As soon as my Indiana Hoosiers went undefeated, and untied, winning the Big 10 Conference championship, the Rose Bowl, the Peach Bowl, and the National Championship, much attention has been placed by pundits on the fact that the 1894 Yale team was the last team to go 16–0. The 1899 Chicago Maroons’ 16–0 doesn’t count because it was also accompanied by two losses. All this discussion caused me to ponder if there will ever be a 17–0 team.
The short answer is that it’s possible but unlikely. Here’s what would be required to do that. First, the team must win all 12 of its regular season games. That’s not too unusual. Next, it must win its conference game. If the team’s conference doesn’t have a conference game, it would be out of luck. Then, it must have some bad luck, and this is the tricky part. The team must not be seeded higher than five, meaning that it must not get a first-round bye. Without the first-round game, they top out at 16–0. That’s what Indiana did this year. But how can an undefeated conference champion not get a bye? It can but it’s not easy.
One way to avoid the bye is to be considered weaker than a one-loss team from a stronger conference. Another way is to be a Group of Five school. A third way is to have injuries to key players that would negatively impact the team’s competitiveness. Such injuries are not uncommon. However, they would impact the team’s ability to win the first-round game.
Now that I’ve brought this up, don’t be surprised if it happens soon, next year maybe.
Tom Benjey's Weblog 
