In order to win a national championship this season, Ohio State will likely need to go 13-0.
The Buckeyes have won 13 or more games in a row only six times in their storied history:
Since the advent of the AP poll in 1934, only thirteen teams have had a record of 13-0-0 or better:
The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers are often considered the best team of all time (Billingsley, Sporting News), and they pretty much rolled everybody on their schedule with the exception of the Oklahoma Sooners - in a battle of #1 vs. #2 which was dubbed "The Game of the Century", Nebraska prevailed by a score of 35-31. Otherwise, the Huskers crushed their competition by an average score of 39-6, and pummeled previously unbeaten Alabama (11-1-0) in the Orange Bowl 38-6.
The 1984 BYU Cougars were the next team to finish the season with a 13-0-0 mark. Despite playing in the WAC - not exactly the most challenging conference in college football - BYU had narrow victories against some mediocre squads, beating Pitt (3-7-1) by the score of 20-14; Wyoming (6-6-0) by the score of 41-38; and Utah (6-5-1) by the score of 24-14. In addition, the Cougars eked out a pair of 5-point road victories against Hawaii (7-4-0) and Air Force (8-4-0), and beat Big Ten also-ran Michigan (6-6-0) in the Holiday Bowl by a touchdown.
The Alabama Crimson Tide went 13-0-0 in 1992, and capped the season with an impressive victory over defending national champion Miami. However, the Tide had a few scares along the way, including a 25-8 victory over Vanderbilt (4-7-0), a 17-10 win over Southern Miss (7-4-0), a 13-0 win over Louisiana Tech (5-6-0), and a 30-21 victory over Mississippi State (7-5-0).
The 1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers went 13-0-0 without too much trouble, but sleep-walked through a game against 0-10-1 Iowa State, eventuallly winning by the score of 28-12. Archrival Oklahoma (6-6-0) and Joe Tiller's Wyoming (6-6-0) squad both kept the score close, but the Big Red still managed to come away with a pair of 10-point victories (13-3 and 42-32, respectively) against teams that they clearly outclassed.
In 1997, Nebraska once again posted a 13-0-0 record, but struggled against a pair of teams with losing records, beating Central Florida (5-6-0) by the score of 38-24 and Colorado (5-6-0) by the score of 27-24. In addition, the Huskers beat Missouri (7-5-0) by just a touchdown, 45-38; if you don't remember, Ohio State (10-3-0) pounded that Missouri team, on the road, by the score of 31-10.
The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers also went 13-0-0, but nearly lost to a really bad Auburn team (3-9-0), squeaking out a 17-9 victory. The Vols also beat a marginal Syracuse squad (8-4-0) by a single point in their opening contest, and had a "lucky" four-point victory over a good but not great Arkansas team (9-3-0).
The 1999 Marshall Thundering Herd posted a 13-0-0 record on the season. The Herd opened the campaign with a narrow 13-10 win over a middle-of-the-road Clemson squad (6-6-0), then rolled through the MAC, with lowly Kent State (2-9-0) posing the most serious challenge before finally falling, 28-16.
The 2000 Oklahoma Sooners racked up a 13-0-0 record, but nevertheless had some issues with lesser competition, including a 34-16 victory over Kansas (4-7-0); a 35-31 win over Texas A+M (7-5-0); a 27-13 victory against Texas Tech (7-6-0); and a very tight 12-7 win over a very bad Oklahoma State (3-8-0) team.
As you all remember, the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes had more than their fair share of close calls during their improbable 14-0-0 national championship run. The first, and closest, call came in week 4 against the Cincinnati Bearcats (7-7-0), who had several chances to win the game late, but nevertheless lost 23-19. A 3-9-0 Nortwestern squad gave Ohio State fits on the road at night, but the Buckeyes prevailed 27-16. After a laugher against San Jose State, the Buckeyes then posted narrow victories against a pair of solid but not spectacular Big Ten teams, beating Wisconsin (8-6-0) by the score of 19-14, and Penn State (9-4-0) by the score of 13-7. The following week, the Buckeyes blew out Minnesota, but then needed a "Holy Buckeye" to beat Purdue (7-6-0) by the score of 10-6, and overtime to knock off Illinois (5-7-0) by the score of 23-16.
