total defense (343.5 ypg) and scoring defense (21.9 ppg).

Georgia’s 2022 squad is truly the only one that rivals Clemson’s 2018 team. The Bulldogs ranked No. 4 in scoring offense (41.1 ppg) and No. 5 in scoring defense (14.3 ppg). They also ranked No. 5 in total offense (501.1 ypg) and No. 10 in total defense (296.7 ypg).

As for Alabama’s 2020 squad, it was great on offense. The Crimson Tide ranked No. 2 in scoring offense (48.5 ppg) and No. 4 in total offense (541.6 ypg).

However, the 2020 Alabama defense was the worst of Nick Saban’s national championship teams. They gave up 352.2 yards (No. 32 nationally) and 19.4 points (No. 13 nationally) per game.

I know anyone can turn stats into anyone’s favor, but these numbers above do not lie. Clemson’s 2018 team is the best one assembled in the CFP four-team era, and it is really not even close.

This is just another case where the SEC gets all the credit, while the national media puts Clemson a peg behind. If Clemson was an SEC team, I guarantee you they would be ranked No. 1 on this list.