Streaks Beginning and Ending as NCAA Season Winds Down
It is hard to believe but the NCAA football regular season is quickly coming to an end. Just three weeks remain with No. 1 Alabama readying itself to compete for its third straight national title and Florida State seen as its closest rival to that national title.
Games have had incredible endings of late such as Ricardo Louis catching a deflected pass and rushing into the end zone to give Auburn a win over Georgia and keep their hopes alive for playing in the SEC title game.
Northwestern will want to forget the sight of Michigan’s field goal unit racing onto the field to kick a tying field as the clock ran out and then defeating the Wildcats in overtime to dim their hopes of a bowl game.
The season has been full of streaks, with some continuing and some ending. Here are five to consider.
Alabama has been No. 1 in the Top 25 for 13 straight weeks this season, with a total of 14 straight dating back to the end of last season. There are just six other teams that have been ranked No. 1 for a complete season and include Army in 1945, Nebraska in 1971, USC in 1972, Florida State in 1999 and USC in 2004.
Alabama’s win last week clinched the sixth straight 10-win season for the Tide and tied them with Oklahoma for the most 10-win seasons of all time with 33.
With their rout of Illinois on Saturday, the Ohio State Buckeyes have now won 22 straight games, which is the longest active FBS streak. Only five streaks in major college football have been longer with Pop Warner having the longest with 30 straight at Pittsburgh between 1915 and 1918.
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is now the first major college football coach to record winning streaks of 20 or more games three times.
The longest current streak for one team forcing an opponent into a turnover is 40 games and held by Missouri. The longest current streak of one team committing a turnover is Tulsa, which has turned the ball over at least one time for the past 41 games.
Brett Smith, the junior quarterback for Wyoming, has accounted for a passing or running touchdown in 33 consecutive games. It is the longest streak currently active by any FBS player. Smith has either passed or run for a touchdown in every game he has played at Wyoming.
Michigan has not had a spectacular year offensively, but that has not stopped them from continuing one of the longest streaks in college football. The Wolverines have not been shut out in 361 straight games dating back to October of 1984.
In late October, Duke ended its 47-game losing streak versus opponents that are ranked when the Blue Devils defeated Virginia Tech.
Some streaks will remain intact and others will be broken, as another NCAA football regular season comes to an end.
Of course, time will tell if Alabama will be standing tall on January 6 with its third straight national title or its streak will end.
