Can the Best College Team Beat the Worst NFL Team?

One of the most popular debates in the sports world is that the best college football team could take on the worst NFL team, and come out victorious. For example, people say that the 2008 Detroit Lions or the 2006 Oakland Raiders would lose to some of the most dominant teams in college history such as the 2001 Miami Hurricanes with Ed Reed or the 2019 LSU Tigers with Joe Burrow. While this is something fun to think about, it is an absolutely absurd thought.

Not only would the worst NFL team in history win, but they would win by 30 or 40 points minimum. They would likely have a defensive shutout and put up around 700 offensive yards.

An NFL team is made up of the best of the best in college football. Only the top college players make the NFL, and everyone else who isn't deemed the best of the best lives a normal life with a normal job. Players in the NFL are simply too good and have too much experience to lose to these young and developing college athletes.

Every single college team, regardless of how good they are or how many five-star recruits they have, has some weakness at some position on the team. Most of the time it won't be at any of the skills positions such as the quarterback, running back, or wide receiver. It might be one of the linemen or defensive backs, but there will be one player on the field that will be a huge weakness for the team. 

The transition from collegiate football to the NFL is a very difficult one. Great players in college don't always become great NFL players, with many even struggling to be average for an NFL franchise. For example, Quarterback Matt Leinart won the Heisman trophy and a national championship at USC. He was a phenomenal college athlete with accolades galore and so much promise, but when it came to stepping into the pros, he couldn't hack it. He was a below-par quarterback at best, losing his starting job with the Arizona Cardinals, and now he is fully out of the NFL. 

Now take your worst NFL team. The Detroit Lions have consistently held that role for years. Every single man on their roster has played college football before, and if they are on an NFL roster, they were in the top 5% of college athletes at their time. Every single one of them could go back to college football today, dominate the competition, and set numerous records. 

Simply put, the worst players in the NFL were college stars. NFL starters were incredible college players, but NFL legends were some of the best players to ever grace the sport in college. For example, your average starting lineman for a top-tier college team won't make the NFL, and if they do, they will most times never start. Winston Justice played offensive line for USC and was drafted by the Eagles in 2007. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora had six sacks against him. Umenyiora is a former pro-bowler, but this shows the vast gap between college talent and NFL talent.

You could put twenty-two of the nation's best collegiate athletes on a field against the twenty-two worst players in the NFL and the score wouldn't even be close. NFL players are the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the creme de la creme. There is no chance they could lose.

By Avner Belsky