In a recent address at a SEC event, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian offered a provocative perspective on the future of college football’s national championships. Sarkisian, drawing from his extensive experience in the sport, suggested that the era of undefeated national champions might be drawing to a close.
Sarkisian’s remarks are particularly timely, given the recent changes to the College Football Playoff (CFP) format. The CFP’s decision to expand to a 12-team playoff and adopt a straight seeding model, announced on May 22, aims to ensure that the best teams have a fair shot at the title.
Steve Sarkisian Shares Thoughts on the Evolution of College Football Playoffs
Sarkisian’s journey through the changing dynamics of college football is a testament to the sport’s evolution.
“I think you know I’ve lived this life going all the way back to the early 2000s right when I was an assistant coach at USC and we didn’t we didn’t have a playoff,” he reflected, highlighting the pre-playoff era where teams like USC and LSU could be considered co-national champions despite not facing each other directly.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian on what he’s look for when it comes to CFP changes.
“I don’t think we’ll ever see an undefeated national champion again..if we do, build a statue”
“Hopefully we’re getting to that point where the best teams make the playoff” pic.twitter.com/ZH55rUtpr9
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) May 27, 2025
The introduction of the CFP in 2014 marked a significant shift, initially with a four-team format that has since expanded. Sarkisian’s narrative of growing from a two-team to a four-team playoff, and now to a 12-team format, illustrates the sport’s continuous adaptation to ensure competitiveness and fairness.
This evolution is a crucial context for understanding his prediction about the rarity of undefeated champions.
Sarkisian’s bold prediction hinges on the increasing difficulty of maintaining an undefeated record in today’s college football.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever see an undefeated national champion again,” he stated, emphasizing the grueling nature of the season. “If we do, that’s a really good team because it’s just so difficult and it’s not so it’s difficult, yes, because of the quality of the opponents you play, but it’s so difficult to stay healthy that long.”
The statistics support his claim. Since 1936, only 63 teams have finished the season undefeated and won the national championship, with the most recent being the 2022/2023 Georgia Bulldogs.
The expansion of the playoff format, combined with a longer regular season, exacerbates the challenge. Last year, teams played up to 16 games just to reach the semifinals, a trend that Sarkisian notes makes the prospect of an undefeated season even more daunting.
One of the critical factors Sarkisian identifies is the impact of injuries on team performance.
“I mean, you’re going to have teams and years like we had last year, where you lose your starting quarterback, and how do you respond to your quarterback being down, and you lose both your left tackles,” he explained.
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This scenario, which Texas faced, underscores the importance of depth and resilience in modern college football.
The ability to withstand such setbacks is becoming increasingly vital. Sarkisian’s comparison to other sports tournaments, like the NCAA baseball tournament, where teams with multiple losses can still compete for a title, suggests a paradigm shift.
“I think you’re going to see teams more and more now to losses, three losses maybe even 4 losses that get in,” he predicted, aligning with the CFP’s new emphasis on overall performance rather than perfection.
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