Right now, the Texas Longhorns are 5-0 and looking good. Texas is No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the AP Top 25 after two weeks at the top.
But going through an entire season unbeaten is difficult. In the 70s and 80s, a team would typically have to go 11-0 or 12-0 to go undefeated and win a national title. Then, the SEC started having conference championship games in 1992. Soon, most big conferences followed suit and 13-0 became the gold standard.
In the early 2000s, many teams added an extra regular season game. The 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes became the first team in the modern era to go 14-0. Then the college football playoff added an extra game, making 15-0 the new mark. Three of the last four teams that have won the title and gone unbeaten have been 15-0, the exception was Alabama in the 2020 pandemic year.
With the expanded 12-team playoff, a team will have to go 16-0 or even 17-0 (if not in a P4 conference) to accomplish the feat. While there will certainly be teams that do it, it will be more rare. A team would need to get through the regular season unscathed and then beat three or four of the best teams in the country.
USA TODAY Sports believes, “Based on history, the odds are that these unbeaten records won’t last long.”
Paul Myerberg went through all 19 current unbeaten teams to predict each team’s first loss. Here is what he had to say about Texas:
First loss: vs. No. 5 Georgia, Oct. 19
Look for the Longhorns to sail past No. 17 Oklahoma on Oct. 12 given the Sooners’ offense state of affairs. Getting Georgia at home definitely helps, but the Bulldogs are heading into October deeply motivated to move past last Saturday’s setback at Alabama and end the regular season with just one loss.