The 2004 Southern Cal Trojans were hyped from day one as the inevitable national champions, and they did finish 13-0-0 to prove the pundits right. However, there were a few wrinkles in the red carpet along the path to the coronation, as the mighty Men of Troy struggled with some of the mere mortals of the Pac-10, edging out Stanford (4-7-0) by the score of 31-28; Oregon State (7-5-0) by the score of 28-20; and UCLA (6-6-0) by the score of 29-24.
The Auburn Tigers also went 13-0-0 in 2004, but were denied a shot at the national title, which in retrospect is surprising, since the War Eagles had very few tight games during their perfect season. Auburn's closest call was a rather ugly 10-9 victory over a good LSU team (9-3-0), but a mediocre Alabama squad (6-6-0) almost pulled the upset in the annual rivalry game, eventually falling by the score of 21-13.
The 2005 Texas Longhorns outscored their opponents by a combined score of 652 to 213. Except for a pair of 3-point victories over powerhouses Ohio State (10-2-0) and Southern Cal (12-1-0), the Horns were never really challenged during their title run. However, a below average Texas A+M squad almost caught their in-state rivals napping, but ended up losing by the score of 40-29.
Finally, the Boise State Broncos went 13-0-0 in 2006. Although their perfect season is best-remembered for their thrilling come-from-behind 43-42 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, the Broncos had some other close calls along the way to greatness, and none of those came against teams nearly as good as the Sooners. In fact, Boise State had no less than four unimpressive victories that season, including beating Wyoming (6-6-0) by the score of 17-10; Idaho (4-8-0) by the score of 42-26; San Jose State (3-9-0) by the score of 23-20; and New Mexico State (4-8-0) by the score of 40-28.
So, what's the point? First, that it's difficult to go 13-0-0 in any year. Of course part of that difficulty comes from the fact that, prior to the expanded schedules, most teams didn't even play thirteen games in a season. Well, since 1934, only twenty-two teams have finished 12-0-0; only twenty-five teams have finished 11-0-0; sixteen teams have finished 10-0-0; twenty-two teams finished with a record of 9-0-0; and seven teams finished with perfect records having eight or fewer victories. In 73 seasons of college football, that's just 105 perfect records; and due to having played weak schedules, 26 of those 105 teams didn't even finish in the top five of the AP poll for the year in question.
During the 73 years of the AP poll, a team with a perfect record has been crowned national champion on 46 occasions, or just 63% of the time; in other words, in one out of every three years, on average, a team with at least one loss and/or tie has won the AP title.
And here's point number two: It is very, very rare for a team to have a perfect record without a few ugly wins along the way. Sure it happens from time to time, but it's nearly impossible for any team in any sport at any level to be "up" for thirteen straight games. Even though it is a physically demanding endeavor, football, like any other sport, is largely mental ... and sometimes players individually and teams collectively just are not "into" the game. Is that what happened to the Buckeyes against Ohio U yesterday? Probably.
Ohio State will get its first real test of the season next Saturday. Will the Buckeyes "show up" for the game and be "into" it mentally? You bet. Will that be enough to beat the Trojans? No, of course not, but if the Buckeyes do manage to pull the upset, then we can look back at the OU game as just another one of those "ugly" wins that almost every national champion has had to fight through on the path to greatness.
The Buckeyes have won 13 or more games in a row only six times in their storied history:
October 21, 1899 - November 3, 1900 (14 games)
November 6, 1915 - November 17, 1917 (17 games)
October 5, 1957 - October 18, 1958 (13 games)
November 4, 1967 - November 15, 1969 (22 games)
August 24, 2002 - September 27, 2003 (19 games)
October 15, 2005 - November 18, 2006 (19 games)
November 6, 1915 - November 17, 1917 (17 games)
October 5, 1957 - October 18, 1958 (13 games)
November 4, 1967 - November 15, 1969 (22 games)
August 24, 2002 - September 27, 2003 (19 games)
October 15, 2005 - November 18, 2006 (19 games)
Since the advent of the AP poll in 1934, only thirteen teams have had a record of 13-0-0 or better:
The 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers are often considered the best team of all time (Billingsley, Sporting News), and they pretty much rolled everybody on their schedule with the exception of the Oklahoma Sooners - in a battle of #1 vs. #2 which was dubbed "The Game of the Century", Nebraska prevailed by a score of 35-31. Otherwise, the Huskers crushed their competition by an average score of 39-6, and pummeled previously unbeaten Alabama (11-1-0) in the Orange Bowl 38-6.
The 1984 BYU Cougars were the next team to finish the season with a 13-0-0 mark. Despite playing in the WAC - not exactly the most challenging conference in college football - BYU had narrow victories against some mediocre squads, beating Pitt (3-7-1) by the score of 20-14; Wyoming (6-6-0) by the score of 41-38; and Utah (6-5-1) by the score of 24-14. In addition, the Cougars eked out a pair of 5-point road victories against Hawaii (7-4-0) and Air Force (8-4-0), and beat Big Ten also-ran Michigan (6-6-0) in the Holiday Bowl by a touchdown.
The Alabama Crimson Tide went 13-0-0 in 1992, and capped the season with an impressive victory over defending national champion Miami. However, the Tide had a few scares along the way, including a 25-8 victory over Vanderbilt (4-7-0), a 17-10 win over Southern Miss (7-4-0), a 13-0 win over Louisiana Tech (5-6-0), and a 30-21 victory over Mississippi State (7-5-0).
The 1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers went 13-0-0 without too much trouble, but sleep-walked through a game against 0-10-1 Iowa State, eventuallly winning by the score of 28-12. Archrival Oklahoma (6-6-0) and Joe Tiller's Wyoming (6-6-0) squad both kept the score close, but the Big Red still managed to come away with a pair of 10-point victories (13-3 and 42-32, respectively) against teams that they clearly outclassed.
In 1997, Nebraska once again posted a 13-0-0 record, but struggled against a pair of teams with losing records, beating Central Florida (5-6-0) by the score of 38-24 and Colorado (5-6-0) by the score of 27-24. In addition, the Huskers beat Missouri (7-5-0) by just a touchdown, 45-38; if you don't remember, Ohio State (10-3-0) pounded that Missouri team, on the road, by the score of 31-10.
The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers also went 13-0-0, but nearly lost to a really bad Auburn team (3-9-0), squeaking out a 17-9 victory. The Vols also beat a marginal Syracuse squad (8-4-0) by a single point in their opening contest, and had a "lucky" four-point victory over a good but not great Arkansas team (9-3-0).
The 1999 Marshall Thundering Herd posted a 13-0-0 record on the season. The Herd opened the campaign with a narrow 13-10 win over a middle-of-the-road Clemson squad (6-6-0), then rolled through the MAC, with lowly Kent State (2-9-0) posing the most serious challenge before finally falling, 28-16.
The 2000 Oklahoma Sooners racked up a 13-0-0 record, but nevertheless had some issues with lesser competition, including a 34-16 victory over Kansas (4-7-0); a 35-31 win over Texas A+M (7-5-0); a 27-13 victory against Texas Tech (7-6-0); and a very tight 12-7 win over a very bad Oklahoma State (3-8-0) team.
As you all remember, the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes had more than their fair share of close calls during their improbable 14-0-0 national championship run. The first, and closest, call came in week 4 against the Cincinnati Bearcats (7-7-0), who had several chances to win the game late, but nevertheless lost 23-19. A 3-9-0 Nortwestern squad gave Ohio State fits on the road at night, but the Buckeyes prevailed 27-16. After a laugher against San Jose State, the Buckeyes then posted narrow victories against a pair of solid but not spectacular Big Ten teams, beating Wisconsin (8-6-0) by the score of 19-14, and Penn State (9-4-0) by the score of 13-7. The following week, the Buckeyes blew out Minnesota, but then needed a "Holy Buckeye" to beat Purdue (7-6-0) by the score of 10-6, and overtime to knock off Illinois (5-7-0) by the score of 23-16.
The 2004 Southern Cal Trojans were hyped from day one as the inevitable national champions, and they did finish 13-0-0 to prove the pundits right. However, there were a few wrinkles in the red carpet along the path to the coronation, as the mighty Men of Troy struggled with some of the mere mortals of the Pac-10, edging out Stanford (4-7-0) by the score of 31-28; Oregon State (7-5-0) by the score of 28-20; and UCLA (6-6-0) by the score of 29-24.
The Auburn Tigers also went 13-0-0 in 2004, but were denied a shot at the national title, which in retrospect is surprising, since the War Eagles had very few tight games during their perfect season. Auburn's closest call was a rather ugly 10-9 victory over a good LSU team (9-3-0), but a mediocre Alabama squad (6-6-0) almost pulled the upset in the annual rivalry game, eventually falling by the score of 21-13.
The 2005 Texas Longhorns outscored their opponents by a combined score of 652 to 213. Except for a pair of 3-point victories over powerhouses Ohio State (10-2-0) and Southern Cal (12-1-0), the Horns were never really challenged during their title run. However, a below average Texas A+M squad almost caught their in-state rivals napping, but ended up losing by the score of 40-29.
Finally, the Boise State Broncos went 13-0-0 in 2006. Although their perfect season is best-remembered for their thrilling come-from-behind 43-42 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, the Broncos had some other close calls along the way to greatness, and none of those came against teams nearly as good as the Sooners. In fact, Boise State had no less than four unimpressive victories that season, including beating Wyoming (6-6-0) by the score of 17-10; Idaho (4-8-0) by the score of 42-26; San Jose State (3-9-0) by the score of 23-20; and New Mexico State (4-8-0) by the score of 40-28.
So, what's the point? First, that it's difficult to go 13-0-0 in any year. Of course part of that difficulty comes from the fact that, prior to the expanded schedules, most teams didn't even play thirteen games in a season. Well, since 1934, only twenty-two teams have finished 12-0-0; only twenty-five teams have finished 11-0-0; sixteen teams have finished 10-0-0; twenty-two teams finished with a record of 9-0-0; and seven teams finished with perfect records having eight or fewer victories. In 73 seasons of college football, that's just 105 perfect records; and due to having played weak schedules, 26 of those 105 teams didn't even finish in the top five of the AP poll for the year in question.
During the 73 years of the AP poll, a team with a perfect record has been crowned national champion on 46 occasions, or just 63% of the time; in other words, in one out of every three years, on average, a team with at least one loss and/or tie has won the AP title.
And here's point number two: It is very, very rare for a team to have a perfect record without a few ugly wins along the way. Sure it happens from time to time, but it's nearly impossible for any team in any sport at any level to be "up" for thirteen straight games. Even though it is a physically demanding endeavor, football, like any other sport, is largely mental ... and sometimes players individually and teams collectively just are not "into" the game. Is that what happened to the Buckeyes against Ohio U yesterday? Probably.
Ohio State will get its first real test of the season next Saturday. Will the Buckeyes "show up" for the game and be "into" it mentally? You bet. Will that be enough to beat the Trojans? No, of course not, but if the Buckeyes do manage to pull the upset, then we can look back at the OU game as just another one of those "ugly" wins that almost every national champion has had to fight through on the path to greatness.
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